Preview: Penguins vs Hurricanes 2009

May 18, 2009 6:58 PM Jamie Fitzgerald

Records

Pittsburgh (4): 45-28-9 (99 pts) Home: 25-13-3 Away: 20-15-6
Carolina (6): 45-30-7 (97 pts) Home: 26-14-1 Away: 19-16-6

How They Got Here

Pittsburgh beat rival Philadelphia in 6 and Washington in 7.
Carolina upset New Jersey and Boston in 7 games.

Head-to-Head

Oct 23, 2008 - PIT 4 CAR 1
Dec 4, 2008 - PIT 5 CAR 2
Jan 20, 2009 - PIT 1 CAR 2
Apr 4, 2009 - PIT 2 CAR 3 (OT)
The season series was tied 2-2.

Fights

Oct 23, 2008 - Paul Bissonnette vs Dan LaCouture
Oct 23, 2008 - Eric Godard vs Wade Brookbank

Lineup

Goaltending: EDGE Carolina
Scoring: EDGE Pittsburgh
Defense: DRAW
Coaching: EDGE Carolina
Grit: DRAW

Schedule

Monday, May 18 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Thursday, May 21 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Saturday, May 23 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, May 26 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Friday, May 29 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Sunday, May 31 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Tuesday, June 2 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Prediction

Two teams who have peaked at the right time, Pittsburgh and Carolina will meet in the Conference Finals after disposing of the division champs. The Pens are getting huge contributions from their superstars while the Hurricanes won with clutch scoring, goaltending and pretty much everything else. I can't see the Hurricanes shutting down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who will lead Pittsburgh to a second straight Cup Finals appearance in 6 games.

David's Pick

Carolina has shown it can hang with any team in the league right now, but despite knocking off the top-seeded Bruins, the Canes still haven't faced a team with top-stacked talent like the Penguins. The Bruins might have scored more throughout the course of the 2008-09 season, but they don't have a 1-2 punch like Crosy and Malkin. Bill Guerin has proven to be a great deadline acquisition for the Pens, but this series will come down to Cam Ward stopping the big guns of the Pens. If Ward can do that, not only will Eric Staal and Ray Whitney need to keep up their scoring ways, but Jussi Jokinen will also have to continue proving he can score somewhere other than the shootout. The Canes will do a good job keeping up, but the Pens will put them away in a tiring 6.

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Comments

#1 - Maxwerm on May 18, 2009 at 07:17 PM

Recchi, Kessel, Krejci and Kobasew were all playing injured . . . Canes have had it easy up ‘till now. I think they’ll be lucky to win two. Of course, I thought the Canucks would take Chicago in 5, so wtf do I know.

#2 - Christian from Philadelphia on May 18, 2009 at 11:54 PM

Way to spit in the face of Eric Godard by not letting him play in one playoff game. Just like Aaron Downey was treated by the Red Wings last year. As a fan of the gamers it’s a slap to all our faces to not see our favorite players get a chance to show anything in the playoffs. Glad to see Shawn Thornton and Darcy Hordichuk got some ice time not to mention goals to showcase why they are also in the NHL. Come on Penguins! Give Eric Godard some respect and don’t treat him as just another punching bag.

#3 - John on May 19, 2009 at 06:28 PM

Godard is not “just another” punching bag, but he is a punching bag. Pittsburgh is better served with him on the bench. The difference is, of course, Hordichuk and Thornton are better skaters and hitters than Downey and Godard, which makes them useful in the playoffs.

#4 - Hockey Chics on May 20, 2009 at 01:42 PM

Ah, no penalties, mini brawls but we need more fights during this series. http://www.chicshockey.com

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