Malkin Kills the Storm

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin single-handedly made sure that the Carolina Hurricanes impressive penchant for winning Game Two's in playoff series' came to an end.

A lot of the talk heading into Thursday night’s Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals was how the Hurricanes have reeled off five consecutive Game Two victories going back to when they were last in the playoffs. This spring they won that crucial second game against the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins but with all due respect to both those clubs they didn’t have a Malkin.

With his parents cheering wildly in the stands, "Gino," as he is affectionately known to his teammates, scored a hat-trick including two in the third period to put the game out of reach in what was a 7-4 finish. “He played a determined game,” teammate Bill Guerin said. “He’s got that size and skill.”

Late in the third period with the Penguins leading 5-4, Malkin, who passed Crosby as the playoff- scoring leader with 25 points, scored a highlight goal for the ages. Using his size and strength, Malkin carried the puck to the front of the net and with a Carolina defenseman on him, pulled off a perfect spin move that concluded with him snapping a backhander high and over Canes goalie Cam Ward’s shoulder for what was a back-breaking goal.

“It was a great shot,” Dennis Seidenberg, who was the defenseman covering Malkin said. “I don’t know who saves that. He’s a great player and great players, eventually they break out. Today was his day, it seemed like.”

Meanwhile the Penguins, who are trying to be the first team since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers to lose in the finals one year only to come back and win the Cup the following year, also got a vintage performance from captain Sidney Crosby who tied a record by scoring the first goal of a game six straight times.