Jim Rutherford can do the math.
He knows that it takes 16 victories to win a Stanley Cup.
He also realizes that the Penguins came up precisely 16 victories short of a championship in 2018-19.
Even so, after witnessing a postseason during which high seeds and top contenders vanished faster than props in a David Copperfield magic show, Rutherford is to be forgiven for believing that his team had – and squandered – a stellar opportunity to claim the franchise’s sixth title.
“We can say what some other teams are saying now,” Rutherford said over weekend in his PPG Paints Arena office.