Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators

Last year Sidney Crosby carried the Penguins to a 105-point season and a fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference and won a scoring title as well as the Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP.

This year, Crosby missed 29 games, but the Penguins still won the Atlantic Division crown and finished second in the East.

That is not meant to demonstrate that Pittsburgh is somehow better without Crosby, but rather how much the Penguins continue to grow as a complete team.

The 20-year-old Crosby was still very productive when his high ankle sprain didn't keep him from playing, as the phenom managed 72 points (24 goals, 48 assists) in 53 games.

However, Pittsburgh's true MVP in 2007-08 was forward Evgeni Malkin, who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie last year and avoided a sophomore slump in a big way. Malkin played in all 82 games and finished second in the league in points (106) and fourth in goals scored (47). He should be a finalist for the Hart and Pearson, although Malkin's Russian countryman Alex Ovechkin of Washington seems to have those awards locked up.

The Penguins also added another big offensive weapon at this year's trade deadline, as they acquired right wing Marian Hossa from Atlanta in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a first-round selection in this year's draft. Pittsburgh also received forward Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta.

Hossa injured his knee in his first game with the Pens, but was able to return after missing six contests. The 29-year-old Czech had three goals and seven assists in 12 games with Pittsburgh and combined for 66 points (29g, 37a) in 72 games with the Thrashers and Penguins this year.

Hossa had scored 192 points, 100 last year and 92 in 2005-06, in his previous two seasons combined. He has also played in 55 career playoff games, mostly during his time in Ottawa, and has 13 goals and 22 assists in the postseason.

The Penguins are able to effectively mix Crosby, Malkin and Hossa in on the power play, but Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh's quarterback on the man advantage, also deserves a great deal of the credit. After all, the Penguins were fourth this year on the power play, scoring on 20.4-percent of their opportunities.

Gonchar is the Penguins best defenseman and finished third overall among Pittsburgh scorers with 65 points (12g, 53a). He was second in the NHL in terms of scoring by a defenseman, finishing behind five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit.

Marc-Andre Fleury comes into the playoffs as a hot goaltender, as he went 10-2-1 in his final 13 starts of the season. Fleury, who missed over two months of the season with a high ankle sprain, was 19-10-2 with a .921 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average in 35 games (33 starts) this season.

Veteran forward Petr Sykora gives the Penguins some scoring depth and a great deal of playoff experience. The 31-year-old had 28 goals and 35 assists in 81 games this season. Sykora won a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2000 and has 59 points (26g, 33a) in 88 career postseason games.

Left wing Ryan Malone, a Pittsburgh native, is a solid two-way player for the Penguins. He had 51 points (27g, 24a) in 77 games this year and was third on the team with a plus-14 rating.

The Penguins would like to see second-year center Jordan Staal shrug off a disappointing regular season and begin producing in the playoffs. After scoring 29 goals as an 18-year-old rookie in 2006-07, Staal followed up with just 12 goals and 16 assists in his sophomore campaign.

In addition to Gonchar, the Penguins rely on Ryan Whitney to provide points from the blue line. Whitney had 40 points (12g, 28a) in 76 games this year. Brooks Orpik had just one goal 10 assists in 78 games, but is the Penguins most physical and one of their best defensive defenseman.

OTTAWA SENATORS (7th seed, East)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 43-31-8

2007 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Pittsburgh 4-1 in conference quarterfinals; defeated New Jersey 4-1 in conference semifinals; defeated Buffalo 4-1 in conference finals; lost to Anaheim 4-1 in Stanley Cup finals

(Sports Network) - The rise and fall of the Ottawa Senators this season was well-documented, as a team that looked poised to run away with the top seed in the East early in the season needed to battle to simply make the playoffs at the end.

Ottawa started the season with a 16-3-0 record, but that quickly changed as the Senators dropped their next seven games. The Sens would rebound from that slide and for a brief time it seemed that the skid was simply an aberration as the club still had an excellent 29-10-4 record in mid-January.

However, things would get worse in the second half until general manager Bryan Murray fired head coach John Paddock on February 27 and placed himself behind the bench. After all, Murray was the head coach for Ottawa during their run to the Stanley Cup finals a year ago.

