Biggest Early Takeaways from the NHL Eastern Conference Finals

Two games into the NHL's Eastern Conference Final, the Boston Bruins have thoroughly dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins, grabbing a 2-0 series lead on the road and outscoring the opposition 9-1.

A busy schedule toward the end of the regular season meant that Boston had played a grueling 30 games in 60 nights by the time it finished off the New York Rangers in Round 2. Six full days off between series has brought us a Bruins team that's energized, refreshed and playing at the top of its game.

Not so for the Penguins, who were actually off for seven days between series. So far, the Eastern Conference's top regular-season squad has struggled to get its offense going. The Pens have also looked tentative and slow on defense, while their old goaltending issues have resurfaced once again.

As the Bruins head home with thoughts of a series sweep dancing through their heads, here's a look at a few of the key early takeaways from this series so far.

The Playoffs Are Not the Regular Season

It wasn't so long ago that Pittsburgh knew how to beat the Boston Bruins. The Penguins beat Boston every time they met during the regular season.

All three wins were one-goal games. The Penguins hosted the Bruins twice over five days in March, winning the first game 3-2 and the second 2-1. On April 20, Pittsburgh swept the season series with another 3-2 win, this time at the TD Garden. Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for the first game, while Tomas Vokoun took care of business in the latter two.

Brandon Sutter was the only Penguin with more than one goal against Boston in the regular season—he had two. Perhaps it's fitting that he's been Pittsburgh's only scorer through two games of this playoff series.

No Good Option in the Pittsburgh Net

Fleury was pulled from his starting job in the Pittsburgh net after giving up 14 goals in four games to the New York Islanders in Round 1 of the playoffs.

For the past month, Vokoun has guided the Penguins' ship through relatively calm waters, dispatching the Islanders and then the Ottawa Senators with minimal fanfare.

In Game 1 against Boston, Vokoun was average at best in Pittsburgh's 3-0 loss. He wasn't the only problem, but his play wasn't on the same level as it was during the Ottawa series. There was talk that Fleury might get back into the series in Game 2.

Fleury did indeed make an appearance, but not until Vokoun had given up three goals on 12 shots in the first 16:31 of Game 2, putting the Penguins in a deep hole.

After the switch, Sutter scored to draw the Penguins back to 3-1, but Boston's first shot on Fleury went right past him with nine seconds to go in the first, sending the teams to their locker rooms with a 4-1 score on the board.

By the end of the night, Fleury had allowed three goals on 17 shots—hardly instilling confidence in his coach or his teammates.

Fleury and Vokoun have been the only two goaltenders used by Pittsburgh this year. Who gets the start in Boston for Game 3?

Iginla May Be Having Second Thoughts

Back in March, soon-to-be-free agent Jarome Iginla had a chance to write his ticket out of Calgary. His no-trade clause allowed him to inform the Flames which team he'd like to be moved to, presumably for his best chance at winning a Stanley Cup.

Despite early media reports that said Iginla was headed for Boston, he became a Pittsburgh Penguin. Iginla hoped to rekindle the magic of Team Canada's 2010 golden goal that he shared with Sidney Crosby and hoist his first Cup for his efforts.

Through the first two rounds, Iginla was a solid contributor for the Pens, putting up 12 points in 13 games. Of Pittsburgh's many deadline acquisitions, he had made the biggest splash.

The road has gotten much rougher now that he is facing the other team that tried to acquire his services. Through two games, he's pointless with just three shots on goal and is a minus-three.

After missing out on Iginla, Boston acquired Jaromir Jagr. The fact that Jagr hasn't had an easy time fitting into Boston's system might be some small consolation when Iginla wonders what might have been if he'd gone the other way.

Tempers Have Cooled

Game 1 of the Pittsburgh-Boston series was a nasty affair. Tempers flared on both sides after Matt Cooke took a checking from behind major and game misconduct on Adam McQuaid early in the second period. The testosterone peaked at the end of that period with an unlikely fight between Patrice Bergeron and Evgeni Malkin, while Crosby and Chara jawed at each other in the background.

It looked like the series was going to get ugly in a hurry, but the physical play has calmed down since then. Just one penalty was called in the third period of Game 1 and only five minors were whistled in all of Game 2.

When playing with the lead, Boston doesn't need to put the physical part of its game on display. A closer contest in Game 3 could see the emotions rise back up to the surface.

Boston's Cup-Winners from 2011 Are Leading the Charge

Boston's nine goals in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final have come from a list of familiar faces. Every scorer was a member of Boston's 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team.

Game 1: David Krejci (two goals), Nathan Horton

Game 2: Brad Marchand (two goals), Krejci, Horton, Patrice Bergeron, Johnny Boychuk

The Bruins still have 17 players from their 2011 Cup team on their roster. Goaltender Tim Thomas is the only notable departure, and Tuukka Rask is doing more than enough to make Bruins fans forget about their Conn Smythe winner.

The Bruins' play thus far against Pittsburgh is eerily reminiscent of how they took apart Vancouver to win the 2011 Stanley Cup. If the team can keep it up, the end result might well turn out the same.

History Is on Pittsburgh's Side

Pittsburgh is going to need to tap into every source of inspiration it can find in order to try to find a way back into this series.

The Penguins can take consolation in the fact that Boston has been an up-and-down team this year. The squad that almost lost to Toronto looked absolutely defeated in the late stages of that series until its sudden rally late in Game 7. Playing their best, the Penguins have the firepower to bust out and create that same sort of self-doubt in the Bruins.

In fact, Pittsburgh can look to its own history as an example. The last team to go down 0-2 in a conference final and come back to win its series was its 1991 team—against the Boston Bruins.

You just never know.

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