Subscribe to NHLPens.comNews FeedSubscribe to NHLPens.comComments

Browse > Home /

Forecast: Hurricane Season Over!!

May 25, 2009 by Paul  
Filed under Features, Highlights

Leave a Comment

On an exceptionally warm Saturday night in Raleigh, NC, hockey fans from both near and far descended upon the RBC center to have some fun and to watch Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Making the 4+ hour trip down from northern Virginia, I was pleased to see the tailgate parties in full swing when I arrived 3-hours ahead of the puck drop.  The air was filled with the smell of brats, burgers and beer, as a live band played outside of the Arena entrance.  It was definitely a party atmosphere, and the overwhelmingly hospitable locals welcomed the hoards of Penguins fans who opted to spend their holiday weekend supporting their team’s quest for the Stanley Cup.  It was the perfect prelude to a pivotal game.  For the Hurricanes…..a “must win” and a chance to climb back into the series.  For the Penguins…..the opportunity to put the Canes in a seemingly unrecoverable hole. 

Once inside the Arena, the excitement was palpable.  A sea of red enveloped the majority of the Arena as the Canes’ faithful showed their colors in support of the home team and twirled complimentary white towels in the air.  Amidst the steady roar of the crowd and the undeniable sound of cowbells, you could occassionally hear “Let’s Go Canes” chants interspersed with an equally enthusiastic and clearly audible “Let’s Go Pens” retort.  While certainly the minority, large throngs of Penguins fans were in attendance and wanted to be heard and seen.  Many showed up with homemade signs in tow and Penguins paraphernalia clutched in their hands to show their support for the team.  Of course, there were many obligatory “Let’s Go Pens!” signs.  Others were more original, like the sign that read “Hurricane ‘Geno!”.  Another claimed “Welcome to Evgeni-Stan!”, an incredibly appropriate and humorous welcome given his absolute domination of the Hurricanes in this series.  My favorite sign, however, was clutched in the hands of a proud young boy that bore the logo of The Weather Channel, and read “Forecast:  Hurricane Season Over!!”  That sentiment, almost poetic, seemed more prophetic by games’ end after the Penguins once again dominated the beleaguered Canes into a 6-2 submission.  Indeed, the Canes’ season is perilously close to being over.

