Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricanes Pros and Cons

Well, I'm still trying to get over last nights loss. I'm honestly struggling to be excited about tonights game. But here goes...

The Hurricanes come into the game with a record of  5-4-0. That is good for 4th place in the Southeast division. The Penguins dropped to 5-5-1 last night that puts them 2nd in the Atlantic. The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-3 win over the Rangers last night. As we know, the Penguins also played last night but lost to the Flyers. The loss was the Pens 3rd in a row. Carolina has been getting a lot of shots on goal(32.67/game) but also giving up a lot(35.89). They average 2.67 goals per game and give up 3 goals against per game. To compare, the Pens score 2.91 and give up 2.55 per game. Carolina edges the Penguins power play 15% to 13.3%. However Pittsburghs penalty kill wins out 82.6% to Carolinas 76.3%.

I do not follow Carolina, but judging from some of these stats, it looks like the Pens should be able to come at these guys. They give up a ton of shots and aren't very good on special teams. Jordan Staal's brother, Eric leads the team in goals, assists, and points with 3, 4, 7 respectively.

The Hurricanes have not had a very friendly schedule. This is only their 2nd home game of the year. They started the season overseas in Finland. All the travel plus playing last night may be an advantage for the Pens.

It looks as if it will be Brent Johnson in goal for the Pens and Cam Ward for the Canes.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Malkin is questionable tonight with a bruised knee. It sounds like he will test the knee at the pregame skate.

On to the Pros and Cons.....


PROS:

• Carolina has got to be tired. Playing 2 games in Finland then coming home to 5 straight road games has got to take a toll on you. Both teams played last night as well, but I got to bet the Pens will have the stronger legs tonight. 
• Brent Johnson is in goal tonight. Fleury is definitely not to blame for last nights loss, but Johnson has given the team every opportunity to win every time he has played this year. 
• The Pens have faired better on the road this year at 3-1-1. Maybe they simplify their game or maybe its just the way it happens? Who knows, but this is a game they could and should win.

CONS:

• Cam Ward has been solid in his career vs the Penguins. He has posted 9-3-2 record with a 2.39 GAA
• The Pens power play is now 0-20 in the last 4 games. You are not going to win too many with these numbers

So thats it, this should be a winnable game. Lets see which Penguins come out tonight. Game is at 7:00pm.



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