Q: Might the Penguins continue dressing seven defensemen for the Eastern Conference final? The double-shifting of the three centers with Craig Adams and Miroslav Satan gives the Penguins the option to make the fourth line a scoring line or a defensive line. Add Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, and it is as good as any second line. Add Jordan Staal, and it is a great defensive fourth line.

Ben Engleman, Lansdale, Pa.

MOLINARI: Coach Dan Bylsma made it clear weeks ago that he's not a fan of dressing seven defensemen, but nothing that happened when he did for three games after Sergei Gonchar was hurt in Game 4 against Washington should have reinforced his opposition to doing so.

The Penguins got by quite nicely when dressing just 11 forwards, in part because Crosby, Malkin and Staal handled their extra work well, and having a spare defenseman on hand didn't seem to cause any major problems.

Ultimately, though, the issue might come down to the condition of Gonchar's damaged right knee. If Bylsma becomes convinced that Gonchar can handle something close to his pre-injury workload, he might decide to go back to a conventional 12-6 breakdown of his skaters.

Q: Death, taxes ... and the Penguins knocking the Capitals out of the playoffs?

Steve Evanchuck, Poland, Ohio

MOLINARI: Do you really believe the first two are as much of a certainty as the third?

Q: Despite the intensity of the Capitals-Penguins series, it paled in post-whistle scrums compared with the Philadelphia series, particularly around the net. Players tended to skate away rather than trade cheap shots. Most of the action this time around came while the clock was running, which is how it should be. As a result, there weren't as many power plays, and the first six games were all tense. Do you think the conference final will be chippier than the Washington series?

Douglas McKinney, Bethel Park

MOLINARI: The ability of both teams to play at such a high level is part of the reason the Penguins-Capitals series attracted as much attention as it did, and the talent on both sides explains why neither was interested in having the series deteriorate into a seven-game exercise in cheap shots and face washes. Pretty great game when people actually concentrate on playing it, don't you think? (And, in a related matter, belated thanks to Capitals winger Donald Brashear for his unprovoked attack on New York's Blair Betts during the first round. It led to a suspension that guaranteed Brashear wouldn't get a chance to make his mark -- presumably, a black-and-blue one -- on Round 2.)

The Eastern final almost certainly will be a bit more nasty than the Washington series, because what happened against the Capitals was more the exception than the rule. However, when it gets to the point where only four teams are left, even guys who play on the edge have to be cautious, because the course of a game could be altered by a power-play goal, and the outcome of a game could change the way the entire series plays out. When you reach mid-May, players have given too much, for too long to risk ruining their season by trying to sneak in too many slashes or elbows or high sticks.

Q: Do you think we've heard the last of Alexander Semin and his remark about how there's nothing really special about Crosby?

Dave Lapic, Washington, D.C.

MOLINARI: Nah. And really, why would Semin change him mind now? OK, so Crosby put up 13 points in seven games, went all-out every second he was on the ice at both ends of the rink and clearly was prepared to do everything necessary to get the Penguins past Washington, but if you get past those things, did he really have that much of an impact?