The three biggest keys to the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup

There are a number of big things that should ideally happen if the Pens are to drink from Lord Stanley’s mug this spring, like the power play consistently clicking, Crosby and  Malkin scoring more, avoiding dumb penalties and getting a bit more luck than their opponents. But if they take care of the main three below, these other ones should eventually fall into place, and we could very well see another Cup coming to Pittsburgh as a result.

Ferocious Forecheck: Coming in with speed and power will get you the puck more often than not and a key to the Pens' success all spring has been their ability to do this consistently. The Crosbys, Kessels and Malkins will bury enough of the pucks they get. Keep getting them the pucks and the goals will come. Do not let up. 

No Matt Mulligans: Matt Murray must keep playing his technically sound, even-keeled game. It's the only kind of goaltending that wins Stanley Cups. And the brutal reality is that we're at a point in the playoffs where Mulligans are not permitted. The reassuring thing here is that the Pens have a former Stanley Cup winner as a backup. 

No 'D'-fects: Some of the younger D-men like Olli Maata and Brian Dumoulin have to avoid sloppy clearances in their own zone that land on opponents' sticks. They haven't always succeeded at that in these playoffs. It is the single biggest cause for concern for the Penguins and their fans. Overall, though, they've played beyond their years, but they must play about a year older the rest of the way. Let Letang score from the back end. Let the superstars be super up front. Just get that puck out of your zone, boys - again and again. 

1991 Wales Final Game 3: Pens 4, Bruins 1

The Penguins channeled their frustration stemming from a Game Two overtime loss into a passionate but focused effort that resulted in a 4-1 win, bringing them back into the Wales Conference Final and cutting Boston’s series lead to two games to one.

Ulfamania was a Penguin Pest all night long.

With the Pens leading 2-0 halfway through the second period, Boston’s Ray Bourque got one back when he converted a Cam Neely pass, firing a hard shot behind Tom Barrasso. Their celebration didn’t last long, though, as low-scoring defenseman Grant Jennings answered right back 16 seconds later, putting a Mario Lemieux rebound in the back of the Boston net, sending the sellout Igloo crowd into delirium. Lemieux added one himself before the period was out, and Tom Barrasso stopped all 12 Bruins shots in the third to ice the victory.

“We’re back in the series,” said Boston native Kevin Stevens, the Pens left winger who had boldly predicted a Penguins series win after the Game Two loss. “And we’re confident we can win the series. The other night was frustrating because we played well enough to win. But I know this team believes in itself.”

Aside from the result, a hot topic of conversation after the game was Ulf Samuelsson’s knee-on-knee hit on Neely in the second period. The collision left the Bruins steaming. “I thought it was a real cheap shot on Cam,” said Boston defenseman Garry Galley, “the way he stepped up and really went for that (knee) area.”

Ultimately, though, Bruins coach Mike Milbury had to admit that his team had been outmatched on this night. “Tonight they were too much for us and we didn’t have the answers.”

Check out highlights of this game here

• Samuelsson hit on Neely is at very beginning 
• Spectacular Mario Lemieux goal at 0:52
• Interviews follow later.

1991 Wales Final Game 2: Bruins 5, Pens 4 (OT)

The Penguins entered the third period trailing 3-2 but goals less than two minutes apart midway through the period by Mark Recchi and Mario Lemieux gave Pittsburgh their first lead of the night. With only 3:11 left, however, Craig Janney converted a pass from Vladimir Ruzicka during a 5-on-3 man advantage to send it to overtime.

It was Ruzicka’s fourth assist of the night. But “Rosie” wasn’t done yet. At 8:14 of the extra period he found himself alone with the puck in the Penguins crease and fired it over a fallen Tom Barrasso to give the Bruins the win and a 2-0 series lead.

"I'll say it right now, we'll beat them."

In the dressing room, the Penguins weren’t disheartened. If anything, the loss hardened their resolve to take the series back.

“We all have our highs and our lows, and right now the Bruins are living a high,” defenseman Gordie Roberts told Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Press. “But hopefully we’ll bring them back down to earth the next game.”

Left wing Kevin Stevens went even further, issuing his famous guarantee.

“We’re confident we can beat this team,” he said. “And we will beat this team...We’ll beat this team. I’ll say it right now, we’ll beat them.”

Stevens and the rest of the Penguins would have to start making that promise a reality in Game 3 back in Pittsburgh two nights later.

You can see highlights of this game here.

1991 Wales Final Game 1: Bruins 6, Pens 3

Sloppy turnovers cost the Penguins in Game One at Boston Garden, their first semi-final game since 1970. The Pens were as close as 4-3 in the third period but goals by Dave Christian and Ray Bourque put the game out of reach.

Defenseman Gordie Roberts sounded a note of optimism after the game, however.

“You can’t give Boston’s key players a chance to make big plays. But we’ll get better as the series goes on. We’ll get used to this building.”

It was a building that had not been kind to the Penguins historically. Heading into the game, they sported a woeful 7-42-6 record, regular season and playoff games combined.

What would develop into an rather intense coaches war throughout the series got rolling right off the bat. Pens bench boss Badger Bob Johnson was none too pleased with the Bruins’ delay tactics aimed at – in Johnson’s view – allowing star defenseman Bourque to get sufficient rest between whistles.

“They want Bourque out there all the time,” he said. “They’re talking to the referee, sending six guys out all the time. Watch ‘em. When Bourque gets tired they have a delay. The job of the referee is to keep the game moving.”