CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULES

1. NEW JERSEY vs. 6. PITTSBURGH

Best of seven

Today: at New Jersey, 4 p.m., ESPN

Tuesday : at New Jersey, 4 p.m., ESPN

Thursday : at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m., ESPN

May 19 : at Pittsburgh, noon, Ch. 7

May 22 : *at New Jersey, 4 p.m., ESPN

May 24 : *at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

May 26 : *at New Jersey, 4 p.m., ESPN

(*if necessary, all times Pacific)

THE BREAKDOWN

How they got here: New Jersey beat No. 8 Carolina, 4-2, and No. 7 Toronto, 4-3. Pittsburgh beat No. 3 Washington, 4-2, and No. 5 Buffalo, 4-3.

Season series: Pittsburgh, 3-1-1

Coaches: NJ--Larry Robinson, PIT--Ivan Hlinka

Scouting report: It has been a dream season for Mario Lemieux, as he has led his patchwork Penguins all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. This is where it could all rapidly become a nightmare as the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils look tough to beat. However, New Jersey has displayed a bad habit of playing down to the level of its competition during the postseason. For example, after getting only four points in the first four games of the Toronto series, the Devils’ top line of Patrik Elias-Jason Arnott-Petr Sykora finally got serious and had six goals and nine assists in the last three games. The Devils have the advantage of playing four lines with the ability to score at any time. John Madden and Jay Pandolfo form the best penalty-killing duo in the league, and Bobby Holik is as good a defensive center as they come. While the Penguins’ top two forward lines of Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka and Robert Lang are phenomenally skilled offensively, Pittsburgh has won because of a stingy defensive system coupled with outstanding goaltending by Johan Hedberg. Against Washington’s Olaf Kolzig and Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek, Hedberg has already bested two of the best netminders in the game. The Devils’ Martin Brodeur has two Stanley Cup rings as well as the ability to clear the zone and start a rush all by himself. But the Devils need a sound Scott Niedermayer to work the transition game to perfection. Niedermayer skated Wednesday but did not play against the Maple Leafs. Count on Devil captain Scott Stevens and the Penguins’ Darius Kasparaitis to excel in their roles as headhunters.

Team leaders: NJ--3 tied with 5 goals; Alexander Mogilny, Scott Gomez (8 assists); 3 tied with 12 points. PIT--Mario Lemieux (6 goals, 14 points); Jaromir Jagr (9 assists).

Injury report: NJ--Niedermayer (concussion) day-to-day. PIT--None.

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THE MATCHUPS NJ PIT Avg. goals 3.15 2.38 Goals-against avg. 1.97 1.89 Power play pct. 14.2 18.7 Penalty killing 83.6 80.0 Save pct. .901 .924 Face-off pct. 48.4 45.5

*--*

Prediction: New Jersey in seven games.