It was Eastern Conference Friday night last night. The Penguins were looking to head back to Washington with an even series. Meanwhile, on the coast, there was a storm brewing in Carolina as the Hurricanes looked to take their third straight win against Boston.

Washington 3 @ Pittsburgh 5 – Did you know that the team that has scored first in each game of this series has gone on to lose that game? Well, the Caps didn’t so when Nick Backstrom scored 36 seconds into the game, they were doomed. The Pens scored three unanswered in the first and powered their way to the win and made their series a best-of-three. Sergei Gonchar scored the first Pittsburgh goal less than four minutes after Backstrom scored but he was not long for this game. Gonchar collided knee-on-knee with Alex Ovechkin before the period was out and left the game, didn’t return and is not expected back anytime soon. Sidney Crosby was once again big for the Pens, scoring the game winning goal early in the third. Crosby (1 goal, 1 assist) Ruslan Fedotenko (1 goal, 1 assist) and Rob Scuderi (2 assists) were the only players with multiple points on the night. Neither goalie will want to remember tonight’s performance as neither was able to bail their teams out of trouble with Varlamov looking especially poor.
The series is tied at 2-2

Boston 1 @ Carolina 4 – After three straight wins, the question is now who is the star of the Cardiac Canes. Could it be Eric Staal who has been a force all year and had another two goals last night? Is it Cam Ward who made 20 saves, most of the Boston heartbreaking variety? Or could it be Jussi Jokinen, a man on waivers twice this season, who has been the most clutch and heart stopping Cane of them all this post season and had a goal and two assists last night? It was a close game until the third when Jokinen scored three minutes in to the final frame for the eventual game winner. Later in the period, Sergei Sampsonov and Staal scored 70 seconds apart to put the game on ice. Marc Savard had the lone marker for the Bruins. After three straight defeats, the Bruins and Claude Julien have to go back to the drawing board to find out what’s going wrong and how to solve it.
Carolina leads the series 3-1

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Jussi Jokinen (Carolina)
2. Eric Staal (Carolina)
3. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)

Saturday’s Schedule:
Pittsburgh at Washington – The series is tied at 2-2 (TV: CBC, Versus)
Chicago at Vancouver -The series is tied at 2-2 (TV: CBC, Versus)