Essentially starting from the Penguins' first day of training camp in September, this question has been hanging over them:
Could they be the first team in nearly 20 years to successfully defend their Stanley Cup title?
At that point, the possibility seemed like a mere hypothetical, almost too monumental to even completely comprehend _ after all, there's a reason no one has done it since the 1997 and 1998 Red Wings.
But, eight months later, the prospect is very real. The Penguins now are just four wins away from making NHL history as the first team in the salary-cap era to win back-to-back championships.
"I think it's a little bit of a motivator," winger Bryan Rust said. "We've heard all along that it's hard to do it, it's something that obviously not a lot of teams can do and it takes a lot of effort. It takes a few bounces; it takes a lot of grind, day in and day out. I think that gives us a little bit more motivation just knowing what's at hand and what can be accomplished."
What's at hand is really nothing short of history. There have been 16 back-to-back winners in the NHL's history, but none since the NHL implemented a salary cap after the 2004-05 lockout. The cap made it significantly more difficult for teams to retain players and make a serious Stanley Cup push on an annual basis.
Plus, with talent spread evenly across the league's 30 teams, parity reigned and, as Rust said, all it takes is one or two unfortunate bounces to knock a team out of the postseason.
Since the salary cap was put in place, the 2008 and 2009 Red Wings and Penguins have been the only teams to even advance to consecutive Cup finals.
"It's obviously very special to be kind of mentioned in the same breath as such good teams who have been to back-to-back Cups, and the kind of success they've had, the kind of legacy they have," said Rust, who grew up in Pontiac, Mich., cheering for the Red Wings.
But while the next two weeks will determine whether the Penguins can join the truly rarefied air of back-to-back champions, they don't plan on letting that factor into their preparation for Nashville. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan always has preached a short-term mentality, and that's not about to change now.
"We try not to think about it," defenseman Ian Cole said after the Penguins' Game 7 win against Ottawa. "Now that we're in the finals, I think the best way to go about that would be continue to put that off. Hopefully that'll happen, obviously, but I think just getting ready for Game 1 _ resting, recovering right now _ and then being able to move forward as the series goes on.
"Just focus one game at a time, one period at a time, one shift at a time. I think that would be the best way to go about it."
Rust, though, admitted his team's Cup experience could be an asset. The Penguins roster has played 156 combined Stanley Cup final games, while the Predators have just five, all by captain Mike Fisher in the 2007 final for Ottawa.
"I think as far as our team goes, it gives us a little bit more confidence because we have been there," Rust said. "We know what to expect, we know how to handle certain situations and I think that helps make our team a little bit stronger."
The Penguins are going to act like they've been here before, but they won't take this for granted, either. Even though many young players on the roster know nothing but playoff success, they only have to look around the locker room to know this chance might not come again.
"(The veterans) talk about it," defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. "For them, they went to two Cup finals (in 2008 and 2009) and didn't get back to that point until last year. If you're here, then you have to give it your best chance, give it your best shot. Because especially for a lot of us, it's early in our career, and you never know if we're going to get back to this point again."
What once seemed like a far-off goal now is an immediate reality. The Penguins are here, four victories away from adding a 2017 championship banner to hang next to the one they raised at the beginning of this season.
"I think it's important to just worry about the next game, have a short memory and the first to four wins," winger Conor Sheary said. "The ultimate prize is at the end, and we want to get there. To be able to be a part of history is pretty cool."
