Members from the 2016 Stanley Cup Championship team - Matt Murray, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary - sat down with host Josh Getzoff to discuss some of their favorite memories from the run ahead of AT&T SportsNet's re-broadcasts of the four victories from that Final.
Part 1 covered Games 1 and 2, while Part 2 covers the rest of the Final and the ensuing celebration ahead of the re-airing of Game 4 (Monday) and Game 6 (Wednesday). Here are some of the highlights.
To view all 2016 Stanley Cup Final rewind content, click here.
Inside Scoop: 2016 Stanley Cup Memories, Part 2
Murray, Sheary, Rust Share 2016 SCF Memories Part 2
* After the Penguins won the first two games of the Final on home ice, the series shifted out west to San Jose, where Games 3 and 4 would take place at SAP Center. It was an arena that hadn't been kind to the Penguins in the past, as their regular-season win in San Jose earlier that season was their first at the Shark Tank since 1997.
"That was my first time going to San Jose in general," Murray recalled. "I had never played there before. I had heard a lot about it. I had heard that the atmosphere was pretty crazy, the fans were loud. They were going to have those wristbands that were new that were going to light up the whole building. I was just excited.
"I remember the practice before the game when I just went out and looked at the rink and I was just kind of picturing what it was going to be like for the game. It was exactly what I expected. Super loud, really good atmosphere and just an awesome place to play."
* The teams split in San Jose and the Penguins left with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to win the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. Because of the cross-country travel, there were two full days between Games 4 and 5. And both Murray and Sheary said having so much time to think about the opportunity ahead of them wasn't ideal.
"That was the first time we could say if we win one more game, we win the Cup," Murray said. "That was something that kind of hit home, I think, and we had two days to think about it traveling back to Pittsburgh, which probably didn't help. I remember how nervous I was leading up to that game, just the anticipation and the excitement for the opportunity that was in front of us. I think maybe if we had just one day in between games it would have felt a little less nervous, but that extra day kind of just gave us more time to think about it."
* What they remember most about that day - and I think this is the case for most of the players on that team - is the drive to the rink. Even though they were staying at the Hyatt House in South Side - just two miles away from PPG Paints Arena - it took them over half an hour to get there due to a crowd of 20,000 strong gathering outside of the rink.
"Somebody warned us that it was going to take a lot longer because there were people already jampacked in front of the big screen," Rust said. "Things were going to take a lot longer. And just driving by that and seeing all those people and how fired up the city was about this opportunity was a really cool experience."
Part of Rust's pregame routine consisted of playing soccer with fellow rookie Tom Kuhnhackl 30-45 minutes before the team meeting. That day, they had a LOT less time to kick the ball around with the added drive time.
"I think we got out there for 30 seconds, got a couple touches in real quick and then just ran into the meeting," Rust laughed.
* While they were disappointed that they missed the chance to clinch the Stanley Cup on home ice, that just made them even more determined to get the job done in Game 6.
"I noticed an extra little bit of focus heading into that game," Murray said. "We were just so dialed in. I think (head coach Mike Sullivan) said before that Game 6 in his speech, 'Enough is enough' or something like that. We were able to get it done. I think missing that opportunity in Game 5 just made everybody that much more focused."
* Getzoff brought up how Sidney Crosby set up Kris Letang to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead at the 7:46 mark of the second period. And while that was certainly a key play from the captain, Sheary brought up one that stood out even bigger in his mind.
"I'll fast forward to the end of the game when he blocks a shot and makes the chip pass to (Patric Hornqvist)," Sheary said. "It's plays like that he does so consistently and it's just fun to watch. You're happy he's on your side and you don't have to chase him around. He was just huge in that series for us and helped us in a big way to win that Stanley Cup."
