Series Preview: Penguins in 6

PIT: Evgeni Malkin 112 pts, Sidney Crosby 103 pts, Marc Andre Fleury 35 wins

WAS: Alexander Ovechkin 110 pts, Niklas Backstrom 88 pts, D Mike Green 73 pts

Advantage – Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh: Down the middle, the Penguins are the deepest team in the NHL with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. Crosby and Malkin powered the Penguins through the first round combining for 17 points in the series while Jordan Staal has teamed with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy to become the most complete third line in hockey.

While Crosby and Malkin are putting up stellar numbers in the playoffs, they are not getting much help from their wingers. Ruslan Fedotenko was the only top 6 forward to score an even strength goal for the Penguins in their first round series against Philadelphia.

Chris Kunitz has added a much needed physical presence on Sidney Crosby’s line but he has not proven to be a consistent goal scorer in the playoffs. Kunitz has one goal in his last 27 playoff games. Pittsburgh will need more production from Kunitz against Washington. What the Penguins get out of Miroslav Satan remains to be seen as Satan will begin the series on a line with Evgeni Malkin.

How much production the Penguins get from their top 6 wingers is a major question mark for the Penguins heading into the series. The X-Factor for the Penguins upfront will be Jordan Staal.

Staal was among the Penguins top forwards in the first two games against Philadelphia but he only ended up with one point in the entire series. Staal’s counterparts in the 2006 draft, Jonathan Toews, Niklas Backstrom and Phil Kessel have taking their games to the next level when it comes to offensive production