The Pittsburgh Penguins moved to the brink of the Stanley Cup finals by routing the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and captain Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who lead the Eastern Conference finals 3-0. The defending Eastern Conference champs can sweep the best-of-seven series on Tuesday and make a return trip to the NHL finals. Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal and an assist, Bill Guerin also scored, and Craig Adams was credited with a late goal after Carolina's Jussi Jokinen won a draw but sent the puck down the ice and into an empty net. Matt Cullen and Sergei Samsonov scored for the Hurricanes, who haven't lost a playoff series since Detroit beat them in the 2002 Cup finals. In their only other postseason appearance since, they won the Cup in 2006. History isn't on the Hurricanes' side. Only twice has a team rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to win a series, and it hasn't happened since the New York Islanders did it against Pittsburgh in 1975.
