The defending Stanley Cup champs may have lucked out in getting the 4th seed instead of the no.
The defending Stanley Cup champs may have lucked out in getting the 4th seed instead of the no. 2 seed. Instead of drawing the violent Flyers, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins face the Ottawa Senators, the NHL’s streakiest team. The Pens haven’t changed much over the last three seasons. Back-to-back Eastern Conference championships have given the core elements of this Penguins’ team loads of playoff experience.
*Offense‘:The biggest reason that the Pens are so effective in the playoffs is the fact that they can roll three centers that are some of the best players in the league. Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal have all played the role of hero over the last two playoff runs, although this season, Crosby’s carried the brunt of the load. Malkin has been a bit off this year, with a number of nagging injuries, and finished with just 73 points. Sid, on the other hand, has been great, scoring 50 goals for the first time in his career. Ottawa had one of the most inadequate offenses in the Eastern Conference. Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo certainly haven’t been the equivalent of the departed Dany Heatley, and only Daniel Alfredsson had more than 70 points for the Sens this year.Advantage: Pittsburgh
Defense: What’s amazing to me about how Ottawa is even in the playoffs is the fact that, not only did they struggle to score goals, they weren’t even one of the top 8 Eastern Conference teams in defense. Of course, Pitt finished with just one less goal allowed, but the Penguins’ blueline was without the services of Sergei Gonchar> for 20 games. Gonchar, Eaton, Orpik and Letang have been crucial elements of the Penguins’ successes in the last two years, chipping in offensively and doing all the little things right in their own end.Advantage: Pittsburgh’'’Goaltending’’’: Young Brian Elliott is perhaps the biggest reason that the Sens are even in the playoffs, but I think the Pens will be way too tough of a test for the kid in his first playoff series. He actually finished the season with numbers that were just a touch better than Marc-Andre Fleury. However, Fleury has been the best goalie in the playoffs since 2008, bar none. He makes the big saves when he has to, and he’s solid night in and night out. You forget that Fleury’s only been in the league since 2003, but he already has 31 playoff victories in 49 starts, and a very impressive 2.45 GAA.Advantage: Pittsburgh’'’Special Teams’’’: These two teams had nearly identical numbers on both the kill and the man advantage in the regular season. However, the Pens have had a knack for turning it on in the playoffs, and the Penguins with a healthy Gonchar and Malkin are a much more dangerous squad than without them. The losses of offensive defenseman Filip Kuba and veteran scorer Alexei Kovalev puts the Sens at even more of a disadvantage.Advantage: PittsburghThe Pens are not the back-to-back Eastern Conference champs by accident. This team knows how to absolutely light it up in the playoffs, and they’ll be ramping it up in hopes of their 3rd straight Cup Finals appearance. Ottawa been’s hot and cold all season long, but even if they show up in their best form, I don’t see them winning this one.*My pick: Pittsburgh in 5’
