March of the Penguins: Pittsburgh Is the Team to Beat

Like it or not, the Pittsburgh Penguins have arrived.  You have heard over the last couple of years this was a dynasty in the making, a team with as much young talent as there has been in recent memory.

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs underway, the Penguins are the team to beat.

Look at what the Penguins have been able to do this year, while missing the game's most dynamic player for over a month.  They came within one win of having home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Give them The Kid for the games he missed with a bum ankle, and would have likely contended for the President's Trophy.

Many experts put such a high value on experience when it comes to the playoffs.  These same experts knock teams for being too old.  Pittsburgh has a nice mix of both, which will lead them to the Cup this season.

When you see the Penguins, obviously Crosby, Malkin, and Staal immediately stick out.  This is the kind of youth that will be depended on to chase down Lord Stanley this season.

The Penguins couple that youth with just enough veteran experience to aide them along the way.

Gary Roberts and his nearly two decades of NHL service are just what this Pittsburgh team needs.  He has been there before, and he can keep the locker room loose on game day.  Instead of counting on a bunch of veterans to carry the work load the Penguins are in a unique situation where the vets won't be who the pressure is on.

In my opinion, the youth in North America is an incredibly dumb bunch of people, myself included.  With so many people saying the Penguins are too young to win this year and not experienced enough to win, I go in the complete opposite direction.

These are kids playing in the NHL.  They understand what it would mean to win a Stanley Cup.  They have the talent and also age going in their favor.  Go ahead, call them a year away or anything along those lines.

The fact they are a young team for the most part will only help them this playoff season as they will taking the drink from Lord Stanley's Cup in June.