Patric Hornqvist gets Cup-clinching goal for Penguins against Predators

NASHVILLE -- Patric Hornqvist scored the goal he thought he could only dream about Sunday.
Hornqvist, the Pittsburgh Penguins right wing, scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal with 95 seconds left in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

Carl Hagelin scored an empty-net goal to give the Penguins a 2-0 victory, a 4-2 win in the best-of-7 series and their second straight Stanley Cup championship. They are the first repeat champion in the NHL since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98.
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"That's what you dream about when you go to bed, or what you think about when you go to bed," Hornqvist said. "You're wishing to score one of those goals that end up being the game-winner. That's the one."
The play started with Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz collecting the puck at the right wing half-wall and slipping a pass around Predators forward Craig Smith to Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz.
"[Kunitz] made a great play on the blue line there to slide it through his stick," Schultz said.
Schultz quickly shot the puck towards the net. He missed, but it banked off of the end boards, hit the back of the net and dropped at the right post.
Hornqvist chopped at it and banked it in off of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne's shoulder.

"Honestly, I'm just trying to get it down there and [Hornqvist] made a great play," Schultz said. "I didn't see it go in. I just saw him putting his hands up. What a great feeling."
The Predators challenged for goalie interference, but it was ruled a good goal.
"It worked," Hornqvist said. "It felt good."
It was Hornqvist's first goal in seven games; he hadn't scored since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Washington Capitals. He missed the last six games of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators because of an injury.
The goal also came against Hornqvist's former team.
The Predators made Hornqvist the last pick, No. 230, in the 2005 NHL Draft. By comparison, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second straight season, was the first pick in 2005.

Hornqvist scored 106 goals in 363 games with the Predators before getting traded to the Penguins, along with forward Nick Spaling, for forward James Neal on June 27, 2014. It was the first trade made by Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford.
"It feels great," Hornqvist said. "There were a lot of guys telling us we can't do it and now we're standing here. We're going to celebrate with all of Pittsburgh in a few days. It says a lot about this team. We've battled through a lot and we always seem to find a way. Now we're standing here again."