Pens Take Game 3 Over Carolina

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the low-down on the machine that is the Pittsburgh Penguins as they took out Carolina 6-2...

The Penguins took a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference final with a 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center ((Evgeni Malkin pictured, thanks Peter Diana/Post-Gazette))

They lead the best-of-seven series, three games to none, and can clinch a spot in the NHL Stanley Cup final against Detroit or Chicago with a win over the Hurricanes in Game 4 here Tuesday.

Carolina played at a furious pace in the early minutes and opened the scoring at 4:06. Winger Patrick Eaves got his own rebound after a severe-angle shot, wrapped around behind the net and flipped the puck out to center Matt Cullen, who scored from the top of the crease.

The Penguins tied it, 1-1, on a power play at 6:50 of the first period. Evgeni Malkin corralled a puck with his body in the high slot that Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason couldn't hang onto, then moved in and beat goaltender Cam Ward from near the crease.

That's how it stood until less than a minute remained in the first period before the Penguins erupted for two goals.

Center Sidney Crosby made it 2-1 with 42.2 seconds left in the period when he converted a backhand pass from linemate Bill Guerin, and Malkin got his second of the game with 11.9 seconds left when he moved in from the right boards and beat Ward with a shot to the far side.

There was no scoring in the second period, which ended with the Penguins holding a 31-16 edge in shots.

Carolina got to within a goal, 3-2, at 1:58 of the third period when winger Sergei

Samsonov scored on a rebound of Erik Cole's shot.

The Hurricanes got their first power play when Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar hit Carolina winger Scott Walker into the boards at 7:38 of the third period, but could not get the tying goal.

Winger Ruslan Fedotenko restored the Penguins' two-goal lead, making it 4-2 at 11:29 of the third period when he took a drop pass from Malkin and lifted the puck past Ward.

The Penguins made it 5-2 at 18:12 of the third period when Craig Adams scored off a faceoff into an empty net, and Guerin blew it open even wider with a goal 40 seconds later, at 18:52.

((HT: Versus/NHL))