FanHouse DanBylsma

Since taking over the behind the Penguins' bench in mid-February, Dan Bylsma could do no wrong during his head coaching debut in Pittsburgh. His hiring, combined with the return of defenseman Sergei Gonchar, and the in-season acquisitions of Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams, helped the Penguins win their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.

Everyone associated with Pittsburgh, it seems, loves the man known as Disco Dan (especially the owners of Qdoba mexican restaurants).The one exception appears to be forward, and current free agent, Petr Sykora.

So the rematch is set: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. For the first time in 25 years, the same two teams will meet in back-to-back years for the right to fight for Lord Stanley's Cup, and while one of these teams is relatively similar to last year's version (with one big exception) the other is very, very different.

Because the NFL rules the sports landscape in North America, it shouldn't be a surprise that Bill Cowher, former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years, has worked his way into the storyline of the NHL's Eastern Conference final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.

Prior to the start of the series, there was some debate as to Cowher's rooting interest for the series, seeing as how he not only coached in Pittsburgh for a decade-and-a-half, but because he was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and now currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to Tuesday's Game 4, Cowher will be sounding the Hurricanes' pre-game warning siren, and, as far as many people in the steel city are concerned, turning his back on Pittsburgh.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals certainly didn't disappoint, as the Penguins and Hurricanes took part in an up-and-down track meet while both goalies put on a clinic in net. In the end, Marc-Andre Fleury was just a touch better than Cam Ward, while Phillipe Boucher's power play goal with just over eight minutes to play in regulation proved to be the game-winner in Pittsburgh's 3-2 win.

The Penguins came out smoking in the first period, overwhelming the Hurricanes with an offensive barrage that was highlighted by Miroslav Satan and Evgeni Malkin beating Ward just 80 seconds apart to stake the Penguins out to an early 2-0 lead. For Satan, it was his first goal in the NHL since March 1.

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Well this is kind of a letdown. After watching the Penguins take on long-time rivals Philadelphia and Washington in the first two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs, they're now taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final. It's a match-up that offers nothing in the way of hatred, bitterness or rivalry. Hopefully the Staal brothers pull a Keith and Wayne Primeau and fight sometime in the first two games. You know, just to stir the pot a little bit.

Having said that, this is an interesting match-up when it comes to hockey and that, of course, is the most important thing. It should be an exciting series, and who knows, perhaps by the end of it both teams will end up hating each other anyway.

It's not exactly a national secret that hockey teams tend to go through coaching changes about as often as a high school kid goes through a change of clothes (speaking on personal experience, that's about once per year). As we begin the conference finals, it's probably worth pointing out that three of the four teams taking part -- the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks -- experienced a change behind the bench during the regular season.

It's the series everybody is talking about, as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin prepare to hit the ice in a one-on-one, steel cage battle for NHL supremacy. Wait. What's that? There's actually other players involved in this series? We take a look at the series after the jump.

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When Dan Bylsma took over behind the bench as the Penguins interim head coach, the season was looking bleak. They were sputtering along at a 27-25-5 pace, sitting outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Some people (including yours truly) were so down on the current squad that it appeared as if a coaching change wouldn't make much of a difference. So much for that.

A coaching change and a couple of astute roster moves later (hello Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin), and the Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, awaiting a second-round opponent after dispatching the Flyers. Apparently that was all the Penguins front office needed to see, as they signed Bylsma to a long-term contract extension on Monday night, removing the "interim" tag.

After playing just eight minutes in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win on Tuesday night, Petr Sykora is expected to find himself in a suit and tie for game 5, as the Penguins will be welcoming Miroslav Satan back to the lineup according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

As we've already pointed out during this series, Sykora has been nonexistent since the beginning of March, and has struggled to produce in interim head coach Dan Bylsma's system. There's also the possibility that he's been playing injured, which also might be a factor in the decision to bench him for Thursday's game.

After struggling on Sunday, Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded with a sensational performance on Tuesday night, stopping 44-of-45 shots in Pittsburgh's 3-1 against Philadelphia in game 4 of its Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.

No question about it, the Penguins' 24-year-old netminder was their best player, standing on his head much of the game, giving them an opportunity to win. The Flyers were consistently swarming the front of the net -- and firing shots from every possible angle on each of their eight power plays -- as Fleury was there every single time to make the stops.

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