Recently both the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins have gone through some long winning streaks that have seen them climb up from the depths of their conferences into solid playoff positions.
But fans and players should not get too excited. Over the recent years there have been similar streaks for both teams, yet at the close of Stanley Cup playoffs, they are cited as two of the biggest disappointments.
When Pittsburgh built its team around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – arguably the two best players in the league – it was expected that the Penguins would win several Stanley Cups in the coming decade.
But since winning the Cup in 2009, the Penguins have floundered in the playoffs, being ousted by teams that many fans and media regarded as inferior in talent. This five year run of failure eventually has cost both general manager Ray Shero and coach Dan Bylsma their jobs.
At least Pittsburgh can be disbanded with the players saying they won the Cup. That’s more than they can say in St. Louis.
The Blues are currently tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the longest streak without winning the Stanley Cub, 47 years dating back to 1967. They have not even been to the final since 1970.
But Pittsburgh and St. Louis can be lumped together for the previous half-decade: Lots of pretty regular season points and player statistics but no serious challenges for the Stanley Cup except for the time Pittsburgh made the Conference Final (where they were ignominiously defeated by the Boston Bruins in the minimum four games).
With Chicago and Los Angeles winning the Cup regularly in the last few years, bettors are advised to be cautious about putting money on St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
They may be hot now but that has been their problem; hot at the wrong time and not when it matters.
If both teams continue to play well and make the playoffs, there will be a temptation to make them a favorite to go all the way. But as usual, that will be based on the regular season when the pressure is not as intense as it in the playoffs.
Based on their recent playoff performances, most fans would be well advised to drop the favorite tag and say “Show me” instead.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
