Gotta See It: Pens’ Hagelin gets emotional when describing team’s motivation

They won it for a very special player on their bench

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Gotta See It: Pens’ Hagelin gets emotional when describing team’s motivation
Keystone Press

There’s no doubt about it, emotions were running high when the Pittsburgh Penguins poured onto the ice after Chris Kuntiz’s game winning overtime goal to claim the Eastern Conference Championship over the Ottawa Senators. One player in particular, forward Carl Hagelin, bared his soul when talking about the fortitude of his team.


Hamelin, of course, is talking about 40 year old teammate Matt Cullen. The 20 year NHL veteran has seen it all throughout his career and will likely call it a day once the 2016-17 postseason comes to a conclusion. For Hagelin and his teammates to look past their own virtues and put everything on the line for a player who’s expected to pack it in in as little as a week’s time, says a lot about their fortitude and commitment. The Penguins are winners, there’s no denying it and they’ll use any motivation they can to help get them through the grind of the NHL playoffs and it’s particularly compelling when us fans get some insight into exactly what makes them tick.

For his part Cullen isn’t just along for the ride. He chipped in a respectable 13 goals in 72 games this season and has managed two goals and seven points in 19 playoff games.