Posted by Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- The secret to Evgeni Malkin's success is out. Soup and beef.
"My parents are superstars now," Malkin said after scoring the first playoff hat trick of his career in Pittsburgh's 7-4 win over Carolina on Thursday night. "They've helped me in everything. My mom now before game is great cooker. I feel good now.
"I love Russian food, and my mom cooks Russian food. It's helped me. My favorite food is beef, and before every game I have soup."
Never saw that coming?
On a list of things you thought you might never see, which is more remarkable: Chris Kunitz scoring, or Miroslav Satan fighting?
Well, talk about lightning striking twice ... both unlikely events took place in Thursday's Game 2.
First, Kunitz scored after making a nice fake along the boards and beating Carolina goalie Cam Ward high for his first playoff goal since the 2007 Western Conference finals.
"Yeah, it definitely feels good, but our team is a close group in the locker room," said Kunitz, who added two assists on the night. "It's not about the goal; it's more about the win. Personally, it's all good to get it done, but we've been having a lot of guys score goals that maybe aren't expected to and stepping up with it."
Then, as things got a bit ugly down the stretch, Satan, a noted pacifist, went hammer and tong with Carolina's Patrick Eaves. It was a moment that did not go unnoticed by Satan's teammates.
"You look at a guy like Miroslav Satan, when he drops his gloves and just goes at it, but that just shows what kind of team we are," Maxime Talbot said. "We all stand together. That's what comes to my mind when I think about this hockey game, is that a guy like Miro is going to drop the gloves and Geno wanted to be on the ice and Sid's got that fire in his eyes. It's great for us."
Suspensions to come?
The ugliness at the end of Game 2 might cost Carolina's Ryan Bayda, as he was assessed a match penalty with 1:19 left in the game for cross checking Kris Letang with what officials believed was intent to injure. Letang then fought Tim Gleason and was given a game misconduct.
The match penalty carries a suspension pending a review by league officials. That likely will be done Friday, so the Hurricanes will know whether Bayda, who had an assist in Game 2, will be available for Saturday's contest in Raleigh, N.C.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
