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From somewhere in the mob of 25, meanwhile, a girl’s voice called out, “I touched the seats and was tempted to curse them!”

Few among the group, however, seemed to think that the Penguins will actually need their help.

The aforementioned Donahue, who claimed that his loyalty to the Pens extends back for all of his 12 years, said Pittsburgh is going to sweep Ottawa.

“Karlsson is a pretty good defenceman and (Ottawa) has pretty good offence, but they’re not going to win.”

The key to Pittsburgh’s success in this series, he noted, is goaltender Marc-André Fleury, whom he described as “the best goalie ever.”

“Better than Marty Brodeur?” he was asked. “Better than Carey Price?”

“Carey Price is trash.”

“And Sidney Crosby,” added Mason Bilenski, addressing concerns for the concussion-prone Pittsburgh captain’s health, “could be out and we’d still win.”

Photo by Bruce Deachman / Bruce Deachman

Isabelle Hite, sporting a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey, also predicted a “straight sweep” for the Penguins.

“Do you think they could win it in three games?” she was asked.

“Maybe,” she replied.

When asked if, in their excitement, they might accidentally call out “Go, Sens” instead of “Go, Pens” during Saturday’s game, Jude Truschel said, “It’s not physically possible.

“I’ll give the Senators one game,” he added, as though it was his gift to offer, “but not Saturday’s. After beating the Capitals, (Pittsburgh) is not going to lose the next game.”

Besides, pointed out Canzian, “Ottawa’s had it easy, while we faced the Caps and Blue Jackets.”