There have to be something about that fourth seed the Pittsburgh Penguins find comforting. For the second straight postseason, the Penguins will enter the playoffs in that spot, and so far so great.Last 12 months, they won the Cup after a dramatic Game 7 in Detroit. This yr, the Penguins appeared to amble really a bit during the typical season and there has been a definite sense of not very being engaged."We know we have been a small inconsistent with it, so which is really our challenge," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma explained on the eve of the playoffs. "Are we pleased with our mindset? No, not totally. Do we know how we require to perform? Yes. We have not gotten to the consistency we know we're going to require." Right after winning their very first 4 publish-Olympic games, the Penguins did not win much more than two in a row following that and failed to win the Atlantic Division.The Senators, meanwhile, established themselves as 1 of the streakiest teams in the NHL http://www.pittsburghpenguinsfanstore.com/authentic-matt-cooke-jersey. They did handle to string together a franchise-greatest 11-game winning streak prior to the Olympic break and an additional six-game run late in the season. Ottawa is also 21-2-2 when top soon after the initial time period and 4-20-two when trailing soon after one. There appears to be no middle ground for the Senators, and the outcome of this series will depend on regardless of whether "Excellent Ottawa" or "Poor Ottawa" shows up.
one. The golden kid: All discussions about the Penguins start and finish with their captain, Sidney Crosby, he of the golden objective in the Olympics and the engine that drives the Pittsburgh machine. Crosby has continued to improve the offensive part of his game, collecting two targets on the final day of the normal season to tie Steven Stamkos for the Rocket Richard Trophy with 51 goals, marking the first time he's hit the 50-aim plateau.Search for Crosby to support elevate the Pens' team game, a game that has been pretty iffy of late, through his very own degree of perform. The challenge for the Senators will be in attempting to restrict the injury Crosby inflicts on them. Appear for Anton Volchenkov, who has blocked much more shots over the past 5 many years than any NHL player Jaromir Jagr Jersey, and Chris Phillips to draw the assignment of attempting to maintain Crosby off the puck and stop him from scoring the in-tight ambitions that have now become portion of his repertoire. Great luck.2. Wither Geno? One of the major motives there is a compelling situation to be created for Crosby to win the Hart Trophy is his sidekick and defending NHL scoring champ Evgeni Malkin has had an off season. Hampered by injuries and illness, Malkin has played in only 66 games and collected 73 factors. When he has played, specifically later on in the season, he is been fairly excellent.It goes without having saying that a wholesome Malkin makes the Penguins that significantly far more formidable. He also tends to make them more difficult to defend 5-on-5 due to the fact the Sens will have to select how to stop two dynamic centers. It also can make the Penguins' 19th-ranked energy perform exponentially more hazardous operating the puck from the half wall. If, even so, Malkin's wonky foot, and so forth., hold him from being at peak efficiency, it gives the Sens a fighting chance.3. M.A.S.H., déjà vu: When these two teams met in the playoffs two seasons in the past (this is the third time in 4 playoff many years the two teams will meet), the Senators had a variety of injuries to best players, which includes captain Daniel Alfredsson. Quickly-forward to this spring and it's déjà vu. The Sens will be with no prime-4 defenseman Filip Kuba, who is out for at least three more weeks following undergoing back surgical procedure. His absence will put more strain on Andy Sutton, Chris Phillips, Volchenkov and promising rookie defender Erik Karlsson.The Senators will also be with out enigmatic forward Alexei Kovalev, who suffered a torn MCL last week and is accomplished for the season Evgeni Malkin Jersey. The Senators will also be watching the perform of Milan Michalek, who anchors the team's 2nd line and returned to the lineup for the final two normal-season video games following missing the earlier nine contests with a knee injury.four. Stage-up man? We all know Alfredsson is going to deliver it each night. It's just who he is. But if the Senators are going to have a likelihood in this series, they need to have center Jason Spezza to consider a giant phase forward in terms of his leadership and postseason manufacturing. Individuals forget he led the NHL in assists (15) and points (22) when the Senators marched to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, but Spezza had a miserable series against Anaheim. He began the season scoring twice in his initial 25 video games, but hit his stride in the 2nd half to finish the season with 23 goals and 57 factors in 60 video games. He will likely begin the playoffs lining up with Alfredsson and youngster Peter Regin. It truly is statement time for Spezza.5. The boys behind the bench: Bylsma and Ottawa coach Cory Clouston signify the new trend in NHL coaching hires, taking cerebral bench bosses who cut their teeth in the minors and offering them a shot in the bigs. Bylsma proved to be a sort of anti-Michel Therrien when he took more than in February 2009 and showed terrific coaching acumen throughout the playoffs, juggling his line combinations to excellent effect.This season, he acknowledged his staff has not been where it demands to be, and the challenge for him is to find that proverbial switch this week. He said he is talked to individuals linked to other NHL dynasties, as effectively as teams in other sports activities making an attempt to repeat as champions."We know what it implies to go via that in the playoffs, but that degree has to happen for your team and for your players and your staff game, for folks," Bylsma said. "So that urgency level is going to come. The question is, are we going to be a staff that can draw upon our past, get to that degree, and have good results going forward in the playoffs."As for Clouston Chris Kunitz Jersey, he has proved himself to be a coach who can get a good deal out of minor and he will now have to replicate that against the defending Stanley Cup champs.
• The Penguins' large three versus the Senators' blue-line corps and rookie netminder Brian Elliott: No group, other than Detroit in the 2008 Cup finals, has had an answer for Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal in the playoffs. The capacity to move them off the puck and get away time and area in the defensive zone is essential to the Senators' possibilities and the Penguins' potential to replicate their accomplishment. With both teams icing evenly matched power-play and penalty-killing units, 5-on-five perform will be critical.
• Ottawa: Spezza has had 14 factors in his previous eight games, such as 5 multipoint games. Michalek, the pivotal portion of a deal that sent Dany Heatley to San Jose prior to the season, has just 1 purpose in his previous nine games.• Pittsburgh: A single of two additions to the Penguins' roster at the trade deadline, Jordan Leopold has 7 points in his previous nine games, such as four goals, a single of which was the overtime winner Sunday towards the New York Islanders. The other newcomer, Alexei Ponikarovsky, is pointless in his past 4 games and was suspended for the Penguins' ultimate two regular-season video games for a boarding hit on the Islanders' Josh Bailey http://www.pittsburghpenguinsfanstore.com/authentic-james-neal-jersey.
• If there is 1 staff we feel can just flip on a playoff switch, it's the Penguins. The team's encounter and strength down the middle will be also considerably for the inconsistent Senators and Elliott to handle. Penguins in six video games.Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.

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