Pens, Fleury Hold Off 'Canes Rally

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals certainly didn't disappoint, as the Penguins and Hurricanes took part in an up-and-down track meet while both goalies put on a clinic in net. In the end, Marc-Andre Fleury was just a touch better than Cam Ward, while Phillipe Boucher's power play goal with just over eight minutes to play in regulation proved to be the game-winner in Pittsburgh's 3-2 win.

The Penguins came out smoking in the first period, overwhelming the Hurricanes with an offensive barrage that was highlighted by Miroslav Satan and Evgeni Malkin beating Ward just 80 seconds apart to stake the Penguins out to an early 2-0 lead. For Satan, it was his first goal in the NHL since March 1.

---

---

After being signed as a free agent prior to the season, Satan struggled with consistency and was ultimately sent to the minor leagues just prior to the trade deadline. With Petr Sykora struggling against Philadelphia in the opening round, head coach Dan Bylsma decided to start dressing Satan and the move has been, to this point, brilliant, even though it seemed somewhat desperate at the time. He now has a goal and four assists in eight playoff games. As he was coming out of the penalty box after serving a two-minute minor for holding, Satan picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat Ward on a breakway to put Pittsburgh on the board.

Just 80 seconds later Malkin netted his seventh of the postseason.

From that point on, the story of the game was the two goaltenders. While the Hurricanes didn't get a lot of shots on goal -- they finished with 25 -- most of their chances seemed to be legitimate scoring opportunities while Fleury managed to weather the storm, so to speak. On the other end of the ice, Ward was sensational for the Hurricanes, keeping them in the game with saves like this show-stopper on Bill Guerin in the second period.



Doesn't get much better than that.

With the Hurricanes trailing, 3-1, with just over two minutes to play in the third period, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik was sent off for elbowing, giving Carolina its second power play of the game. With Ward pulled, Joe Corvo netted a power play goal cutting the deficit to 3-2, and setting the stage for a frantic minute-and-a-half stretch to finish the game. Prior to Orpik's penalty, the Hurricanes had just two shots on goal in the third period. They had five in the final two minutes.

As the Penguins struggled to clear the puck out of the defensive zone, the Hurricanes peppered Fleury with shots, including a point-blank chance from Eric Staal, and a 130-foot shot from the neutral zone that nearly gave Fleury his Vesa Toskala moment in the closing seconds. Fleury managed to get his blocker on the puck as it took an awkward bounce just in front of the crease, knocking it away to preserve the win for Pittsburgh.

If these two goalies play like this the rest of the series, it's going six or seven games.