i thought it could happen and now i feel like it will happen. first of all, pittsburgh's team speed is not very good. ottawa is just as heavy and a little faster. second of all, you can't come with any weak stuff in net against ottawa, they are going to get pucks there and have decent traffic. they have some guys with legit touch all throughout their top nine, even if some of them are not very consistent in terms of actual production.

i just don't see pittsburgh being able to let up for even one period against this team. spezza is skating, this is EXACTLY what i envisioned when karlsson went down. if they could make it through to where they got their core guys back, they would be a better team for having lost them. look at the experience that guys like silferberg, zibanejad, et al have gotten. turris and cowen were already promising and got to do even more than they would have. neil has taken on a larger leadership role.

they are about to get healthy at JUST the right time and i think the sky is the limit for this team. i think they could win the cup, i certainly don't see an exceedingly tough draw for them in the east.