Murray's switch did little to help the Sens, as the club went just 7-9-2 the rest of the way and continued to slide down the Eastern Conference standings. Ultimately, Ottawa landed in the seventh seed, a big disappointment considering the way the club began the season.

Just like last year, the Senators' primary strength is the potency of its top line, which features wingers Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley as well as centerman Jason Spezza. However, that line will be at two-thirds strength as Alfredsson is expected to miss at least the first round of the playoffs with knee and neck injuries.

Spezza was the leading scorer for Ottawa this year with 92 points (34g, 58a) in 76 games.

Alfredsson is Ottawa's captain and has played in every single playoff game in Senators' history up until now. The Senators will not only miss his 89 points (40g, 49a) this season, but also Alfredsson's top-notch defensive play from the forward position.

Heatley, meanwhile, missed some time during the middle of the season with a shoulder injury, but still finished with 41 goals and 41 assists in 71 games.

Martin Lapointe filled in for Alfredsson as the top-line right winger at the end of the regular season. Lapointe, who came over in a trade with Chicago at the deadline, had just six goals and seven assists in 70 games with the Blackhawks and Senators this year. However, the 34-year-old has 43 points (19g, 24a) in 109 career playoff games and won two Stanley Cup titles while with Detroit.

In addition to losing Alfredsson, the Senators will also be without another of their key forwards as centerman Mike Fisher will also miss the opening series with a knee injury. Fisher had 47 points (23g, 24a) in 79 games this year and was a big contributor during last year's playoff run with five goals and five assists.

The Sens will also be looking for production from Antoine Vermette, who was fourth on the team in scoring this year with 53 points (24g, 29a).

A big difference between this year's Senators and the 2007 Eastern Conference champion edition of the club is an uncertain situation in goal. Last year, Ray Emery won the No. 1 goaltender spot and played with confidence deep into the postseason. However, Emery's 2007-08 campaign is somewhat of a lost season for the 25-year-old goaltender, as he went just 12-13-4 with a 3.13 GAA and lost the starting job to veteran Martin Gerber. Emery also compounded his poor play by showing up late for practice on several occasions and was evened fined for tardiness.

Gerber had a strong start to the season, but as the Senators began to fade so did the Swiss backstop's play. Overall, the 33-year-old was 30-18-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .910 save percentage. Gerber has seemed limited action in just eight career playoff games and is just 1-1 with a 3.52 GAA in those tests.

The Senators top defenseman for most of the franchise's history has been Wade Redden and his time in Ottawa is winding down as he is expected to test free agency this summer. Redden was the Sens top-scoring blueliner this year with 38 points (6g, 32a) in 80 games and he also posted a plus-11 rating.

Andrej Meszaros, a 6-2, 220-pound defenseman, added nine goals and 27 assists this year and Chris Phillips, Ottawa's best overall blueliner, added five goals and 13 assists.

MATCHUP

This series is a rematch of last year's conference quarterfinals, which Ottawa won in five games. That was the first-ever playoff series between the Pens and Sens.

However, the teams come into this year's postseason with different levels of confidence as Pittsburgh finished strong after a slow start and the Senators scuffled to get into the playoffs.

Ottawa also has to deal with the fact that it won't have two of its top forwards in this series, as Alfredsson and Fisher deal with injuries. Alfredsson's absence could prove to be a fatal flaw in this series as the Senators count on their captain to do so much at both ends of the ice.

The Senators did win the season series against the Penguins, going 3-0-1 in four meetings.

This series may come down to special teams, as playoff matchups often do, and Pittsburgh holds a decisive advantage in that regard because of its potent power play. The Senators also struggled on the penalty kill this season and are tied with Calgary for the most power-play goals (72) allowed by playoff teams this year.

The Senators had the most-feared 1-2-3 combination in last year's postseason, but without Alfredsson that distinction belongs to Pittsburgh's trio of Crosby, Malkin and Hossa.

Pittsburgh's young nucleus has yet to win a playoff series, as last year's set against Ottawa was the Pens first trip to the postseason since 2001. Crosby and company should be able to get that monkey off their back in this year's series the reeling Sens.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Penguins in 5