from Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

As the champagne sprayed and the Stanley Cup was passed around on that legendary June night at Joe Louis Arena in 2009, the Penguins knew they had just completed a spectacularly difficult task.

They survived an epic seven-game battle of superstars with the Washington Capitals. They dethroned a respected Detroit Red Wings team in seven more games in the final. They played through the potentially debilitating injuries and draining fatigue that all teams must overcome to win 16 games in a single postseason.

It was hard, they learned painfully that spring, to get to the top.

It was even harder, they learned even more painfully over the next six springs, to stay there.

Now, as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury — the five players from the 2009 title team that remain on the roster — prepare to lead the Penguins into the Stanley Cup Final again seven years later, they have a chance to show the hockey world exactly what they've learned.

“We did a great job of becoming a certain style of team,” Kunitz said. “We grew as a group. We had our struggles. When you go through struggles and can come out better on the back end, we've been playing some of our best hockey because of what we went through.”

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