By Ailyn Diaz of Chics Hockey.com and the Big Hair Hockey Show
The newspaper headlines for the Pittsburgh Penguins focused on the rivalry between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for the crown as best player in the NHL. The storyline for the Eastern Conference Finals will shift to brother against brother. Carolina’s Eric Staal, a center, and the older more seasoned brother will be matched up against Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal, a natural center with a keen sense of scoring.
But, this is not the first time two Staal brothers were pitted to duel against each other in a playoff series. Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jordan Staal faced the New York Rangers’ Marc Staal in last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Jordan Staaal hasn’t reached the 50-point milestone in his first three NHL seasons. He stands at only 5 points in his last 13 playoff games while his older brother Eric Staal has nine goals in his past 14 playoff games. Interestingly enough, the brothers have never been matched at any level of playoff hockey before.
The Matchup:
“You’re going to see fast hockey” — Sidney Crosby
Offensively, the matchup will rely on the speed of their forwards. Sidney Crosby who just came off from a hat trick duel against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitalsill in the last round now has 12 goals leading the playoffs. Counting his total 21 points, Sidney Crosby is now tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin and the Capitals’ Ovechkin for the league lead. In fact, going head-to-head against Ovechkin, Crosby had 8 goals and 13 points. Will he prove the same against Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes?
The Canes need to power up offensively against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jussi Jokinen has been adding up goals solo with 6 total in the playoff series. He leads the league in game winners. Other players like left wing Eric Cole needs to step up in the power play to contribute to the overall team offense. After 14 games, Erik Cole still does not have a goal. Playmaker Rod Brind’Amour only contributed during Game 7 against the Boston Bruins at which time he obtained his one and only goal of the postseason.
During the last series, after Sidney Crosby scored 4 of the Penguins’ first 5 goals, the offense shifted to goals from ten other Penguin players. Evgeni Malkin geared up offensively after game 3 of the series with linemates Ruslan Fedetenko and Maxime Talbot. In fact, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin scored 3 each. Also, fourth liners such as Craig Adams and Miroslav Satan were able to produce. Adams scored his first career playoff goal in Game 7, and Satan had assists in three of the last four games, including a pair in Game 7 against the Capitals.
Carolina relies on a transitional game. In a wink of an eye, the puck moves from defensemen to the forwards lingering around the neutral zone directly to the net. The Penguins will need to be disciplined and rely on their defense to control any turnovers. The Penguins held the record for blocked shots in the season. The triumphant return of Sergei Gonchar made for remarkable plays. Gonchar returned from the right knee injury to have an assist in 15:06 of ice time in Game 7. Kris Letang during defense into offense with 9 points and defensemen Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill held the blocking during the series against the Capitals.
Carolina’s defenseman Anton Babchuk, struggled against the Boston Bruins and was replaced by Frantisek Kaberle. Dennis Seidenberg and linemate Joni Pikanen attempted to generate scoring opportunities in the series but could not convert. At the end, Tim Gleason provided the physical grit needed to keep the puck away from Cam Ward’s net.
The Carolina netminder has yet to lose a game 7 in a playoff series since his debut in 2006. The former Conn Smythe winner is unstoppable with a .927 save percentage. The Pittsburgh Penguins must overcome excellent goaltending similar to that of Simeon Varlamov during the last playoff run against the Capitals. Most importantly, Marc Andre Fleury has battled with consistency capturing rebound goals. However, his goaltending skills appeared to peak during game 7 against the Capitals. Fleury holds a .901 save percentage.
Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins rely on excellent coachies that base their philosophy on communicating with the players. Carolina’s Paul Maurice has the most experience in playoff hockey. Paul Maurice refused to allow his team to lose after blowing a 3-1 lead against the Boston Bruins. He is a motivator and a tactician known to implement quick changes on the ice. Dan Blysma, the rookie coach, follows an organized playing system which his players have learned to embrace. “I’m a believer that there are adjustments that need to be made throughout the game, and you don’t just make them in Game 7,” Bylsma said to NHL.com. “If you make them just in the playoffs or just when it heats up, players begin to question it.”
Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games as their offensive power builds. If the Penguins were able to beat Simeon Varlamov’s excellent goaltending and Ovechkin’s offense in the series against the Washington Capitals then they will overcome Cam Ward’s goaltending abilities and outshine Eric Staal’s scoring in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Carolina Hurricanes must increase their offensive abilities in all lines to be able to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The newspaper headlines for the Pittsburgh Penguins focused on the rivalry between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for the crown as best player in the NHL. The storyline for the Eastern Conference Finals will shift to brother against brother. Carolina’s Eric Staal, a center, and the older more seasoned brother will be matched up against Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal, a natural center with a keen sense of scoring. But, this is not the first time two Staal brothers were pitted to duel against each other in a playoff series. Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jordan Staal faced the New York Rangers’ Marc Staal in last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. Jordan Staaal hasn’t reached the 50-point milestone in his first three NHL seasons. He stands at only 5 points in his last 13 playoff games while his older brother Eric Staal has nine goals in his past 14 playoff games. Interestingly enough, the brothers have never been matched at any level of playoff hockey before.
The Matchup:
“You’re going to see fast hockey” — Sidney Crosby
Offensively, the matchup will rely on the speed of their forwards. Sidney Crosby who just came off from a hat trick duel against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the last round now has 12 goals leading the playoffs. Counting his total 21 points, Sidney Crosby is now tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin and the Capitals’ Ovechkin for the league lead. In fact, going head-to-head against Ovechkin, Crosby had 8 goals and 13 points. Will he prove the same against Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes?
The Canes need to power up offensively against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jussi Jokinen has been adding up goals solo with 6 total in the playoff series. He leads the league in game winners. Other players like left wing Eric Cole needs to step up in the power play to contribute to the overall team offense. After 14 games, Erik Cole still does not have a goal. Playmaker Rod Brind’Amour only contributed during Game 7 against the Boston Bruins at which time he obtained his one and only goal of the postseason.
During the last series, after Sidney Crosby scored 4 of the Penguins’ first 5 goals, the offense shifted to goals from ten other Penguin players. Evgeni Malkin geared up offensively after game 3 of the series with linemates Ruslan Fedetenko and Maxime Talbot. In fact, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin scored 3 each. Also, fourth liners such as Craig Adams and Miroslav Satan were able to produce. Adams scored his first career playoff goal in Game 7, and Satan had assists in three of the last four games, including a pair in Game 7 against the Capitals.
Carolina relies on a transitional game. In a wink of an eye, the puck moves from defensemen to the forwards lingering around the neutral zone directly to the net. The Penguins will need to be disciplined and rely on their defense to control any turnovers. The Penguins held the record for blocked shots in the season. The triumphant return of Sergei Gonchar made for remarkable plays. Gonchar returned from the right knee injury to have an assist in 15:06 of ice time in Game 7. Kris Letang during defense into offense with 9 points and defensemen Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill held the blocking during the series against the Capitals.
Carolina’s defenseman Anton Babchuk, struggled against the Boston Bruins and was replaced by Frantisek Kaberle. Dennis Seidenberg and linemate Joni Pikanen attempted to generate scoring opportunities in the series but could not convert. At the end, Tim Gleason provided the physical grit needed to keep the puck away from Cam Ward’s net.
The Carolina netminder has yet to lose a game 7 in a playoff series since his debut in 2006. The former Conn Smythe winner is unstoppable with a .927 save percentage. The Pittsburgh Penguins must overcome excellent goaltending similar to that of Simeon Varlamov during the last playoff run against the Capitals. Most importantly, Marc Andre Fleury has battled with consistency capturing rebound goals. However, his goaltending skills appeared to peak during game 7 against the Capitals. Fleury holds a .901 save percentage.
Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins rely on excellent coachies that base their philosophy on communicating with the players. Carolina’s Paul Maurice has the most experience in playoff hockey. Paul Maurice refused to allow his team to lose after blowing a 3-1 lead against the Boston Bruins. He is a motivator and a tactician known to implement quick changes on the ice. Dan Blysma, the rookie coach, follows an organized playing system which his players have learned to embrace. “I’m a believer that there are adjustments that need to be made throughout the game, and you don’t just make them in Game 7,” Bylsma said to NHL.com. “If you make them just in the playoffs or just when it heats up, players begin to question it.”
Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games as their offensive power builds. If the Penguins were able to beat Simeon Varlamov’s excellent goaltending and Ovechkin’s offense in the series against the Washington Capitals then they will overcome Cam Ward’s goaltending abilities and outshine Eric Staal’s scoring in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Carolina Hurricanes must increase their offensive abilities in all lines to be able to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.