RALEIGH, NC – With the season nearly three-quarters finished about the only thing it appeared the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes were going to fight over was the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. After making some astute deals and changes in leadership just a few short months later the two clubs will face off in Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals. The winner of this series will represent the conference in the Stanley Cup finals.
Both clubs struggled early in the season and changed coaches. Pittsburgh turfed Michel Therrien after he took them to the Finals last year where they were defeated by the Detroit Reds Wings. In Raleigh after missing the playoffs the last two seasons, and apparently on their way to a trifecta, the organization tired of Peter Laviolette. The Hurricanes went out of their organization—in a way—when they tabbed Paul Maurice—who was replaced by Laviolette to be their new coach. Pittsburgh stayed within their organization and promoted Dan Bylsma from their top farm club in Wilkes-Barre. What the organizations received from the changes were young coaches who would deliver quick results.
In Pittsburgh the club streaked to a 16-3-3 finish over their last 22 games to finish with 99 points good enough for the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile the Hurricanes were nearly as hot as they compiled a 15-5-2 mark in the same amount of games to finish with 97 points and earned the sixth slot. Based upon the full regular season standings the fact this series is happening is surprising, but if you factor only the last couple of months it is a series between the conference’s best clubs.
While the series does not have the marquee matchup pizzazz like the Penguins series against the Capitals did, there are some very interesting story lines. Family comes to mind as Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal and Carolina’s Eric Staal are the first brothers to play against each other in a Conference finals since 1974. This is no quarterback vs. quarterback matchup where the players compete against each other from different units, there is an excellent chance Jordan will be tabbed to limit Eric’s success—and to a large part Carolina’s if Jordan should prevail. There is also the recent news of Carolina’s Scott Walker’s wife being diagnosed with cervical cancer. The media will definitely focus in on the winger and that storyline. Then there is the case of Brooks Orpik and Erik Cole. On March 4, 2006 Orpik checked Cole from behind during a game in Pittsburgh and broke two vertebrae in Cole’s neck. True, it might not be Alex Ovechkin against Crosby, but there will be plenty to enjoy in this round.
Hockey lore is chock full of examples of teams who needed to taste adversity before success. Perhaps one of the most legendary examples were of the New York Islanders before they went on their drive for five Stanley Cups. That was followed by the Edmonton Oilers losing to the Islanders before they won multiple cups. Carolina also had a chance for success denied before they went on to win the championship. The Penguins are hoping they paid their dues last season when they went down to the Red Wings.
There is a good argument which can be made for the Penguins Stanley Cup dreams. They have a dynamic player in Sidney Crosby who slightly pales during the regular season to teammate Evgeni Malkin. In the postseason Crosby steps to the fore and takes the club over with his effort and drive. No one needs to be concerned about the NHL leading scorer in these playoffs. The Pengiuns do have to hope that Malkin will be solid in all four rounds rather than having a less productive series at the end. But first they need to get through the Hurricanes who have yet to be favored in any series during these playoffs.
Of the 14 potential games needed to be played in order to reach the Conference finals the Hurricanes needed all 14 of them. Carolina needed a spectacular comeback in Game 7 of the opening round just to face the regular-season Conference champion Boston Bruins. As everyone knows Carolina needed seven games plus to win the Boston series as they scored in overtime to move on against Pittsburgh. Where, once again, no one is giving them much of a chance to win against the Penguins who are led by Hart Trophy-finalist Malkin and Crosby.
So who are these guys and why are they here? Besides Eric Staal, Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov no one on the club has bothered to score more than three goals in the playoffs thus far. Starting goaltender Cam Ward has an 8-6 mark in the playoffs and is tied for the league-lead in goaltender losses. A simple answer would be luck—and there is no denying the fact the Hurricanes have been fortunate. Do you think New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur is going to cough up another Game 7 in the near future, or Boston is going to have some of their worst games of the year if the series was played again? But the proverb about making your own luck might be more appropriate in Raleigh rather than it being dumb luck.
The club is a walking advertisement for character, intangibles and hard-work. The Hurricanes are loaded with guys who other teams trade for if they want some playoff jam at the trading deadline. The Hurricanes roster is full of guys you would want on a team if you were running it. You might be able to pick one or two players who aren’t blood and gutters, but they contribute in other ways.
If you add up all the Penguins and Hurricanes parts there is no doubt Pittsburgh would be the wise prediction. But addition doesn’t do Carolina justice as that team is more than the sum of its parts, picking against them comes at your own peril.
Contact tom.schettino@prohockeynews.com
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