By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
They never stood a chance.
Against a team that matched their skating ability and far surpassed their scoring prowess, the Hurricanes looked like the pretenders we all knew they were, even after they beat the Baby B's.
The difference -both on the ice and on paper - was absurd. We won't get into all the gritty details because the basic ones paint enough of a picture - the Penguins outshot the WhalerCanes 137-118 and outscored them 20-9 in the four-game laugher.
Sidney Crosby, Evegni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury did exactly what you would expect young superstars to do - dominate. Malkin, who often is overlooked because of Crosby had a sensational series, which included a hat trick in game two's dismantling of Cam Ward and a three-point effort in game three that pretty much put the boot on Carolina's throat.
The Canes' big star, Eric Staal, however, disappeared. When the guy who provided almost 20 percent of your team's goals over the course of the season records two points and a minus-seven plus-minus, hang up the skates and don't even take the ice because you don't have a chance. Hey, Miroslav Satan (whose player number on Yahoo is actually 666) only played 17 games all season had a better series than Staal. That's not to say the series flop was all Staal's doing. It's hard to carry a team that essentially has no elite talent besides yourself. However, some glimmer of leadership, some kind of spark would have been nice for his teammates to see.
So while Boston fans a cheering the end of Scott Walker's playoff run, the NHL is also breathing a sigh of relief that the far superior team didn't lay an egg in this series. And with Detroit poised to knock out the Blackhawks after trouncing them, the stage is all but set for a rematch of last year's Cup final.
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