(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators will begin a rematch of last year's playoff meeting tonight, when the Pens host Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Mellon Arena.

The clubs also met in the opening round last year and Ottawa won that series in five games en route to its first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup finals. The Senators had home-ice advantage a year ago as they were the fourth seed compared to Pittsburgh's fifth-place standing. However, the Pens finished second in the East in 2007-08 and this time will hold that distinction over the seventh-seeded Sens.

The Penguins have made the postseason in back-to-back years after missing out on the playoffs in their previous four campaigns. Ottawa, meanwhile, is in the NHL's second season for the 11th straight time.

Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Friday night in Pittsburgh.

Last year Sidney Crosby carried the Penguins to a 105-point season and a fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference and won a scoring title as well as the Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP.

This year, Crosby missed 29 games, but the Penguins still won the Atlantic Division crown. That is not meant to demonstrate that Pittsburgh is somehow better without Crosby, but rather how much the Penguins continue to grow as a complete team. The 20-year-old Crosby was still very productive when his high ankle sprain didn't keep him from playing, as the phenom managed 72 points (24 goals, 48 assists) in 53 games.

However, Pittsburgh's true MVP in 2007-08 was forward Evgeni Malkin, who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie last year and avoided a sophomore slump in a big way. Malkin played in all 82 games and finished second in the league in points (106) and fourth in goals scored (47).

Crosby did well in his first-ever playoff series against the Sens last year, notching five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the five games, while Malkin managed four assists.

The Penguins also added another big offensive weapon at this year's trade deadline, as they acquired right wing Marian Hossa from Atlanta. The winger combined for 66 points (29g, 37a) in 72 games with the Thrashers and Penguins this year. Hossa's experience should help Pittsburgh, as he has seen action in 55 career playoff games, mostly during his time in Ottawa, and has 13 goals and 22 assists in the postseason.

Marc-Andre Fleury comes into the playoffs as a hot goaltender, as he went 10-2-1 in his final 13 starts of the season for the Pens. Fleury, who missed over two months of the season with a high ankle sprain, was 19-10-2 with a .921 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average in 35 games (33 starts) this season.

The Senators finished the regular season a bit hobbled and will be forced to play without captain Daniel Alfredsson in this series. Prior to this series, Alfredsson had played in every single playoff game in Senators' history. Ottawa will not only miss the Swede's 89 points (40g, 49a) this season, but also Alfredsson's top-notch defensive play from the forward position.

In addition to losing Alfredsson, the Senators will also be without another of their key forwards as centerman Mike Fisher will also miss the opening series with a knee injury. Fisher had 47 points (23g, 24a) in 79 games this year and was a big contributor during last year's playoff run with five goals and five assists.

However, the Sens will have their top point-producer and goal-scorer from this season in Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. Spezza was the leading scorer for Ottawa this year with 92 points (34g, 58a) in 76 games and Heatley led the club with 41 goals.

A big difference between this year's Senators and the 2007 Eastern Conference champion edition of the club is an uncertain situation in goal. Last year, Ray Emery won the No. 1 goaltender spot and played with confidence deep into the postseason. However, Emery's 2007-08 campaign is somewhat of a lost season for the 25-year-old goaltender, as he went just 12-13-4 with a 3.13 GAA and lost the starting job to veteran Martin Gerber.

Gerber had a strong start to the season, but as the Senators began to fade so did the Swiss backstop's play. Overall, the 33-year-old was 30-18-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .910 save percentage. Gerber has seen limited action in just eight career playoff games and is just 1-1 with a 3.52 GAA in those tests.

The Senators won the season series against the Penguins, going 3-0-1 in four meetings this year. Last year's playoff matchup was the first-ever postseason encounter between the clubs.

The Penguins were 26-10-5 as the hosts this season, while Ottawa had a 21-16-4 mark as the visiting team.