Pittsburgh can win the Stanley Cup in Game 5 at Consol Energy Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). Cullen's family, and most definitely his boys, will be in attendance.
None of them were born when he won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes 10 years ago. This run and this championship would be as much for them as it is for him.
And so with one win to go, Cullen reflected on the season and how far the Penguins have come during a portion of his session with the media in the visitors' dressing room at SAP Center following Game 4. NHL.com was in the session, but it was not an exclusive interview.
Here are Five Questions with…Matt Cullen:
When you think back to the way this season started, the first month, to be one win away, do you get a sense of what that journey has been like for this team?
"Yeah, it's been a special one; it really has. The last part of the year I don't know that I've had a portion of a season that has gone like this. It's been a pretty special ride. Our group has developed some pretty close bonds. We've really gone through a lot to turn it around the way we have and stick with it through everything. It says a lot about our team. So it's been a special ride so far and we should want to finish it off the right way."
At that time earlier in the season did you think this group could turn it around?
"Well, I mean, it seemed pretty farfetched at the time. But when you took a look around the room and you saw the people and the character that we had, if there was a group that could do it, this was it. It was a lot of work and it seemed a long ways away at the time. But again, when you look at the group and the success this group has had and the guys that were added, you had to believe. We all believed that there was a group here that could get it done. But there was a lot of work. We were a long ways away from being anywhere near a good team. But we gradually developed into a good team. We worked at it."
On Sunday, Evgeni Malkin said he wants more and he knows he can do more. In Game 4 he scores the game-winning goal and gets an assist on the first goal. We know what type of player he is, but what does it tell you about the guy, to put it on himself and then go out and do it?
"It shows how much he cares and it shows he's a competitor. All the great players are like that. They hold themselves accountable and he holds himself accountable almost to a fault at times. But to call himself out a little bit there and then back it up, I mean, it's big for our team. He's been so good for us all season long. I don't think anybody expected anything else out of him."