Despite last night’s loss to the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins staff and players remain “firmly confident” that they can overcome the four-game series deficit to make it to the next round, according to sources unsure why the ice crew didn’t expect them to be at practice this morning.
“I’ve seen this team beat incredible odds,” said coach Mike Sullivan last night, answering questions about a disappointing end to the season with puzzled looks. “Their collective heart just beats too strong to count them out. Even if we lose the next two, three games, I have no doubts that we can turn this thing around and claim the series in 13 games.”
Captain Sidney Crosby echoed the positive message as he waited for equipment staff to grab gear that was “strangely” not already prepared in his locker stall.
“We have to take it one game at a time,” he said. “You can’t worry about the other team being up on you by three, four, or nine games. We just need to concentrate on playing a good road game and bring the series back to Pittsburgh four to one. Then we’ll have them second-guessing themselves.”
Defenseman Kris Letang, who took the day off to rest for an “emotionally and physically draining Game 5,” felt the Islanders’ series-clinching lead could render them “vulnerable.”
“I heard [the Islanders] have already shifted their focus to the Toronto and Boston series,” he said. “It’s easy to think it’s all over when you win four playoff games in a row, but if they lose sight of what’s in front of them — bam, lose one, lose two, and so on until we’ve got it all tied up at four.”
Unable to get on the practice ice, the team has reportedly settled on holding a team meeting to discuss how they can win games despite scoring only one goal to the Islanders’ three.
