The NHL will have a season.

Hallelujah.

Without the Penguins, it’s been pretty depressing around here.

The Pirates plummeted. The Steelers stumbled.

A flirtacious upset bid at Notre Dame was the high point of Pitt football’s season.

Although failure should never be a highlight, I was willing to applaud Pitt’s effort in the heartbreaking loss. That is, until Alabama annihilated the Irish on Monday.

Now, I blame Pitt for allowing the over-achieving Irish to play in that massacre.

Pitt men’s basketball provided a bright spot with a demolition of Georgetown on Tuesday, but the Panthers are still only 1-2 in the Big East and have a lot to prove after a poor 2011-12 campaign.

But enough of the doom and gloom.

The Penguins will be zooming around the Consol Energy ice soon and are the odds-on favorite to skate away with the Stanley Cup.

Hallelujah.

Of course, being favored makes a team nothing more than paper champs.

Health has been a hurdle for the Penguins since their run to Lord Stanley in 2009, but injuries are bound to happen.

Management — and fans alike — will simply have to keep their fingers crossed superior talents such as captain Sidney Crosby, reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin, All-Stars James Neal and Kris Letang, along with franchise goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can stay on the ice.

If so, these guys will fulfill the Penguins’ promise as Stanley Cup contenders.

However, they’ll need some help to raise the Cup for a second time in five years.

nTyler Kennedy — The 26-year-old erupted for 21 goals and 24 assists two seasons ago, but failed to recapture his form in 2011-12.

Only 5.6 percent of Kennedy’s shots found the back of the net last year, a severe dip from his previous career low of 7.4 percent in 2009-10. It seems his accuracy — or luck — is bound to improve and he could emerge as a complementary scoring threat alongside Malkin and Neal or even on the third line.

nBrandon Sutter — The Penguins biggest offseason move — a draft-day trade with Carolina — sent Sutter and a pair of top-notch defensive prospects to Pittsburgh for former No. 2 overall pick Jordan Staal.

Sutter can’t completely duplicate Stall’s impact on the ice, but he’s averaged 17.3 goals and 16.3 assists in his first three campaigns without much help around him.

At 23 years old, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2007 draft certainly has room to grow and I’m willing to bet he admirably fills the role of third-line center.

nYoung Defenseman To Be Determined — Take your pick, because the Penguins have them stockpiled.

Pittsburgh currently owns 11 defensemen at age 25 or younger who were drafted within the first three rounds since 2006. Letang — a third-round gem — is the only one to pay big dividends.

Consistent play on the blue line is Pittsburgh’s biggest question mark heading into a season with high hopes. At some point, prospects must develop into playmakers.

A transcendent campaign from a couple of those youngsters could be the final piece to a championship puzzle — and perhaps break some sunlight through the dark cloud which has recently hovered above the Pittsburgh sports scene.

Hallelujah.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.