The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2016-17 season with targets on their backs, as 29 teams aimed to knock them off their perch as reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Now, eight months since the start of the campaign, the Pens sit one win shy of repeating as champions and can become the first team since the juggernaut Red Wings of the late 90's to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Let's get the obvious out of the way: the Penguins employ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the driving forces behind a decade-plus of success. However, no team reaches this point (let alone twice in a row) without playing as a cohesive unit, and the man leading the way on that front is head coach Mike Sullivan.
Since taking over for Mike Johnston in December 2015, Sullivan's had the magic touch. He turned around a distraught, underachieving team and instilled simplicity to a roster laden with firepower - and the results speak for themselves.
In 136 regular-season games under Sullivan since last season, the Penguins have recorded 182 points. That's the second-highest point total over that stretch, trailing only the Capitals, who, quite frankly, have nothing to boast about to their Metropolitan Division adversaries.
Not to mention, Sullivan's yet to lose a playoff series.
That's not to say it's been an easy ride - Sullivan's track record of decision-making along the way has paid off time and time again. After Marc-Andre Fleury gutted his way to a series victory over Washington and subsequently faltered against the Senators, Sullivan decided the crease belonged to rookie Matt Murray, who's been a rock ever since.
Amid a heated exchange between Phil Kessel and Malkin on the bench during Game 2 of the Ottawa series, Sullivan did what he always does: let his players sort it out on the ice. They ultimately did just that, with no fuel added to the fire.
Tactically, the Penguins aren't the strongest team. In fact, much has been made of Pittsburgh's knack for allowing more shots than it takes. Yet the Pens' rope-a-dope, quick-strike style has still pushed the Nashville Predators' seemingly impenetrable defensive corps to the brink. Sullivan's commitment to the oft-criticized strategy has also crushed the Blue Jackets, ousted the Capitals, and outlasted the Senators - all without the irreplaceable Kris Letang patrolling the blue line.
Mired in a six-season gap between Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Penguins' championship pedigree appeared to be diminishing as the club sat fifth in the Metro upon Sullivan's hiring 18 months ago. Since then, the 46-year-old has restored the club's winning ways, and the Penguins have performed a complete 180 to sit on the verge of a feat no team in the salary-cap era has been able to accomplish.
The word "legacy" has been tossed around ad nauseam throughout the finals, mainly with respect to the careers of Crosby and Malkin, who are each within reach of a third ring. But it's also their boss - quietly leading the way in an attempt to claim his second title in as many tries - who deserves praise for writing quite a remarkable story himself.
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