NHL Play-Off preview – Pittsburgh Penguins v Ottawa Senators
Last year the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup after entering the play-offs as the fourth seed. This year, once again, they start the post-season as the No.4 seed as they look to defend their title.
A year down the line you would expect the Penguins to be higher up in the rankings but inconsistency has cost them and so the fifth seeded Ottawa Senators await the current champions.
"We know we've been a little inconsistent with it, so that's really our challenge playoffs. Are we happy with our mindset? No, not entirely. Do we know how we need to play? Yes. We have not gotten to the consistency we know we're going to need,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.
The Pens will be relying on their two main centres, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin hasn’t had the season the Pens expected him to have. He didn’t defend his NHL scoring champ title after playing only 66 games and scoring just 73 points. He struggled with injuries this season but when he has played he has again played well. His last five starts have produced nine points.
Crosby on the other hand has played in all but one of the Penguins games this season and is one of the front runners for the Hart Trophy and in his last game scored two goals and claimed three assists.
The Penguins will be looking at the injuries to Filip Kuba and Alexi Kovalev as big positives going into the series but will still have to be wary of the other threats the Senators have in their team.
Daniel Alfredsson will be the key for Ottawa if they are to progress and will need every one of his 71 regular season points to take down the current champs. Jason Spezza will also be another major factor in how the Senators do against the Pens and if he can continue his recent form, 14 points in eight games, Pittsburgh could be in for a tough battle.
If the Stanley Cup holders were to fall at this early stage it would be a big shock considering the amount of talent they have on their team, but if they do happen to crash out it will be because of their inconsistent regular season.
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