More photos » Julie Jacobson - AP

about 1 month ago: Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, right, blocks a shot-attempt by New York Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky (17) as Rangers' Ales Kotalik (12) and Carolina Hurricanes' Tom Kostopoulos (29) look on in the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Hurricanes won 5-1. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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Sutter, Weight Meet For First Time Since Hit

With back-to-back 5-1 wins and its injured players still not ready to return, the Carolina Hurricanes will look for the same lineup to lead the way in pursuit of the team's second three-game winning streak of the month and season tonight against the visiting New York Islanders. 

Staring across the ice at them will be a familiar foe, but one that hasn't played in Raleigh for more than three years: goaltender Rick DiPietro.

DiPietro's injury struggles are well documented, but since finally returning to the Isles cage he is 2-2 in five games with a decent 2.54 goals-against average and .907 save percentage for the in-the-playoff-hunt Islanders. But the RBC Center has not been a friendly — or frequent — stop for the one-time first overall draft pick.

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The Carolina Hurricanes seemed to be a team of destiny.  They survived two game 7's on the road, repeatedly overcame deficits in each previous series, and went on to defeat heavily favored opponents in rounds one and two.  But the storybook postseason came to an end against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night as last year's Eastern Conference Champions captured the Prince of Wales Trophy once again by sweeping the Hurricanes at the RBC, 4-1. 

Game 4 seemed eerily similar to a couple of the previous games as the Canes showed good life at the beginning of the contest, only to end up succumbing to the ever-pressing Penguins who came hard at the home team all night long.

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The Carolina Hurricanes get their fourth — and perhaps final — chance to make a dent in the Penguins armor, hosting Pittsburgh in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals series they trail 3-0.

Through three games, everything that could go wrong for the Canes has. From series-opening injuries to Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole, to defensive lapses and breakdowns, to confidence and style-of-play issues, Carolina has yet to get their skates under them. But that doesn't take away from what the Penguins have been able to do, specifically superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

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The Carolina Hurricanes scored the game's first goal and had the loud support of their home fans behind them, two factors that have usually meant success, but the team could not stop the onslaught of the Pittsburgh Penguins last night in Raleigh as the Pens put the Canes on the brink of elimination, 6-2. 

Once again members of the team and the coach do not seem to have any answers on how to beat the powerhouse Penguins.  When Eric Staal was asked if the team had to play a perfect game to defeat the Pens, he shook his head no.  "We just need to play better". 

Erik Cole said the same thing when asked what the Canes needed to do in order to beat the Pens.  His reply, "We need to play better."

Obviously, that's easier said than done.  The Canes have been saying that for three games now, but have been dominated as Pittsburgh has been seemingly scoring at will at times and has scored 16 goals against the Canes in the first three games of the series.

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The Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins played wide open Thursday night and the home team took full advantage of some loose play in the Carolina zone to win game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 7-4. 

Sidney Crosby opened the scoring just 1:51 into the game, but his goal was answered by Chad LaRose, just one minute later.  Five minutes after that, Evgeni Malkin would score the first of his three goals on the night as he skated in from the bench untouched, but Jussi Jokinen knocked in a shot just 25 seconds later to tie the game once more.

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