Malkin’s Masterpiece

Game two of the Eastern Conference Finals had a bit more intensity than the first and the contest was much closer than the 7-4 final indicates. The result of this game gives Pittsburgh a 2-0 series lead but the big story on Thursday night was the play of Evgeni Malkin. The Pittsburgh superstar took over the game in the third period scoring two goals in a row including a magnificent backhanded top-shelf goal right off of the face off deep in Carolina’s zone that broke this otherwise tight game wide open. These are the things that separates superstars from the other great players; not only did Malkin break the game open, he stole momentum away from Carolina almost completely and scored his third goal unassisted and in an incredible manner. Nothing should be taken away from the rest of the team—including Marc-Andre Fleury who looked a little rattled early on but made some key saves at the end of the game—but this night belonged to Evgeni Malkin who helped make Cam Ward look human. Now the Penguins have a chance to smother Carolina by taking a 3-0 series lead as the teams shift to Raleigh for game three. Pittsburgh is not likely to take the series for granted at this point as the Canes have been resilient all season long and the Penguins won the previous round after going down 2-0 to Washington. On Saturday night the fans will be rocking the RBC Center and the Canes will not go away without a fight.

Hurricanes Spoil Captials’ Visit

The Washington Capitals had a chance to really separate themselves from the bulk of the Southeast Division Sunday as the Carolina Hurricanes welcomed Alex Ovechkin and company to town. Going into the game the Hurricanes had not exactly been world beaters riding a three game losing streak and were losers of 6 of their last 7 earning only three points with a coaching change thrown in their to boot. The Capitals were better en route to Raleigh winning 4 of 6 before Sunday but had only won four of the last nine. Despite their struggles the Capitals had a chance to take an 8 point lead on second place Carolina and although it is early they would have established themselves as the solid Southeast Division frontrunners. Then the puck dropped and save for Ovechkin the Capitals more-or-less did not show up. The Canes outclassed the Caps and if it was the first time watching both teams one might think the Canes were the division leaders. Michael Leighton was outstanding in goal stopping 38 or 39 shots including 10 of 11 from Ovechkin alone who was also turned away on a penalty shot. Despite having only 25 shots themselves the Canes were more efficient putting three pucks behind Jose Theodore two from leading scorer Ray Whitney and one from a struggling Eric Staal. Carolina showed they are not going anywhere and are not conceding the division to Washington but if they want to win Eric Staal has to score more. It is great that Ray Whitney is scoring goals, if Staal does not get going the Canes will find themselves watching the playoffs from home yet again.