Hornqvist scored an empty-netter with just 1:02 left to play in regulation. I loved hearing each player talk about what that was like from their respective viewpoints…
SHEARY (on the bench next to Malkin):
"I remember as soon as Horny got the puck I feel like it was almost like a pause and it took him like 10 minutes to skate up the ice and put it in. As soon as he shot it and it went in I think we just erupted on the bench and we knew at that point it was more than likely we were going to win that game. Then there's always Sully behind the bench calming you down saying, 'We still got another shift!' or something (laughs). But in our mind we were celebrating because it was over in our minds. That was just an unbelievable feeling. I just remember - I don't know who was next to me, honestly. I just remember my helmet almost flying off, you're losing gloves, it was mayhem on the bench."
RUST (also on the bench):
"For me, I had my (right) hand broken about halfway through that third period, and so I had this really wonky tape job on it. So, after the goal that Horny scored, during that celebration and the whole celebration after the game, I was just trying to leave my hand out of the pile so it didn't get crushed and get hurt even worse. I think you can see it when we all came on the ice and dogpiled Murr at the end of the game, I got this weird tape job on my first two fingers and my hand is up high in the air trying to keep it out of everything. That's just one of the memories I have of the whole last however many minutes."
MURRAY (in the net, obviously):
"I think I was just trying to stay focused. I don't remember exactly how much time was left, but there was still a decent chunk of time left on the clock. As the goalie you're obviously not on the bench to celebrate with anybody, so at that point I was just trying to stay focused as best I could and calm myself down a little bit. Then when the clock ran out I think once again it was (Evgeni Malkin) who ended up tackling me and then the pile started after that. That's pretty much all I remember."
* I truly love how Malkin celebrates by just crushing his teammates. In Part 1, Rust joked about getting 'mauled' by Malkin after his earlier playoff goals, and in Part 2 Murray:
"It was like a couple guys came to me slowly first since they were already around me,"
he said. "They didn't have enough speed to really tackle me. Then Geno came off the bench and tackled all three or four of us or whatever it was. That's when my legs just buckled and everybody just started piling on top. I don't remember anything until I was getting up, looking for air, basically. Probably couldn't breathe under there. It's a moment I don't remember all that well, but at the same time it's one of those moments that I'll never forget because it was just cool, you know? I only played 15 games that year and we ended up winning the Cup and then I'm getting tackled by Evgeni Malkin, who's one of the greats. So , yeah, something I'll never forget."
Something that Sheary will never forget is how much he struggled to get his helmet off, delaying his entry into the dogpile.
"I couldn't get the strap undone," Sheary said. "I wanted to throw it so bad, but I was just like tearing at my chin strap and it just wouldn't come off. Other than that I headed for the pile and just jumped on the outside. I'm sure Murr was 10 bodies deep under there. I probably made it a little bit heavier for him (laughs)."
* With the three players being rookies, they had to wait their turn to hoist the Stanley Cup, but it was well worth it.
"I remember us all sitting around just talking to each other," Sheary said. "Being the young guys on the team we didn't get the Cup until last, so we were probably waiting there for 20, 25 minutes before we even got to touch it after it came out. But you can probably see the smiles on all of our faces. We were just so happy in that moment and couldn't wait to get our hands on it."
* The morning after Game 6 the team got on a plane back to Pittsburgh, where they spent a cross-country flight with the Stanley Cup before landing to an epic welcome from Penguins fans.
"I remember they all cheered when Sid walked off the plane with the Cup, which was really cool," Murray said. "They were all cheering as we all left in our cars to go home."
"I think me and Murr actually drove back to the Hyatt House together," Sheary said. "I remember that. We were sitting in traffic forever, I remember. For whatever reason that time of day was jammed. Our wives and girlfriends and families, their plane comes in after ours and they got a police escort with their bus all the way back in. Everyone thought that they were us. I do remember the city just being crazy and everyone was so excited. Definitely a cool moment coming back to that."
Rust may have summed it up best:
"It was just the whole excitement around it all, from the plane ride back to the fans at the airport to the next three days with all the stuff and the parade. There was just so much excitement and buzz around the city, it just shows how passionate the fans are and how excited they were and obviously how happy we were to have won, but I think it showed the whole city was behind us. That was really awesome to see."
