Joe Starkey

Even when they made the playoffs in those years, it just felt kind of inevitable that they would lose and just a little less buzz.

Like everybody knew they sort of didn't have a chance.

Now, who knows in this wide open East and with the momentum that they have.

And that's the other thing.

That's the other thing about the Penguins is that the older guys are at the tops of their games.

All of them.

Carlson, 35.

is playing, like I said, as good of an offensive brand of hockey from a defenseman as any Penguin since Paul Coffey.

Better than any since Paul Coffey.

Chris Letang has suddenly found his game.

Him and Gerrard together.

Sid and Gino actually got rest in the final quarter of the season.

they should be fresh going into the playoffs.

Sid, by virtue of that injury that forced him to sit out, Gino had some injury issues, and the suspension...

And I thought when both of them came back into the lineup, was it for the Islanders game, I think, that it was going to be one of those situations where, all right, they're going to try to, you know, limp, help the Penguins and be compromised.

And everyone's going to sort of limp in if they do get in.

No, they came back and they've been superb.

So now you have the older star players at the tops of their games and

You have the cast-offs all playing well.

And even the young guy, Ben Kindle, provides a different element going into the playoffs.