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Top contenders to end the Penguins' Stanley Cup run

The Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup victory did not surprise anyone last season, but it probably should have.

Of course, when a team sports two of the top players of a generation in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the expectations are set at a championship every season, but heading into the playoffs the Penguins didn't fit the profile of a team that was a lock to raise the Cup.

While every other recent Stanley Cup winner had been dominant on the shot counter, the Penguins ranked 16th in 2016-17. They were also missing their No.