Best Sign of the Night Award

Best Sign of the Night Award

As the game got underway, it seemed that we might see a different opponent than we saw in Game 2.  The Canes showed some early jump and determination in their play that paid off at 4:06 as Matt Cullen feasted on a centering pass from behind the net to put his team ahead 1-0.  But the momentum was short-lived as the Canes got into penalty trouble with a slashing call on Patrick Eaves just 2-minutes later.  Evgeni Malkin took the powerplay opportunity to once again out-maneuver Canes’ defenseman Tim Gleason and quickly walk in on net to beat Cam Ward and tie it up 1-1.   The Penguins then proceeded to take full advantage of a remarkably weak Canes’ defensive effort to pepper Cam Ward with a total of 16-shots in the period.  The offensive push of the Penguins paid off in the final minute of the period as both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored goals 31-seconds apart before heading into the locker room.  Crosby’s goal was a perfect net-side backhand deflection off from the rush on a beautiful sideboard pass by Bill Guerin.  Malkin followed up quickly with another devastating blow as he walked the puck uncontested from the sideboards to the front of the net to beat Cam Ward and make it 3-1.  And with that goal late in the period, the oxygen was taken completely out of the building. 
Pittsburgh Penguins v Carolina Hurricanes, Game ThreePittsburgh Penguins v Carolina Hurricanes, Game Three
The Penguins once again dominated in the second period, outshooting the Canes 15-8.  Despite the onslaught, Cam Ward was able to keep his team within striking distance as he managed to stop a couple of incredible chances by Max Talbot.  For his part, Marc-Andre Fleury continued to be brilliant when he needed to be, despite the gaps in action at his end of the ice. 
Early in the 3rd, it looked as though the Canes might regain some life as Sergei Samsonov picked up a rebound and fired it past Fleury to make it 3-2 with over 18-minutes to go in the game.  The Penguins refused to give up any additional ground, however, as they re-established a 2-goal lead with a little over 8-minutes left in the game off from the stick of Ruslan Fedotenko.  Picking up a beautiful drop pass from Evgeni Malkin near the top of the circles, Fedotenko was left alone to fire a wrister high on the glove side that eluded Cam Ward to make it 4-2 Penguins.  Then, with less than 2-minutes to go and Cam Ward on the bench for the extra attacker, Craig Adams faceoff win whooshed down the ice and into the empty net for an unassisted insurance goal.  Then adding insult to injury just 40-seconds later, Bill Guerin collected a pass from Ruslan Fedotenko and placed a perfect backhander past Cam Ward to finish the scoring 6-2.  There was a brief scare near the end of the period when Evgeni Malkin put a tremendous hit on a Canes player only to have a skate blade brush up against the side of his face.  Ultimately, it appeared that there was no cut, but Malkin looked unsure as he skated to the bench to be checked out.  Jordan Staal also took a shot to the head that laid him out on the ice for a brief moment, but he was back out again next shift sporting a nostril plug for his troubles. 
Pittsburgh Penguins v Carolina Hurricanes, Game Three
The Penguins are now just one win away from a return visit to the Stanley Cup Finals, an outcome that seemed unimaginable at the beginning of February.  With a renewed focus, inspired coaching, world class talent, a ton of heart, determination, and confidence, the Pittsburgh Penguins could do what few teams have managed to do throughout hockey history by reaching the Stanley Cup Finals the season after losing it.  Along the way, we have seen Pittsburgh’s stars shine brightly.  Sidney Crosby has been on a blistering goal scoring pace and leads the league with 14-playoff goals.  He is just 5 goals shy of the NHL playoff record for most goals within one playoff season, a record held by Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach in 1976 and Edmonton’s Jari Kurri in 1985.  Evgeni Malkin picked up his sixth consecutive multi-point game of the postseason and surpassed Mario Lemieux in the Penguins’ record books.  He is just two shy of tying the all-time NHL leader, Wayne Gretzky, whose streak ran to eight games in 1983.
Being at the game, I couldn’t help but feel like a witness to hockey history in the making.  It is hard to deny that the current Pittsburgh Penguins team, comprised of a very youthful core of world-class talent, is destined for greatness for the foreseeable future.  As much as I am a fan of the Penguins, I am a fan of hockey first and foremost.  While it is great to see one’s team excel and win, it is even more rewarding to see the world’s greatest players performing at the top of their game.  As Pittsburgh fans, we have been doubly blessed.  Not only do we get to see two of the world’s best players, we get to see them lead our team to greatness.  It certainly is a great day for hockey! 
[Bloglines] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Google] [MySpace] [Twitter] [Windows Live] [Email] More »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Tale of Two Teams – The Series Ahead

May 15, 2009 by Paul  
Filed under Analysis, Features

Leave a Comment

A Tale of Two Teams
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes will face off against each other on Monday night when the puck drops for game one of the Eastern Conference Finals at Mellon Arena.  Seemingly implausible just two months ago, both teams recovered from mediocre performance earlier in the season and found momentum to surge late and claw their way back into playoff position while playing under the direction of a new coaching staff and an up-tempo, aggressive style of play.  The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes became the two hottest teams in the league at the end of the regular season with the Penguins going 18-3-4 in their last 25 games and the Hurricanes going 17-6-2.  The dramatic turnaround propelled the Penguins to a 4th place, home-ice berth and the Hurricanes to a 6th place finish in the regular season.  The tremendous momentum has carried over into the post-season and lifted each team through the first two rounds of these playoffs to set up a classic battle for the Eastern Conference title and the chance to play for the Stanley Cup. 

Carolina Hurricanes v Pittsburgh Penquins

The similarities between these teams in the regular season now continues on in the playoffs.  Both teams have overcome adversity and found success through the first two rounds of their playoff journey. 

