Carolina stunned both the Bruins and Rotoworld with their dramatic overtime victory in game seven of their second round series. That left us batting .500 for the round two, after successfully predicting a seven-game win for the Penguins over the Capitals. That leaves us five-for-six thus far, correctly predicting all four first round matchups.

Enough back patting. The cardiac Canes are looking good after winning two consecutive game sevens, both victories coming on the road no less, and now face another huge challenge in Pittsburgh. While this series hasn't been hyped as much as the Penguins-Capitals duel, this will be an exciting battle nonetheless.

The Hurricanes play an up-tempo style similar to Pittsburgh's. Eric Staal is playing like a beast and must feel good about himself after slaying the dragon known as Zdeno Chara in the second round. He also faces his brother, Jordan, for the first time in the post-season, and the pair may be matched up against each other. The younger Staal will have the difficult task of shutting down older brother Eric.



Of the four remaining in the East, only Pittsburgh is back from the second round last season. Boston and Washington both were ousted in the first round and Carolina was already on the golf course, having missed the post-season entirely.

Here is the link for the schedule for the
Conference Finals.

Be mindful when looking at line combinations, as they can change shift-to-shift, never mind period-to-period or game-to-game.

PITTSBURGH
Ruslan Fedotenko – Evgeni Malkin – Max Talbot
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Bill Guerin
Matt Cooke – Jordan Staal – Tyler Kennedy
Craig Adams – Miroslav Satan
Eric Godard – Petr Sykora – Pascal Dupuis

Sergei Gonchar – Brooks Orpik
Hal Gill – Rob Scuderi
Kris Letang – Mark Eaton
Philippe Boucher – Alex Goligoski

Marc-Andre Fleury
Mathieu Garon

WHO'S HOT
Sidney Crosby rose to the challenge presented by Alexander Ovechkin in the second round and fans were treated to some of the best playoff hockey in history. The Kid had eight goals and 13 points in seven games against the Caps and strapped the team to his back when Evgeni Malkin disappeared for games at a time. Despite those disappearing acts, Malkin still collected two goals and 10 points, but it was his consistency that was lacking. He would be invisible at times and the best player on the ice at others.

Bill Guerin had three goals and six points in the second round and is finally looking comfortable on a line with Crosby. Kris Letang filled in nicely when Gonchar went down with a knee injury and ended up with three goals and six points. Jordan Staal also rebounded from a rough first round by collecting two goals and four points, while still providing a great defensive game.

WHO'S NOT
Despite drawing back into the lineup for the first two games after being scratched in favor of Miroslav Satan in the latter portion of the first round, Petr Sykora found himself in the press box once again for game three. He was scoreless in both those games and has just one point, an assist, in six playoff games. He will start the Carolina series in the press box as a healthy scratch.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been inconsistent through the post-season thus far. He owns a .901 save percentage and 2.72 GAA through 13 games, which scream mediocrity. He was there when the team needed him in game seven against the Capitals, although with only 21 shots that night, he didn't have to steal the victory. He has combined highlight-reel saves with awful gaffes, frustrating both fans and fantasy owners alike. Perhaps he was just shell shocked as Alexander Ovechkin fired hundreds of heat-seeking missiles his way.

Notes
The Penguins have gone with just 11 forwards the past few games and have dressed seven defensemen. This strategy proved especially useful in game seven when defenseman Sergei Gonchar returned to play, but wasn't expected to log his usual 20-plus minutes right away. Said strategy also allows the Penguins to throw out either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin with fourth line wingers Miroslav Satan and Craig Adams. It will be interesting to see whether coach Dan Bylsma sticks with this plan of action in round three.

Gonchar felt good in game seven after missing time with a knee injury after a frightening knee-on-knee collision with Alexander Ovechkin. He played 15:06 in his return and will play, with a knee brace, when the series opens against Carolina Monday.

Petr Sykora hasn't played since game two of the Washington series, usurped by Miroslav Satan, who has four assists in the past four games.

Forward Mike Zigomanis remains sidelined with a shoulder injury that required surgery in December. Even if he were healthy, he'd have a hard time leap-frogging healthy scratches like Sykora.


CAROLINA

Ray Whitney – Eric Staal – Scott Walker
Erik Cole – Matt Cullen – Chad LaRose
Sergei Samsonov – Jussi Jokinen – Tuomo Ruutu
Ryan Bayda – Rod Brind'Amour– Patrick Eaves
Tim Conboy – Dwight Helminen – Brandon Sutter – Zach Boychuk

Dennis Seidenberg – Tim Gleason
Niclas Wallin – Joni Pitkanen
Joe Corvo – Frantisek Kaberle
Anton Babchuk

Cam Ward
Michael Leighton

WHO'S HOT
Eric Staal continued his magical run in the second round with four goals and six points in seven games. While not Sidney Crosby-like numbers, Staal also had to do that with Andre The Giant clone Zdeno Chara draped over his back every shift.

Cam Ward turned back the clock a few years to when he won the playoff MVP award with his performance through the first two rounds. The 25-year-old certainly isn't over the hill, but the 'Canes have been out of the playoffs ever since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. Ward saves his best for big games, but is also playing very consistent hockey with a 2.22 GAA and a remarkable .927 save percentage.

Jussi Jokinen has proven to be the true wildcard in the post-season thus far. He singlehandedly broke the back of the Devils in the first round with his last second heroics on numerous occasions. He scored the overtime winner in game three and finished with three goals and six points against Boston, despite being held pointless in the final three games. He isn't consistent, but, then again, he's never been.

WHO'S NOT
Anton Babchuk's star has fallen dramatically in the post-season. The man with the cannon from the point had 16 goals in the regular season, but has been held to just one assist in 13 playoff games, which culminated in a game seven scratching by coach Paul Maurice. He was replaced by veteran Frantisek Kaberle. It's unclear at this point who Maurice will go with to start the conference finals, but both will see action.

Ray Whitney was held to just two assists against the Bruins after a dynamic first round performance against the Devils in which he had seven points in seven games. Fortunately, Whitney will be away from the hard-hitting, aggressive Bruins and playing against the free-flowing Penguins.

Erik Cole was held to just two assists against the Bruins, but that was a huge increase over the goose egg he laid in the first round. That's two points in 14 games for non-math majors – and he's accomplishing this playing mostly with Eric Staal, who has 13 points thus far.

Notes
Brind'Amour left game seven after being struck in the face by an errant puck. Of course the gritty captain is shrugging off the injury and will likely be in the lineup for game one.

Scott Walker has lived a turbulent life over the past week, first being fined for sucker-punching Boston's Aaron Ward, then scoring the game and series-winning goal in overtime of game seven. Also, sadly, sometime during the second round, Walker's wife was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Fortunately it was caught early enough and is treatable. He isn't slated to miss any time because of the illness.

Prediction
While everyone loves Carolina's Cinderella's story, its narrative will come to a fitting end against the Penguins. Simply put, Pittsburgh's stars will be better than Carolina's, which will be the difference in the end. Penguins in six.