Penguins-Hurricanes Storylines

Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals, we can all focus on the Eastern conference final between the Pens and the Carolina Hurricanes, who defeated the Boston Bruins in a tremendous game seven Thursday night. For those of you seeking storylines for the series, let me be of assistance of what you may (or may not) hear from sportscasters and writers over the next week.

- Eric Staal and Jordan Staal are brothers. I feel like you should hear this from me since the announcers will fail to mention this.

- Although Tuomo Ruutu is the brother of former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu, Pirate great Turner Ward is not related to Carolina's goalie Cam Ward.



- Scott Walker, who scored the series winning goal against Boston, is not a Texas Ranger even though he may think he is after punching out the Bruins’ Aaron Ward.

- Sergei Samsonov and Simeon Varlamov are not the same person.

- It's time for Bill Cowher to decide whether he supports the Penguins or the Canes.



- Cam Ward and Ryan Bayda are both from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. OK, no one outside of Saskatoon will mention this, but I still think Saskatoon is one of the greatest city names ever.

- After watching hundreds of "The Portal at NHL.com" commercials, you will snap and want to "Scott Walker" guy who randomly (and unconvincingly) appears to be in the stands and locker room. Conversely, you realize that the FreeCreditReport.com commercials aren’t as bad as you originally thought.

- The Penguins will get all of the calls since the NHL wants Sidney Crosby in the finals. Oh sorry about that. I channeled my co-worker who is a Washington Capitals fan momentarily.

- Craig Adams is on a one-game goal-scoring streak! (Or the Penguins are undefeated in game sevens when Craig Adams scores a goal.)

- Ron Francis, Carolina’s associate head coach, won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins. Even if Francis decides to "Scott Walker" the cotton candy guy, which would completely out of character for this three time Lady Byng recipient, he will still be loved in Pittsburgh. (h/t Empty Netters for this video)



- Will the Pens see the return of Casey Hampton at its home games? Since Ric Flair is a huge Canes fan, who would win in a steel-cage match between these two?



Let's just hope Casey Hampton keeps his shirt on this time unlike during the Super Bowl parade.