Penguins have been in Canes' shoes

RALEIGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins know what it feels like to be down 2-0 in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series.

In the last round, the Washington Capitals took a 2-0 lead to start the series, but Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik said the team never lost its confidence.

“With all due respect to the way Washington played, we kind of had the feeling that we had kind of beaten ourselves with the mistakes that we made,” said Orpik. “It wasn’t like they were doing stuff that we weren’t prepared for. … It was just mistakes that we were making. It wasn’t plays that they were making.

“That’s why our confidence level was so high.”

The Penguins proceeded to go on a 3-0 tear before trading blows to win the series in Game 7 in Washington.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said that experience will help guard away any complacency and overconfidence.

“I think we understand just how important it is to play the right way,” said Bylsma. “It’s not over. They still have a chance to come here and win tonight and get it to 2-1 and feel good about themselves.”

Carolina has played from behind at various points in both of the first two series. The Hurricanes also gave up a pair of losses to the Boston Bruins after taking a 3-1 lead.

The team that’s down always has more on the line, said Orpik.

“You just have to put yourself in their position, ‘If we don’t win, we just played for nine months for nothing,’” he said.

Bylsma has the utmost respect for the Hurricanes, whose last win over the Penguins came near the end of the season in overtime and ended a Pittsburgh winning streak.

“This is a team out of all of the teams that we played that has showed that they’re capable of rebounding, both from a team standpoint but a mentality standpoint,” said Bylsma. “And they believe they can do it. They’re going to come home with the building and be energized to do it. We had that same experience. We bounced back. And this is a team that could do that. This game is going to be treated as such tonight.”

Snatching momentum early will be key tonight, said Bylsma. The Penguins have to try to take the wind out of Carolina’s fans.

“I’m not sure it’s possible in this place,” he said.

The plan is to play simple.

“Make their defense go back, establish the forecheck, establish time in the offensive zone, and keep the fans from having something to cheer about,” said Bylsma. “They feed off their crowd. They’re loud in here and it’ll be a factor in tonight’s game.”

Orpik said the Penguins’ maturity level and respect for Carolina will prevent his team from falling into complacency.

“I think last year maybe we’d be more susceptible to falling victim to that,” said Orpik. “I know everybody in the room has a lot of respect for Carolina. You saw the game the other night. We score one, they bounce right back. We know they’re a real resilient group.”