Penguins Beat Hurricanes In Opening Game Thriller!

The Pittsburgh Penguins got the boost they needed from star forward and Art Ross Trophy winner Evegni Malkin.  Malkin had a goal and an assist as he led his team to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.  Miroslav Satan scored Pittsburgh’s opening goal.  Satan and Malkin scored less than 90 seconds apart midway through the first period for the Penguins, who are trying to win back-to-back conference championships for the first time since 1991-92.  Marc Andre-Fluery turned aside 23 of the 25 shots he faced but saved his best play for the 3rd period as he kept the Hurricanes from getting any offensive flow going in a game when many of their best scoring chances came in the final few minutes.

While the Hurricanes didn’t have the opening-game letdown that some teams experience after a series as challenging and emotionally draining as their seven-game second round against top-seeded Boston, they again lacked goals. That’s been an ongoing problem for a team that found multiple ways to pull out games in the first two rounds but averaged only 2.36 goals per game — far less than Pittsburgh’s 3.46 average.  Carolina didn’t score until more than halfway through the game when Chad LaRose beat Fluery.  The Canes scored with a minute and a half left in the game to make things interesting but Pittsburgh held on for the close win.

Carolina has now lost Game 1 in each of its three playoff series this year. But that’s not a bad thing for the Hurricanes, who have won their last five postseason series after losing the opener.  With an assist, Pens forward Sidney Crosby now has a point in 16 of his last 18 playoff games.