I don't know how Penguins general manager Ray Shero pulled it off, but he managed to not only retain the services of Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin, two of the teams top-six forwards from their Stanley Cup winning team, but he did so while getting them to take paycuts.
After signing Guerin to a one-year deal on Monday, the Penguins announced that they agreed to terms with Fedotenko Friday afternoon. Rob Rossi of the Tribune Reviewreports the deal as being worth $1.8 million, down from the $2.25 million he made a season ago.
It was a pretty big deal when Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, for the first time in his NHL career, missed a playoff game in the Western Conference finals. The future Hall of Famer missed Games 4 and 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks (both Detroit wins) and, as it turns out, he had a pretty good -- and extremely painful -- excuse.
He was having his testicle operated on as a result of an injury suffered in Game 3.
The Pittsburgh Penguins ended a 17-year Stanley Cup drought on Friday night with a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, giving the franchise its third championship. While current general manager Ray Shero will get his name on the cup for overseeing the hockey operations the past three seasons, former general manager Craig Patrick also had a hand in putting this team together.
After the jump, a player-by-player look at how the 2008-09 Penguins were built over the years.
After Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward put on a goaltending clinic on Monday, prompting the discussion of whether or not they're legitimate franchise goaltenders, the two players, along with their collective defenses, seemingly took the night off on Thursday as Pittsburgh picked up a 7-4 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. Just 12 minutes into the first period, the two teams had already scored as many goals as they did in Game 1, while Carolina held a 3-2 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
Evgeni Malkin recorded his first career playoff hat trick in the win for Pittsburgh, registering his fifth consecutive multiple point game.
Penguins 7, Hurricanes 4: Recap | Box Score Penguins Lead Series 2-0
Sometimes, businesses think of the oddest ways to promote themselves. The Bavarian Brathaus in Cary, N.C., decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the Carolina Hurricanes' playoff run. The Hurricanes, of course, are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, and are eight wins away from their second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
The bratwurst is quite a tradition in Germany. Hurricanes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg is German. The Bavarian Brathaus saw the obvious connection, and they decided to have a little fun.
If Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Carolina's Cam Ward can repeat their Game 1 performances, when the two youngsters matched each other save-for-save in the Penguins 3-2 win, this series likely won't be decided until a seventh game.
Ward, 25, and Fleury, 24, have already helped lead teams to the Stanley Cup Final, while Ward not only won the whole thing as a rookie in 2005-06, he also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
So, are these two guys considered elite, franchise goaltenders?
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.
Penguins 3, Hurricanes 2: Recap | Box Score Penguins Lead Series 1-0
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury didn't have the best playoff series of his career against the Washington Capitals, but he managed to save his best moment for the biggest stage, robbing Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin in the opening minutes of Pittsburgh's commanding 6-2 on Wednesday night.
Ovechkin worked his way behind the Pittsburgh defense and stormed in by himself, like he's done so many times in his career, and had an opportunity to blow the roof off the building with the all-important first goal.
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
It all blew up on them in the second round. A younger, faster, exceptionally determined Chicago team took out the Canucks in six games, and they scored 21 goals to do it. It's got some in Vancouver wondering about Luongo's future, which is the last thing that should be up in the air now.
Who could blame him? Washington, a team that got two goals from the best player in the world, Alex Ovechkin, had played its most complete game of the series, yet still couldn't find a way to win.
In the end, this game turned on two sequences on either end of the ice in the overtime period. The first came early in the period when Washington center Dave Steckel, one of his team's more consistent performers, couldn't put the puck into an open net early. The second came just a few minutes later, as an Evgeni Malkin pass intended for Sidney Crosby deflected off the stick of sprawling Capitals defenseman Tom Poti and through the legs of a stunned Simeon Varlamov.
I don't know how Penguins general manager Ray Shero pulled it off, but he managed to not only retain the services of Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin, two of the teams top-six forwards from their Stanley Cup winning team, but he did so while getting them to take paycuts. 
It was a pretty big deal when Red Wings defenseman 
After 
Sometimes, businesses think of the oddest ways to promote themselves. The Bavarian Brathaus in Cary, N.C., decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the Carolina Hurricanes' playoff run. The Hurricanes, of course, are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, and are eight wins away from their second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
If Pittsburgh's 
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, 
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie 
Just a few minutes ago as he sat at a podium following his team's 
