Led by a lineup featuring 11 former college players - the most in Stanley Cup Final history - the Pittsburgh Penguins have taken a 2-0 series lead against the San Jose Sharks.
Those NCAA alumni have fueled the Penguins' success, with all five Pittsburgh goals through two games coming from former college players. Rookie Conor Sheary (Massachusetts) scored his second goal of the Final in overtime of Game 2 to give Pittsburgh the 2-0 series lead.
All FIVE of the @penguins’ goals in the #StanleyCupFinal have come from @collegehockey players…
— Dartmouth Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) June 2, 2016
Sixteen former college players appeared in Game 2, with Sheary, fellow UMass alum Justin Braun and former Minnesota star Phil Kessel accounting for the three goals (Braun for San Jose). Bryan Rust (Notre Dame) and Nick Bonino (Boston University) also scored for Pittsburgh in Game 1.
The Penguins' 11 alums attended 10 NCAA schools, with Rust and Ian Cole both coming from Notre Dame. The alums account for 55% of the team's playoff games played; the most of any team in NHL regular-season history was 54%, by last year's Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers.
ICYMI, the @penguins Game 1 lineup had the most NCAA alums in Stanley Cup Final history https://t.co/jARZVJiws0 pic.twitter.com/4IDlgM73jy
— College Hockey Inc. (@collegehockey) June 1, 2016
A few more notes on the NCAA presence in the Stanley Cup Final: