Sports

calder cup playoffs

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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Defenseman Mark Ardelan doesn’t know a lot about the Portland Pirates.

You can’t really blame him considering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins faced the Pirates only twice this season.

But Ardelan and his teammates will have plenty of time to get acquainted with the Pirates when they open their AHL Eastern Conference Final playoff series at 7:05 p.m. today at the Wachovia Arena.

In the regular season, the teams split two games as the Pirates took a 2-1 win at home on Jan. 25 and the Penguins shut out Portland’s offense 3-0 at the Wachovia Arena on Feb. 8.

“I know their forwards are real fast and they’re a hard-working team,” Ardelan said. “They play a lot like us.”

While the Penguins’ knowledge of the Pirates may be vague right now, there are several Portland players who know plenty about Wilkes-Barre.

Center Stephen Dixon, defenseman Andy Schneider and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin spent time with the Penguins.

Aubin posted strong numbers in his last two seasons with the Penguins, but fans may remember him more for comments he made to a Pittsburgh newspaper about Wilkes-Barre.

In 1999 Aubin expressed his dislike for the city after he was sent down by Pittsburgh for the fourth time that season. Fans responded by applauding when Aubin was scratched from the lineup in his first game back.

While Portland remains somewhat of a mystery, the Penguins will enjoy home-ice advantage during the series.

Here’s a look at how both teams made it to the Eastern Conference Final and how they match up:

• Portland beat Hartford four games to one in round 1. The Pirates went on to defeat the top team in the AHL – the Providence Bruins – in six games.

• The Penguins beat the Hershey Bears in the opening round four games to one, and did the same thing to the Philadelphia Phantoms last round.

FORWARDS

Portland - Led by centers Jason King (29 goals) and Geoff Platt (28 goals), Portland scored 238 goals in the regular season. King and Platt each have five goals in the playoffs, and right wing Bobby Ryan (5 goals, 6 assists), center Andrew Ebbett (2 goals, 9 assists) and left wing Drew Miller (1 goal, 7 assists) have also contributed to the postseason scoring. But after King’s seven points, the scoring from the forwards drops off.

Penguins - Coming into the series against Philadelphia, Tim Brent, and Chris Minard were on an offensive tear. When the series ended, the duo was still on a tear. But the Penguins didn’t rely solely on Brent and Minard as Ryan Stone, Kurtis McLean, Nathan Smith, Connor James, Tim Wallace, Dave Gove and Mark Letestu all contributed. Rookies Dustin Jeffrey and Luca Caputi each have two goals and take regular shifts. Jeffrey has also proven himself valuable on faceoffs, and Caputi can spark the team with his hustle.

Advantage – Penguins

DEFENSE

Portland – This could be the wild card in the playoffs. Despite winning two series, Portland has given up more goals (34) than they’ve scored (30). Five of the Pirates’ seven defensemen are in the negative when it comes to plus-minus rating. On the scoring front, Joe Callahan leads the blueliners with eight points, followed by Andy Schneider, Bruno St. Jacques and Brendan Mikkelson with three points each. Brian Salcido, the Pirates leading scorer among defensemen in the regular season, only has two assists in the playoffs.

Penguins – Alex Goligoski is second on the team in scoring with 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) and is tied for third in the league in points. Mark Ardelan, Ben Lovejoy and Alain Nasreddine have also put up points for the Penguins. Aside from Nasreddine (minus-1) all the Penguins defensemen have a positive plus-minus rating. Throw in the steady play of Deryk Engelland and Ryan Lannon and it may be just the ticket to shut down Portland’s speed game.

Advantage – Penguins

GOALTENDING

Portland – It’s doubtful that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans forgot what Jean-Sebastien Aubin said in 1999, but they also shouldn’t forget that he is a proven veteran that has posted a 2.91 goals-against average and a .906 save-percentage in 199 NHL games. Aubin posted similar numbers in his AHL career – a 2.98 goals-against average and a .905 save-percentage in 117 games. He has a proven track record and having a veteran goaltender in net is a huge luxury in the AHL (look at the Albany River Rats and Michael Leighton). In nine playoff games, Aubin has a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. He won’t be rattled easily.

Penguins – While veteran leadership speaks volumes between the pipes, John Curry has proven that a rookie isn’t too shabby either. Curry is a big reason why the Penguins breezed through the first two series and he bailed his team out of several close games. After the Hershey series, Curry had a 1.97 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Those numbers rose a bit against Philadelphia (2.48 GAA, .911 save percentage), but Curry continues to play like a veteran. He has confidence, a strong defense in front and a lightning-fast glove. That’s enough to take on any offense.

Advantage – Even

Prediction – Penguins in six games.

Up next

EASTERN

CONFERENCE

FINALS

Pirates at

Penguins

Game 1

7:05 p.m. today

Wachovia Arena

Radio: WQFM (92.1 and 100.1 FM)