Patric Hornqvist was playing with a broken finger when he scored with less than two minutes left in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
The Pittsburgh Penguins forward banked the puck off Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne with 1:35 remaining to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead, and Pittsburgh held on for a 2-0 victory to clinch its second consecutive championship.
Hornqvist missed six of the Penguins' 25 playoff games this spring, but still managed to notch five goals and nine points in the postseason.
There's a reason why Sidney Crosby has won everything there is to be won in hockey. It's what he lives for.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain and superstar celebrated his second Stanley Cup victory - and third overall - Sunday night, along with his second straight Conn Smythe Trophy, and told the media that it's winning, and the emotion that comes with it, that keeps him going.
"I think this feeling right now," Crosby said when asked what motivates him. "You can't match this. This is what it's all about, and to be able to share that with a group of guys, and a lot of them guys that you've played a long time with and understand how difficult it is and what you've had to go through and that kind of thing, to share it with family and friends, you know, is just ... that's what it's about."
Crosby called these Penguins, the first club to repeat as champs in almost 20 years, a very special team.
"I'm really happy to be a part of this group, and a good chunk of the guys are returning from last year, so it's pretty special," he said. "You know, we set out to try to go back to back. We knew it was going to be difficult, but I think that's probably where the most joy comes out of, is just knowing how difficult it is now to go back to back and knowing that we overcame all those things. It's a pretty special group."
Mission accomplished. And in the salary cap era, no less.
Evgeni Malkin isn't satisfied. He probably never will be.
The Pittsburgh Penguins center won his third Stanley Cup on Sunday night, and he celebrated by letting everyone know that he'd like to make it three in a row and four overall.
"We're still young," Malkin said. "We're still hungry. We want more."
The man known as "Geno" was a force in the playoffs, finishing with a league-leading 28 points (10 goals and 18 assists). While Sidney Crosby took home the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second straight year, the Pens don't win the Cup without Malkin - it's as simple as that.
Malkin, 30, was drafted second overall in 2004, with Crosby selected first overall in 2005. It was, clearly, the start of something very special.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, meanwhile, is still upset about Malkin not being included in the NHL's list of its top 100 players, unveiled earlier this season. He even spoke about it Sunday night.
"You'd think that Geno could get into the top 100, wouldn't ya?" Rutherford said, according to Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski. "Maybe we can vote again and get him in the top 101 this year. I mean ... wow. I'll just leave that alone for now. That was so disappointing for me, but that's a whole 'nother story."
Rutherford's right: He should leave it alone. He's a Stanley Cup champion again, and that's probably all that matters to Malkin, too.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' odd couple was at it again Sunday, with Malkin accidentally catching Kessel with a left on the bench after Carl Hagelin scored an empty-net goal in Game 6, which sealed the club's second straight Stanley Cup championship.
Malkin led the Pens and the NHL in scoring during the playoffs with 28 points, while Kessel finished third on the club and in the league with 23.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2017 Stanley Cup champions following a 2-0 Game 6 win over the Nashville Predators. Here are the top photos from their legacy-defining win:
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby won his second consecutive Conn Smythe trophy. But, it wasn't the prize he most coveted.
That belonged to the Stanley Cup itself. And he was quick to hand it over to 14-year NHL veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey, who played in the postseason for the first time in his career this season.
Predators fans were out in full force before and during the game.
They were quick to direct their sadness/anger at Gary Bettman following the game, relentlessly booing the NHL commissioner during his speech.
The victory is the third in the careers of Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin, cementing their legacies as the cornerstones of a Penguins dynasty which has now won three Stanley Cups.
Defenseman Kris Letang - who was a key part of the Penguins' previous two Cup victories didn't play a single game during the 2017 playoffs - was quick to take to the ice in full equipment to celebrate the win.
The Predators appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the second period when forward Colton Sissons buried a loose puck in the crease beside Penguins goaltender Matt Murray. The goal, however, was waved off by referee Kevin Pollock who blew a quick whistle on the play.
There's no telling if this will be the end of the Penguins' historic run. They have 15 players under contract for next season, including goaltenders Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury.
It's the second year in a row the Penguins won the Cup on the road, but fans stuck in Pittsburgh still showed up to PPG Paints Arena for the watch party and what will surely be a lengthy celebration.
Even though the Predators came up short in the franchise's first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final, their fans proved Nashville is a serious hockey market and general manager David Poile has built a roster capable of contending for many years to come.
