NHL Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, May 25
No games scheduled. The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a chance to sweep the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
STARS
Saturday
-Evgeni Malkin, Penguins, had two goals and an assist as Pittsburgh pushed Carolina to the brink of elimination with a 6-2 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
-Sidney Crosby, Penguins, posted a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh’s 6-2 win over Carolina.
STATUS
Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu returned to the lineup for the Hurricanes’ 6-2 loss in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The physical forward missed Game 2 because of a lower-body injury sustained in the series opener.
SCHEDULE SET
The Stanley Cup finals will open in Detroit or Chicago on Friday, June 5. Had the Eastern and Western Conference finals both ended in sweeps, the championship round would have started this Thursday. There could be as much as an eight-day break between the semifinals and finals.
SPEAKING
But I don’t think we’ve let ourselves get that far ahead. We’ve been focused on what we needed to do. We had a similar approach last year, but this year, maybe a little more experience helps.” – Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby after a 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals and moved them within a win of a return trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
Posted: 5/24/09 8:19PM ET