In the not-too-distant past, games between the Penguins and Hurricanes invariably morphed into track meets featuring plenty of skating and end-to-end action. Games the Pens tended to win due to their superior talent.
As Bob Dylan once famously sang, the times they are a changin.’ Contests between the Metro front runners have turned into knock-down-grind-’em-out affairs featuring a healthy dose of puck battles and physical play.
The shift is almost entirely due to the ‘Canes, who’ve transformed from an all-skate team into a heavy, structured and skilled bunch built very much in coach Rod Brind’Amour’s image.