The Canes Journey

The Carolina Hurricanes have battled hard through the first two rounds of the playoffs.  In the first round, the Hurricanes went the full distance and came back from a 3-2 series defecit to beat the #3 New Jersey Devils in 7-games.  They outscored the Devils 17-15 in the series, with goaltender Cam Ward pitching one shutout.  Two games went to overtime, with each team picking up a win.  The Hurricanes then took on the #1 Boston Bruins.  After losing the first game in Boston, the Hurricanes stormed on to win the next 3-games and put the Bruins on the ropes with the 3-1 series advantage.  The mighty Bruins battled back, however, and forced game 7.  Ultimately the Bruins took game 7 to overtime before the Hurricanes notched the deciding goal with just 1:14 left in the first overtime.  The Hurricanes were actually outcored 17-16 in the round 2 series by the Bruins.  Cam Ward pitched his second shutout of the playoffs in this series and the Canes found a way to win both overtime games against the Bruins.  The top performers for the Hurricanes have been Eric Staal (9G, 4A) and Jussi Jokinen (6G, 4A).  Sergei Samsonov has also been a factor on the scoresheet with 4-goals.  Captain Rod BrindAmour only has 2-points (1G, 1A) in the playoffs, and is a -1.  As a result, his ice time has been curtailed in these playoffs.  He took a puck to the face late in game 7 against the Bruins and never returned.  The extent of his injury is unknown, but reports out of Carolina indicate that he is hopeful to start in game 1 against the Penguins. 

The Pens Journey

The Pittsburgh Penguins have also had to battle throughout the first two rounds, standing in stark contrast to last season’s relatively quick walk through the playoffs.  In the first round, the Penguins faced their cross-state rivals in the Philadelphia Flyers.  The Penguins dispatched the #5 Flyers in 6-games, outscoring them 18-16 and winning the only overtime match.  The Penguins faced off against the #2 Washington Capitals in round 2 and took it the full distance to win the matchup in 7-games after falling behind 2-0 early in the series.  The Penguins outscored the Capitals in the series 27-22 and won 2 of the 3 games that went to overtime.  The top performers for the Penguins have been Sidney Crosby (12G, 9A) and Evgeni Malkin (6G, 13A).  The two are #1 and #3 in the league in playoff points.  Penguins star defenseman Sergei Gonchar missed games 5 and 6 after leaving game 4 with a knee injury sustained in a hit by Alexander Ovechkin, but returned in Game 7.  With 10-points (2G, 8A), Gonchar is the 3rd most prolific scorer for the Penguins in these playoffs. 

The Series Ahead

Following on the heels of the Penguins-Capitals and Bruins-Hurricanes series, this series promises to be every bit as exciting.  Both teams are extremely fast and play an aggressive style of hockey.  “You’re going to see fast hockey,” said Sidney Crosby. “Their D is in the play, they’re quick up front, they attack, they don’t sit back. I think that’s similar to the way we like to play as well.”  The Hurricanes’ strength, much like the Penguins, is their ability to excel in this style of fast up-and-down game.  The key for each team will be to find ways to counter that strength and stifle the speed of the opposition attack by forcing them to play in their own defensive zone.  “You don’t want to get caught up thinking it’s going to be odd-man rushes back and forth,” Crosby said.  “We want to work hard.  We want to work smart.  That’s going to be resolved by the two teams and the way they play but you’ll see fast hockey.”

Coach Dan Bylsma knows what his team has to do to be successful.  “In order to counteract a team that is aggressive and wants to play a speed game and has some skill up front, the longer you can force them to play in the defensive zone the slower it makes their game and harder for their D to get involved and be up the ice.  That’s our game – getting to the offensive zone with speed.  When we’re playing our best we are keeping teams in their defensive zone and holding onto the puck, dictating the game by playing in their zone.  That’s the way we need to play to have success.  That’s the way we want to play.  We don’t want a game that goes up and down the ice at electric speed.  We can play that way, we have the personnel to play that way.  We want to play that offensive zone game and when we’re not there we want to attack, get the puck and return there as quickly as we can.”  You can rest assured that Paul Maurice, with 11 more seasons of NHL coaching experience than Dan Bylsma, is drafting similar plans on how to stop the explosive offense of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[Bloglines] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Google] [MySpace] [Twitter] [Windows Live] [Email] More »

Tags: , , , , , , ,