The Canes may have a number of defensive changes planned for Game 3 against the Penguins, but defenseman Niclas Wallin said one thing definitely has to change.

"We have to be smart," he said. "We have to have at least one guy in front of the net, because they're getting some good chances and getting a couple of whacks at it, and that can't happen."

The solution? Wallin said the Canes must be more bruising in front of their net.

"This is playoff hockey," he said. "That doesn't mean you go out there and kill anybody. But you've got to take your guy away, and we haven't done that this series."

For Canes forward Ryan Bayda, it was a first. And, he hopes, the last.

Bayda received a match penalty for deliberate intent to injure late in Game 2 in Pittsburgh after cross-checking the Pens' Kris Letang in the chin. Bayda faced a suspension, but after a review by the NHL, he was fined $2,500 but not suspended.

Bayda said today that he did not hear a whistle for an icing and finished his check. He said Letang came back at him and he put his stick back up.

"I don't know if I got him in the head or what," Bayda said. "It was kind of a melee from there."

Canes forward Tuomo Ruutu took part in the morning skate today, showed good mobility and could play tonight in Game 3 against the Penguins, although coach Paul Maurice is playing it coy.

"He got through the morning skate. We're pleased with how that happened," Maurice said. "We'll bring him back tonight and see if there's any increase in swelling, and he's going to make a good decision.

PITTSBURGH — Yes, Erik Cole played.

Cole has a sore knee after taking a knee-on-knee hit from the Penguins' Matt Cooke in Game 1, but the Canes forward skated Thursday morning, was able to go — Tuomo Ruutu, with a sprained ankle was not — and was in for 22 shifts and 14:35
of ice time in Game 2.

How did he get through it, physically?

PITTSBURGH — There still a lot of hockey to be played in the Eastern Conference finals, but there already have been two defining moments.

In Game 1, the Canes' Eric Staal missed an open net in the final 30 seconds that would have tied the score and possibly forced overtime. Staal rarely misses an opportunity like that but he did that time. The Penguins' won 3-2.

In Game 2, the Pens led 5-4, in another tight game at Mellon Arena, when there was a faceoff in the Carolina zone. Moments later, it was 6-4 after Evgeni Malkin's third goal of the game.

"It was a faceoff play and it's called 'The Geno' for a reason," Pens coach Dan Bylsma said. "He pushed through and went and got the puck himself and after that it's just all him."

Staff video by Chris Seward

Staff video by Chris Seward

Staff photo by Chris Seward

PITTSBURGH — He was the last player on the Mellon Arena ice this morning for the Carolina Hurricanes, and he could provide just the lift the Canes need for Game 2 against the Penguins.

Erik Cole was at the morning skate, showing little effects of the knee-on-knee hit he took in Game 1. The forward later told the coaches he felt fine, and Cole will be in the lineup tonight for Game 2.

"He's been a big player for us," forward Jussi Jokinen said. "He may not have scored that much but all the things he brings to the game is huge."