Tonight starts a journey for the Pittsburgh Penguins that is hopefully a long one.  A second straight very successful regular season has netted them the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first round rematch of last year with the Ottawa Senators.  While the Sens steamrolled a wide-eyed, glad to be there Pens last year, this year is defiantely different.  The Pens dealt with a ton of adversity this year, seemingly losing key player after key player for long stretches.  Not the least of which was Captain and franchise wunderkid Sidney Crosby.  While last year the Pens could slide on a first round exit, they cannot this year.  They made the extra investment in trades to add to the core players, and deep run is expected.  Here is the keys to the Pens success, not only in the first round, but hopefully throughout the playoffs.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury-  It is no secret that you need solid goaltending to do anything in the playoffs.  Fleury was terrific down the stretch after missing a large portion of the season with a high ankle sprain.  During that time, Tyler Conklin did an extraordinary job of filling in,.  The Pens wouldn't be where they are today without the job Conklin did in the middle part of the season.  As for Fleury, he has to continue what made him successful in his last handful of starts.  Like in the regular season, he will probably see a lot of shots, and he must be up to the task.  Last year the Sens blitzed Fleury every game, but Fleury kept the Pens from losing by 8 goals every game.  He has more help this year, but needs the same type of performance if the Pens are to go far.

2. Evgeni Malkin-  The Pens MVP this season disappeared in the playoffs last year.  That type of performance lead people to doubt if the Penguins could surivive without Crosby.  Malkin responded with the best hockey of his young career, leading the to a division title when most people though they would miss the playoffs entirely.  Now Malkin has cooled down in recent weeks, and has to pick things up this year.  He lead the Pens in goals, assists, points, and was one of two Pens to play all 82 games this year.  His line of himself, Ryan Malone, and Petr Sykora was as potent as there was in the NHL for awhile, and has to get back to that peak again.  An underrated part of his game is how well his defensive game progressed this year, and if they can get both ends of the game going the Pens will be a tough beat.

3. Faceoffs- It's not that the Pens are bad at faceoffs, they are terrible.  The leading faceoff man is Sidney Crosby at 51%.  The playoffs have a funny way of exposing a team biggest weakness, no matter how small it might have been during the regular season.  There will be a time when the Pens will need to win a draw, and they have no one can absolutley win one.  They are going to have to baredown in this area, because this is unquestionably their biggest weakness.

4. Defense-  Believe me when I say this, this is an underrated strength of this team.  When Michel Terrina arrived in Pittsburgh, the Pens were unquestionable the worst defensive team in the league.  It took time, but he has built a solid unit despite losing Mark Eaton in late December for the season.  There are rumors he could return during the playoffs, but they don't need him to push himself to get back.  Getting back Rob Scuderi after a suffering a broken finger has been a huge lift.  Brooks Orpik is playing the best hockey of his career, as he is not only hitting like he usually does, but is playing much smarter defense.  With Darryl Sydor, Hal Gill, and Sergei Gonchar they have a veteran presence on the blueline, and some toughness with Gill.  Kris Letang has played great since his mid-season promotion, e####ally on the defensive side.  Ryan Whitney is a bit of a wild-card, as he can score with the best of them, but is prone to ghastly errors in his own zone.  The Sens flew right through the Pens last year, and they have to be the more physical team this time around.

5. Toughness-  The Pens has yet to live down the be-physical-and-they-will-fold tag.  The Pens proved their mental toughness in dealing with the injuries and just contining to play their game.  The Pens were 16-8-4 without Crosby in the lineup.  Compare that to the Senators 3-8-1 mark without Daniel Alfredsson.  A totally classless piece was written in the Ottawa Sun calling for the Senators to head hunt the Pens and go after Crosby's injured ankle, even though the writer named the wrong ankle.  The Senators are beat up right now, and the only way to bring the Pens down to where they are is beat them down physically.  The Pens have Gill, Georges Laraque, and Jarkko Ruutu to help that end, but they can't be on the ice at all times.  A team toughness, e####ally is going to be needed.  If they get past the Sens, they will have to deal this type of play again and again. 

6. Sidney Crosby-  This is the captain's time to shine.  Crosby didn't have a terrible first forrey into the playoffs last year, but it wasn't that memorable either.  Crosby had to fight through a serious high ankle sprain that sidelined him in the middle part of the season.  The Pens played very well without him, but make no mistake, the Pens need Sid to live up to the expectations that come with a player of his caliber this time of year.  Mario Lemeiux always shined for the Pens in the playoffs, and saved most of his best play for them.  The Sens will be targeting him every shift, and he has to find a way to make plays.  Getting Marian Hossa involved will be huge towards the Penguins success.