GAMEDAY 45: My God They Killed Them All

PITTSBURGH (28-11-5) VS CAROLINA (21-16-7)

PNC ARENA. RALEIGH, NC.

7:00 PM EST ROOT Sports AND NHL.COM

Story of the hurricane, just combed through the entire song looking for the lyrics to title this post, can’t believe people were mad at Dylan getting a noble prize for literature, damn. So tonight the Penguins take their show on the road into the heart of Carolina to face a Hurricanes team that is surprising a few folks this year. Obligatory bash Jordan Staal comment, he is currently centering their second  line with 9 goals and 14 assists on the year

Meanwhile his washed up brother Eric was traded at the deadline and is currently enjoying a 40 point, 16 goal and 24 assist season with Minnesota. Seems like they kept the wrong Staal

So why in the hell are the Hurricanes not resting near the bottom of the Metro like everyone assumed? Well for one, the Islanders are awful and have that spot locked down regardless of who they choose for their next coach. Carolina also has a young defense that is really molding in to a solid unit, and so far this year they have been able to hold off teams more often than not. Will it be enough to get this team a playoff berth?

Man, how fun is this going to be down the stretch?? The Flyers can be forgotten for a moment, because it is Philly first of all, and they have played a lot of games. Carolina can pass Philadelphia by the end of the month in the standings, and then it is a matter of Babcock’s Toronto vision against Carolina’s young defense. Also, Henrik Lundqvist right now = L.O.L. Toronto vs Washington in round one if the playoffs started today… that’s not even fair.

The media and broadcasters love to start saying things like “this team is for real” and “they are ready to prove themselves” and “I suck balls” and other weird stuff like that, but it is too early to make those statements about Carolina, but the balls statement holds true for the majority of broadcasters. They have had a good early season for sure, I won’t take the away from them, but I don’t think they are quite ready to get over that hump yet. Though if it means knocking Giroux and the Gingers out of the playoffs I’m all for it.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS:

Lee Stempniak is still alive and actually has the same stats as Jordan Staal (9G,14A). Derek Ryan is the whitest name in the NHL, he will most likely be nominated for an Oscar by default. The Penguins rolled these lines against Montreal and the Canadiens had no answer for them. Make note that Rust and Hornqvist are usually switched, I still refuse to accept the Sheary-Crosby-Rust line, Hornqvist belongs there, but whatever. The 4th line was a breath of fresh air in the last game, cycling the puck and driving Montreal crazy. Chris Kunitz has been a huge surprise in his new role on the 4th line, kudos to Sullivan. The defense played a smart game against Montreal, limiting the shots and really keeping the puck out of the danger areas, so I would expect to see the same pairings tonight. PS: My bad last game saying the Pens sent down Ruhwedel, I meant Warsofsky, but honestly all the WBS guys should just go by one name to make it easier on all of us. It should be Murray in net, marking his 3rd straight start which makes sense, unless you still live in the MAF is the starter cloud.

WHO TO WATCH:

FOR CAROLINA:          CAM WARD

With the exception of the Malkin Incident of ’09, Cam Ward has had great success against the Penguins. I have been to many games in Raleigh where the Pens have dominated the game in shots but Ward makes saves he didn’t know he could make. Eddie Lack has been injured/inactive for all but 5 games this season, so the Hurricanes have relied heavily on their veteran who has posted an 18-13-6 record with a 2.42 GAA and .912 SV%. Much like the Penguins, Carolina has to make a decision about their goaltenders this offseason, but many experts expect that the Vegas Golden? Knights will pick their goalies from Carolina and Pittsburgh. As for tonight, any success for the Hurricanes starts in net, but even then as we saw last game with Price, skill only gets you so far against this offense.

FOR PITTSBURGH:          HBK

Some of you have noticed that I have somehow made 2 correct predictions in a row, so this one I am throwing up in hopes that the luck keeps going. With the recent call-up of Guentzel I feel like Sullivan made the right call of mixing up his lines, and I feel the 4 lines right now (with the exception of Cullen) are the best forwards the organization can ice. My only concern is the HBK line doesn’t have the same effect in the regular season as compared to the playoffs, because opposing coaches are less concerned about match-ups. I have no doubt that if it were the playoffs this line would be buzzing again, but I am afraid that the move to combine them now may cool Kessel off, which isn’t in the Penguins best interest. So tonight it would be nice to see the HBK line get on the board, so they start feeling that bond again.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I don’t know if you caught this at the top, but tonight’s game is being featured as the free game of the night on nhl.com, so any of you out of market can watch there instead of streaming. This game is truly up to the Penguins to determine the outcome. If they come out and play the way they did in Montreal I don’t see the Hurricanes keeping up, unless Cam Ward has another out of this galaxy performance. Something that this Carolina defense hasn’t seen is a team that hits you with Crosby, followed by Malkin, followed by HBK, and then when you get a breather they slam Kunitz and Fehr at you. Unreal depth and skill on this roster right now, and one that many teams will not be able to handle.

LET’S GO PENS