The Penguins are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2009.
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) -
James Neal notched a hat trick and an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins advanced past the Ottawa Senators with a 6-2 win in Game 5 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Penguins are now back in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2009, when they swept the Carolina Hurricanes on the way to their third Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
Tomas Vokoun, who has been the starter for Pittsburgh since taking over for Marc-Andre Fleury prior to Game 5 of the opening round series against the Islanders, stopped 29 shots to improve to 6-1 in this postseason.
continue>>
Alfie, Toews and a bad week for NHL leadership
Dan Di Sciullo, NHL Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
Several years ago the NHL started handing out an award for leadership and they aptly named it after Mark Messier, who was undoubtedly one of the greatest captains his sport has ever seen.
You don't have to be a captain to win the Mark Messier Leadership Award, but it certainly helps. All three finalists for this year's trophy wear the "C" for their respective teams, but recently two of them indulged in behavior unbecoming of a captain.
In fact, Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson and Chicago's Jonathan Toews displayed such poor leadership qualities that one wonders if Messier, who chooses the finalists and winners himself, would like to hit the reset button and select two new players to join Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings on this year's list.
continue>>
