the Canes don’t have an adequate answer for Crosby and Malkin

Thats right Eric Staal doesnt exist.. And the canes blueline is worse the boston and the devils. Lets keep remembering that these things are non-existant.

Posted by canesice on 05/15/09 at 12:10 PM ET

Canesice, 1 Eric Staal does not equal Sidney Crosby + Evgeni Malkin.

Posted by NHLJeff from Pens fan in Chicago, IL on 05/15/09 at 12:12 PM ET

If the caps can take the pens to game 7, the canes can to. I believe that the canes would have dismissed the caps handily had they played them in round 1.

agree that Staal cannot take down both geno and sidney, but the canes D remains underrated, and Gleason will surely be assigned Crosby duty.

which D man on the Pens matches up to E, Staal?

Posted by canesice on 05/15/09 at 12:29 PM ET

Probably Scuderi.  He did a great job when the Pens were able to get him out there against Ovie at even strength.  So either Scuds or possibly Orpik (Erik Cole’s favorite…).

Posted by NHLJeff from Pens fan in Chicago, IL on 05/15/09 at 12:37 PM ET

I think Boston may have underestimated the Hurricanes at first - it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh does the same.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/15/09 at 01:20 PM ET

I don’t think the Wings will need 7 games to take care of the Hawks.

Pens in 6 sounds about right.

Two weeks of Staal family stuff.  Ugh.

Posted by DigitalGypsy66 on 05/15/09 at 01:29 PM ET

Canesice, Carolina’s a good team. But I would argue that the Devils series should have never reached seven games. New Jersey was reeling in a big way going into the playoffs. It goes both ways.

Carolina’s only hope is that Ward stands on his head. The Penguins were able to take Ovechkin’s best, so what Staal does will be inconsequential if Crosby and Malkin are on their games. But Fleury has to play better than he did against Washington. Still, Pens in six.

Posted by cs6687 on 05/15/09 at 02:29 PM ET

Don’t forget the Islanders beat the Oilers in 4 straight to win Cup 4.  Wings in 5.
I agree with Baroque about Boston.they were sleepwalking after game 1.  Thats not to say the Canes aren’t good, they were very similar to Pittsburgh and Anaheim down the stretch.  Pittsburgh should win as I really don’t think the Carolina D is good enough to shut the Pens down, but Ward is playing pretty damn well.  The surprise is that the Pen’s D played so well against the Caps offense, which is much, much more dangerous than Carolina. I think Pens in 6.

Posted by dip from philly on 05/15/09 at 02:38 PM ET

I think the Canes are overmatched in a lot of areas talent-wise compared to most of the teams that made the playoffs.

I think they’ve made up for it by riding Eric Staal, getting clutch performances from Jokinen and Ward, and most importantly, drawing on their experience of the ‘06 Cup victory.

Logic tells me the Pens should win the series, but Carolina’s white-hot finish to the regular season, followed by clutch performances against the Devils and Bruins tells me the Canes can win this thing.

I think if the Pens play their game, make sure to give 100% effort every night, and use all four lines, not just the top two-and-a-half, they can wear down the Canes convincingly and win in six.

It isn’t logical, and I can’t give you good reasons, but something about the Canes makes me think they can find a way to win a game in Pittsburgh, just like they did in Boston, and make good on home ice.

I think this thing goes seven, and it’s a pick ‘em… I originally had the Canes in my bracket. So I’d feel like a douche to go back on that. I’m going to go with the Canes in seven because the Canes defense is no-name but still playing very solid right now, just like the Pens, and up-front, they have already found a way to outplay two teams (the Bs, in particular) that seemed to have a lot more depth going into the series.

If Brind’Amour is injured and doesn’t play this series, that’s a huge blow to them, and I have to flip-flop.

Detroit and Chicago. Chicago looks like the Pens of last season, except that their two young stars, while still great players, aren’t as big/strong and dominant as Malkin and Crosby.

When’s the last time you heard this one? The Wings size up front is too much for the Hawks forwards. Kane, Towes, and Versteeg will have a hard go taking on the size of Franzen and Hossa, the deceptive strength of Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and the grit of Cleary and Draper. Nevermind the injection of hitting Helm and Abdelkader have given the team, and the timely scoring Hudler and Samuelsson have provided. Chicago has had some great performances from depth players in their own right—Burish and Bolland have been great, and Byfuglien would probably qualify as one of the Douche Canoe’s “Monsters.” But Detroit has a tad more depth, and unlike the match-up with the Ducks, Detroit will have the best line in the series, so they won’t have to rely on their depth forwards for scoring as much. Close call up front, but experience is a huge factor as well, so Detroit gets the nod up front.

The Hawks defense is almost as good as Detroit’s—it’s almost a wash there. But Detroit earns the nod because they have Nick Lidstrom, and as good as Seabrook and Keith have been, they aren’t even close to being as good as Lidstrom is now, or has ever been.

Hawks get the nod in goal. Not much to say. Ozzie will be fine, but won’t be as good as Khabibulin. Then again, the Wings won’t need him to be that good.

I look for whoever of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Cleary, Holmstrom, Hossa, Franzen, and Filppula gets the shift against Campbell to take serious advantage of him. Chicago’s second pair is good, and very good offensively, but nowhere near as good defensively as the Ducks’ second pair, so that’ll be a huge match-up the Wings can exploit.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 05/15/09 at 03:30 PM ET

We’re guessing Wings coach Mike Babcock will want to put Datsyuk, the reigning Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward, against the No. 1 Hawks line centered by Toews. The benefit of that matchup for the Wings is that when Datsyuk isn’t busy shutting down the opponent, he’s dangerous on the offense himself. Having said that, Datsyuk, a Hart Trophy nominee this season, has struggled surprisingly on offense in these playoffs. He has only five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 11 playoff games. Not nearly good enough.

I don’t think the guys from ESPN even watch hockey.  Cleary-Z-Franzen has been the wings shutdown line all postseason long.  Why would that change?  Yeesh.

Posted by shanetx on 05/15/09 at 04:16 PM ET

“The young Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s took down the veteran New York Islanders in their second crack at it.”

Actually, it took THREE cracks.  Islanders beat the Oilers in the 1980-81 quaterfinals 4-2, and the finals in 1983, 4-0, before the Oilers won in 1984.

Posted by rb on 05/15/09 at 11:35 PM ET

I am really hoping Dats can get going against the Hawks.  He has been off for some reason and then having Needleduck draped all over him didn’t help matters.  I expect to see him still be the master of the backcheck he has been and keeping the top line busy so our other lines can work on tearing down Kkkkhhhaabibulin.  The Hawk I am most worried about is BiFUGLYin.  He is loaded with confidence and seems to have found his hands.  He is their version of Franzen.  As for the Canes I look for them to will themselves into every game they play.  They will be outmatched by the skill of the Pens forwards but won’t ever quit coming.  Cindy Crysby is going to continue to put up solid numbers.  He has continued to grow as a solid playoff performer and has the ability to beat Ward while the defense is concentrating on Malkin.

My two cents worth - oh, BTW Wings in 6, Pens in 7

Me

Posted by 13datsyukfan13 from Mid Michigan on 05/16/09 at 02:20 AM ET