2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog - Conference Finals

In mid-February, Pittsburgh was in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and apparently headed for nothing more than an early summer.

Now, the Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup final for the second consecutive year after sweeping Carolina in the Eastern Conference final.

The Penguins clinched a spot opposite the Detroit-Chicago survivor by beating the Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 at the RBC Center on Tuesday night. And while the Penguins praised Carolina’s grit and resilience and willingness to compete (“They came at us,” left-winger Matt Cooke said. “They didn’t quit”) there wasn’t much question that the series played out the way it should have.

“There are no flukes in a seven-game series,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. “They deserved to win.”

Carolina managed to hold Pittsburgh centre Evgeni Malkin, who had piled up six goals and three assists in the first three games, without a point in Game 4, and Sidney Crosby was limited to a pair of assists. But the Penguins parlayed balanced scoring and a sensational effort by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury into their eighth victory in the past nine games.

Eric Staal jammed a puck past Fleury at 1:36 of the opening period on Carolina’s first shot, but Fleury turned aside the next 30 that came his way.

“(Fleury) stood on his head,” Cooke said.

After Ruslan Fedotenko pulled Pittsburgh even at 8:21 of the first, Max Talbot scored what proved to be the series winner at 18:31, when Carolina defenceman Anton Babchuk blocked his shot only to have the puck flutter over goalie Cam Ward’s glove before dropping into the net behind him.

Bill Guerin administered the coup de grace when he steered a Crosby feed behind Ward at 12:10 of the second, and Crosby set up Hurricanes alum Craig Adams for an empty netter with 70 seconds left in regulation to close out the scoring.

And close out a series that the Penguins had been genuinely concerned about.

“Coming into the (playoffs), these were the guys who scared us the most because of the way they played together,” Guerin said.

Pittsburgh also expected the Hurricanes to be tenacious, and weren’t disappointed.

“They battled at us in every game, came at us in every game, and they never quit,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said.

Neither did Bylsma’s team, and it doesn’t intend to anytime soon.

“We feel that this group in this dressing room has a lot to prove yet," Cooke said. “Yeah, we’re back to the Stanley Cup final, but we’re not done.”

To touch or not to touch?

The ultra-superstitious Crosby and his teammates surprised a lot of people by handling the Prince of Wales Trophy after NHL executive Bill Daly presented it to them following their victory in Game 4.

Crosby made the decision to not only have his photo taken with the trophy, but to lift it, after a brief post-game consultation with veteran Bill Guerin.

“We didn't touch the trophy last year, and obviously we didn't have the result we wanted,” Crosby said. “We figured we'd touch it this year although we haven't accomplished exactly what we want, we still accomplished something here. You know, we can still enjoy it.

“It doesn't mean that we think we're finished, by any means, but we can still enjoy it. You know, we just wanted to change things up, and we didn't touch it last year. Might as well grab it and get a picture with it and move on and go after the one we really want.”

Bylsma agreed that the winner of the Stanley Cup isn’t likely to be determined by which of the conference champions does or does not touch the trophy they earned on the way to the Cup final.

“I've won a conference final and not touched it and lost (in the Cup final),” he said. “The team that we played touched it and won. Teams that play in the final will decide the final, not whether someone touched the (conference championship) trophy or not.”

Staal steps up

Although Eric Staal had a forgettable series, he saved his best performance for last. The Hurricanes sniper not only scored his first goal of the conference final, but was a presence all over the ice in Game 4.

“I thought he was great,” Maurice said. “It's a really good sign for his career and for this franchise.

“I thought he settled right back down again and played a real smart, smart game. Didn't try to beat everybody all over the ice. Looked stronger, looked faster, made better changes, made better decisions with the puck, pushed at the right time.

“That's a really important thing for the leader of this team. To be able to do that. To be under the most pressure of the season and settle his game back down and bring his best at a critical time.”

Stanley Cup sequel?

For all the talk about a possible Penguins-Red Wings rematch, Craig Adams — who was not part of the team that lost to Detroit in the 2008 Cup final — was quick to make the point that getting a shot at revenge against the Red Wings is not the Penguins’ priority.

“You want to win a Stanley Cup,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Detroit or whoever. You don’t need any extra motivation at this time of year. Obviously, the guys want to beat them, but I don’t think they want to beat them more than if it was somebody else.”

Most of his teammates seemed to share a rooting interest in the Western final, although it wasn’t for one of the competing teams.

“We’re ready for whoever wins the series,” defenceman Brooks Orpik said. “Hopefully, it goes seven and they just keep beating on each other.”

Unsung hero

Pittsburgh defenceman Rob Scuderi has been overshadowed by some more prominent teammates this spring, but his defensive work has been a major factor in the Penguins’ success so far.

He and defence partner Hal Gill have been matched against the opponents’ top line in every series, and have acquitted themselves admirably in all cases. Good timing, too, since both will be unrestricted free agents this summer.

“(Scuderi) is an unsung guy,” Bylsma said. “He goes about his business. There's not a lot of flash there unless you think blocking shots is flashy. But, you know, I think his agility goes underrated.

“His skating, north-south, straight ahead, is not exceptional. But his agility from side-to-side, being able to pivot with some of the skilled guys in the league, is pretty exceptional.

“One particular incident last series against (Washington’s Alex) Ovechkin, he went north-south across the blue line and stayed right with him. Stayed on the puck and was able to limit (Ovechkin’s) time and space with a pretty talented guy going east-west. And that's something that probably isn't really focused on a lot by the media.”

Max effect

Talbot, who failed to convert several quality setups by Evgeni Malkin during Game 3, joked after Game 4 that his tie-breaking goal stemmed from his great gift for scoring.

“It was all calculated,” he said. “You need a lot of skills and talent to put it top shelf from the top of the circle with a shot like that. All skill.”

Talbot was kidding, of course, but no one laughs when discussing his value to the Penguins. After spending most of the season as a checking-line forward, he has moved up to right wing on Malkin’s line recently and has performed admirably.

“Max can fill a lot of different roles for your team,” Bylsma said. “He can fill a centreman's role. He's played on our fourth line. He's obviously playing wing for (Malkin) and Fedotenko. Penalty killing. He's big in the faceoff circle some nights. Blocks shot. Scores the big goal.

"He has a knack for having an impact in games. “