John Dietz's NHL Eastern Conference final breakdown
Pittsburgh Penguins (50-21-11) vs. Ottawa Senators (44-28-10) Penguins leaders:
Sidney Crosby (44-45-89), Evegni Malkin (33-39-72) and goalies Marc Andre-Fleury (.909, 3.02) and Matt Murray (.923, 2.41)
Senators leaders:
Erik Karlsson (17-54-71), Mike Hoffman (26-35-61) and Kyle Turris (27-28-55), and goalie Craig Anderson (.926, 2.28)
The skinny: Eight wins. That's all the Penguins need to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings. The first four would seem to be a mere formality as almost nobody is giving the surprising Senators a prayer of upending the defending champs. Were it not for an empty-net goal with seven seconds left in their clinching Game 6 win over the Rangers, all of Ottawa's playoff victories would have come by 1 goal. …
Like the Preds, Ottawa is using a 1-3-1 trap to frustrate opponents. The difference is Craig Anderson is no Pekka Rinne in terms of playing the puck behind the net, and it's a big reason the Rangers scored 4 or more goals four times in the second round. … Keep an eye on Erik Karlsson (2G, 11A, 28:57 TOI in the playoffs), who may be the best defenseman in the league. …
Pittsburgh is still a bit beaten up, but Matt Murray is healthy again, which is good news if Marc Andre-Fleury stumbles. The Penguins' offense is led by Sidney Crosby (4G, 10A), Evegni Malkin (5G, 13A), Phil Kessel (5G, 8A) and Patrick Hornqvist (4G). They have all of that, plus 22-year-old rookie Jake Guentzel, who is skating on Crosby's line and leads the league with 9 goals in the postseason.
Prediction: The Penguins probably cleared their two biggest hurdles in the East by ousting the Blue Jackets and Capitals. Anything's possible, but Pittsburgh should move on in 6.
- John Dietz