The Penguins and Hurricanes finally get back to business this evening at Mellon Arena. I still can’t quite understand why this schedule was necessary, as the Arena was available for action yesterday. Though Bruce Springsteen played at the Arena on Tuesday night, the ice was available for practice yesterday morning at 10:30 am. I assume that also means that the ice would have been available for a game two match-up last night.
The Penguins utilized the extra day off to go through a particularly grueling practice yesterday. Dan Bylsma had some concerns with his team’s play on Monday night and wanted to work on some specific aspects of their game. Specifically counter attacking the aggressive forecheck of the Hurricanes. Bylsma wanted to sort of cleanse the pallet, as the series against the Washington Capitals was built more around exchanging chances -- this one, not so much.
"It was just adjustments," Sidney Crosby said. "You have a day to practice and it is a good situation to prepare.”
Adjustments were definitely necessary after the second period of game one, as the Penguins seemed to get away from their game and started taking a lot more chances. Several players described their play as “cheating a little bit” or “taking too many chances.” I am not sure if that was so much getting away from their game, as it was smelling blood in the water after having picked up two quick goals on a goalie that they didn’t think would yield any softies in the series.
Bylsma described the extended practice as having to “get out of the last series and get ready for these guys.”
All things considered, even though the Penguins didn’t play a full 60 minutes the way they wanted too, the results were definitely good enough to pick up the victory.
One question going into tonight’s game is the line-up configuration. No one is saying if the team will dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards or go back to a more traditional look. It is assumed that Sergei Gonchar will be in the line-up, but Dan Bylsma will have to have a strong belief in his ability to play big minutes and to stay healthy if he doesn’t dress the extra man. Philippe Boucher logged roughly 9 minutes of action in game one and those would probably fall on Sarge.
Following the game day skates, Dan Bylsma stated that he would not make a decision on the line-up until game time. Gotta love the playoffs…
As for Carolina, Paul Maurice stated that both Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole would be game time decisions. Cole took part in this morning’s skate, leading me to think that he will play. Ruutu has not hit the ice since Monday evening.
We are now roughly 6.5 hours from game time, if something changes with either line-up, I will keep you posted.
In the interim, the Penguins will have several events going on that you can take part in while killing time until face-off. First you can always head down to the Trib Tron to get in position for the big game. The Tailgate on the Terrace is also taking place at the arena again, which gives fans an opportunity to eat and drink outside in this beautiful weather.
Don’t forget that the team is again calling for a “White Out” tonight. I think you all know my feelings on this…but you will get another tee shirt out of the deal!
Game Notes:
The Penguins are 29-17 in the second game of a best-of-seven series, including a 20-5 mark at Mellon Arena.
This marks the seventh trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the Penguins and fourth time they've had home-ice advantage.
The Penguins finished the regular season with a 2-1-1 record versus the Hurricanes and outscored them 12 to eight through four games this season.
The Penguins have outscored the Hurricanes 406 to 399 in 110 regular season games.
The Penguins come into tonight's game with a 50-46-13 record versus Carolina, including a 27-21-6 mark at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins have scored a power-play goal in seven straight games, converting 10 of 33 (30.3%) of their opportunities.
Sidney Crosby led all scorers with seven points (1G-6A) in four games against Carolina during the regular season, while Evgeni Malkin had five points (2G-3A) in four games.
Ray Whitney led all Hurricanes with four points (1G-3A) in four games against Pittsburgh.
Crosby has 17 points (5G-12A) in 14 career regular season games versus Carolina.
Marc-Andre Fleury is 2-3-2 with a 2.66 goals-against average in eight career regular season appearances versus the Hurricanes.
The Penguins have been successful at home in the last two post-seasons. The Penguins are currently 5-2 at Mellon Arena during the playoffs after finishing with a 9-2 home record during their 2008 Stanley Cup run.
The Penguins have outshot their opponent in 10 straight games, including all seven games versus the Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and have compiled an 8-4 record overall. The Penguins remain one of the most active shooting teams in the post-season, averaging 34.8 shots per contest.
Penguins Youtube of the Day:
One of the best videos I have seen during these playoffs…I posted this on Facebook last night…
Some might be sick of her…but superstition lives on!
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