Its no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins came into their series against the Florida Panthers knowing that they were the underdogs. Most people felt that the Penguins wouldn't last more then 5 games. Before the series began the Panthers were praised as having one of the best teams depth wise. Regardless of how strong the Penguins were, on paper, the Panthers looked better offensively, defensively, and in goal. With the Penguins/Panthers series being stretched to a deciding Game 7, the Penguins are hoping they can get the win in Florida.
"We really want to show the world that we are the better team. We've out hustled them, we've got more victories in their building. Look at the stats, they show whos been the better thus far." said GM Brent Bellio in a press conference.
The Penguins have infact outmatched the Panthers in almost every statistical category.
Power Play Efficiency - Penguins 13,3% (T 4th), Panthers 3.3 % (15th)
Penalty Kill Rate - Penguins 96.6% (T 1st), Panthers 86.6% (T 11th)
Team Scoring - Penguins 3.67 GF/G (1st), Panthers 3.00 GF/G (T 5th)
Defense - Penguins 3.00 GA/G (T 10th), Panthers 3.67 GA/G (16th)
Shots For - Penguins 31.6 SF/G (2nd), Panthers 29.8 SF/G (3rd)
Top 5 Point Producers Per Team
Penguins
Miroslav Satan - (4+5) = 9 pts
Vaclav Prospal - (3+6) = 9 pts
Alexei Kovalev - (2+6) = 8 pts
Saku Koivu - (3+4) = 7 pts
Marc Savard - (4+3) = 7 pts
Panthers
Alexander Mogilny - (3+3) = 6 pts
Olli Jokinen - (2+3) = 5 pts
Scott Mellenby - (2+2) = 4 pts
Brian Rolston - (1+3) = 4 pts
Craig Conroy - (1+3) = 4 pts
"We know we can beat them. We have had their number all series but somehow they are still in it. We've managed to win 2 in their building, and they've won 1. If we can stay out of the penalty box, with the game called down the middle with integrity and no bias, the Penguins should come out victorious."