Back in June of 2009, the Pittsburgh Penguins raised the Stanley Cup and appeared to be on the cusp of a dynasty.

The Pens were on top of the hockey world after knocking off the defending champion Detroit Red Wings. Superstar Sidney Crosby was the youngest captain to ever win the Cup and fellow phenom Evgeni Malkin took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Stacked with young talent, it seemed to be a matter of when, not if, the Penguins would once again claim the Stanley Cup.

The window was wide open for a run of titles.

As proven champions, a target was placed squarely on their back. Since then, opponents haven’t had much trouble hitting that target.

In its title defense, Pittsburgh coughed up a 3-2 series lead to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Unfortunately for Penguin fans, the following two years were even more frustrating.

The injury-plagued 2010-11 squad overachieved throughout the regular season, only to blow a 3-1 series advantage to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This year? Much worse.

The Penguins were back to full strength and poised to reclaim the throne. Most oddsmakers pegged them as the favorite to win it all despite being the No. 4 seed in the East.

Instead, the Pens fell flat on their face before taking a step toward the finish line. The Philadelphia Flyers made sure of it.

The Flyers embarrassed their cross-state rivals by outperforming the Pens in every facet of the game.

Philadelphia’s absurd power-play numbers — 12-for-23 in the series — clearly played a significant role in Pittsburgh’s demise. The potent attack wasn’t a secret, though. The Penguins knew what was coming and couldn’t stop it.

The defense was horrendous and when the Pens were sinking, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury couldn’t keep the team afloat. Crosby and Malkin are widely regarded as the two best players in the world, but Claude Giroux was undoubtedly the best player in this series.

Some mind-boggling numbers were produced over the course of six games. However, nothing surprised me more than Pittsburgh’s inability to sustain momentum.

Every time the Penguins seemed ready to make a stand, the Flyers delivered a crippling stomach punch.

n In Game 2, Tyler Kennedy scored 1:04 into the third period to give the Pens a 5-4 lead. The Flyers answered 17 seconds later with a goal from Sean Couturier, sparking Philly to a 4-0 surge to end the game.

n With hopes fading in Game 3, the Pens scored first for the third straight game on a goal by Jordan Staal. Fleury promptly gave up three scores over the next eight minutes. When James Neal cut it to 3-2, Matt Read struck back 23 seconds later and returned the two-goal advantage.

n Giroux set the tone early in Game 6 with a hit on Crosby and beat Fleury for a 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into the game. Trailing 3-0, Malkin injected some life into the Penguins with a power-play tally. Once again, the Flyers instantly retaliated as Danny Briere scored 36 seconds later to drive the final nail into the Penguins’ coffin.

The Penguins had plenty of chances to take control of this series, but couldn’t keep pace with the relentless Flyers.

For the third straight year, the Pens haven’t sniffed the conference finals. For the third straight summer, the Pens are left to ponder what might have been.

With each missed opportunity, their window to win closes a little bit more.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.