Carolina coach Paul Maurice gives Matt Cullen some pointers during Wednesday's practice in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

Carolina centre Matt Cullen showed flashes of being a shutdown defender against Sidney Crosby in Game 1, and the Hurricanes may need a near duplication of that performance to even the NHL Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

The Cullen line was largely responsible for limiting Crosby to no goals, an assist and two shots during Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory Monday. Crosby was coming off an eight-goal series against Washington and leads Stanley Cup playoff scorers with 22 points.

"I thought the Cullen line played pretty good and I thought he made a good adjustment in making sure those guys stayed off the score sheet," coach Paul Maurice said.

What the Hurricanes couldn't prevent the Penguins from doing was winning. Since a team taking a 2-0 series lead goes on to win about 85 per cent of the time, the Hurricanes can't realistically expect to win the series if they go back to Raleigh, N.C., without a split in Pittsburgh.

Beating Pittsburgh usually means controlling Crosby.

"I don't think you can really rest on that fact," Cullen said Wednesday. "Obviously, he's going to play well.

"For us, we know they have some unbelievable players on their side, especially up front. We just have to play our style of hockey."

Sticking with system

The Hurricanes' ability to stay within their system was a major factor in them winning the second game of their previous series against New Jersey and Boston after dropping the openers. They've won Game 2 in five straight series, dating back to 2006.

Crosby is certain they will stay true to their system. Carolina wants to stifle the Penguins' offensive flow and keep the game in Pittsburgh's zone.

"They don't give you a whole lot," Crosby said. "They have a great work ethic and depth, and they come at you every shift."

With Crosby in their lineup, the Penguins haven't lost any of the five playoff series they've led at any point.

While the Hurricanes always seem to prevail in Game 2, Maurice hinted they shouldn't go in thinking they will automatically win, because they lost Game 1. Crosby, Malkin and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was superb while making a succession of game-saving saves in Game 1, are three reasons why.

"It's not like we've played 15 games, lost them all, and come back and won the next one," Maurice said. "That is a small sample we are talking about.

"I think that what we have done over our first two series is we've learned as we went. Just found smarter and better ways to play the game based on what we had learned in Game 1."