Scenes From The Penguins Stanley Cup Victory Parade (UPDATES)

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Pittsburgh Penguins threw a bash and took a bow Wednesday, celebrating their second consecutive Stanley Cup along with an an estimated 650,000 people who attended their victory parade

The team traveled in a vehicle procession through the streets of Downtown for about 90 minutes, ending at Point State Park. They took the stage there to thank frenzied fans chanting “We won the Cup again! We won the cup again!” and offer their thoughts on being the first team in 19 years to win the Cup two years in a row.

"I'm so proud to be part of this group,” said Sidney Crosby, the team’s superstar captain and winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs. “Obviously it’s special to go back to back.”

Coach Mike Sullivan praised the resiliency of his team, which battled a rash of injuries throughout the long season and playoff grind.

“What can you say about this group of hockey players?” he said. “These guys are fierce competitors...they just find ways to get it done.”

One of the celebration’s more emotional moments came when the goalie tandem of Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury hosting the cup together onstage. Both played excellently during the playoff run But after 13 seasons with the Pens, Fleury has agreed to waive a no-movement clause in his contract and with a league expansion draft looming likely has played his final game with the team.

Opposing goalies didn’t fare nearly as well against the Penguins, with the team’s radio announcer, Mike
Lange, quipping that the Pens made opposing netminders “feel like cows on Astroturf.”

The 650,000 crowd estimate by city officials is 250,000 more than the estimate of the crowd for last year's victory parade. The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent estimate last year placed Pittsburgh's entire population at 303,625.

After two consecutive grueling runs to the Stanley Cup, the Penguins won’t have much of an off-season. Training camp for the 2017-18 season begins in 98 days.