I now know how it feels to be a Yankees fan.

Not in the sense that the Penguins buy championships. Maybe in the sense that the Penguins are loaded with a ridiculous amount of talent. As a Penguins fan, the reason I know how it feels to be a Yankees fan is because I now know what it feels like to have your season start when your team makes the championship.

While it is enjoyable watching two of the best players in the game playing all season long, then dominating in the playoffs, so far there has been this feeling that nothing really matters if the Penguins don't compete for the Stanley Cup. You hear fanbases of formerly struggling teams saying "Well, we lost in the first round of the playoffs, but at least we made it." That was the Penguins last year.

After several years of being one of the worst teams in the league, with rosters full of players like Rico Fata and Tomas Surovy, the Penguins were in position to draft Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. In the first year with Crosby and Malkin together, the Penguins made it to the playoffs, getting eliminated by the Ottawa Senators. The usual shrug-off of "At least we got playoff experience, and we'll do better next year."

The thing about that "next year" claim is that it sounds like hope, but it's actually an expectation. If the Penguins had lost in any of the first three rounds, you wouldn't hear a hope towards next season. What you would hear is a disappointment in this season. When you have two of the best players in the game, plus other stars like Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa, and young talent like Ryan Malone and Marc-Andre Fleury, you only get one free pass, which for the Penguins came in 2007.

The Penguins clinched the Eastern Conference bid for the Stanley Cup finals today, dominating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-0 to take the series 4-1. This follows up a 4-1 series against the New York Rangers, and a 4-0 sweep of Ottawa. To this Penguins fan, the victories were nice, but in line with expectations.

Am I happy that the Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup finals? Absolutley. Am I happy they did it with a 12-2 playoff record, going 8-0 at home? Absolutley. Am I satisfied that the Penguins are in the Stanley Cup finals? Absolutley not.

In my opnion, when the Penguins made the trade for Marian Hossa at the trade deadline, that said one thing: the goal is to win the Stanley Cup this year. When Marc-Andre Fleury returned from injury and played at a spectacular pace, the Cup dreams only increased. When the Penguins dominated the Senators in the first round, it was apparent: anything short of a Stanley Cup would be a disappointment.

I just finished watching the Penguins win the Eastern Conference finals, sending them to play either Detroit or Dallas in the Stanley Cup finals. As a Penguins fan I am ecstatic about this, but not for the obvious reasons of my team making it to the finals. I am happy because hockey season has now officially begun.