(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to punch their ticket to a second straight Stanley Cup Finals when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The fourth-seeded Penguins have jumped out to a three games to none lead in this best-of-seven set and can clinch the series by completing the sweep tonight. Pittsburgh is trying to get back to hockey's biggest stage after losing in six games to Detroit in last year's Cup Finals.

Carolina, the East's sixth seed, had an amazing run to the conference finals this year, but will need a miraculous comeback to continue on to the final stage. Only two teams in NHL history have rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. The New York Islanders did it to the Penguins most recently in the 1975 quarterfinals and Toronto also pulled off the comeback against Detroit in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals.

"We've got to find a way to beat them once let alone four times," said Hurricanes head coach Paul Maurice.

The Hurricanes are in the postseason this year for the first time since winning the Cup in 2006. Carolina was last on the losing end of a playoff series when it was ousted in five games by Detroit in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals. All told, Carolina has won six straight series and the last four triumphs have come in Game 7s.

Carolina was handed a lopsided loss in Game 3 on Saturday, as the Hurricanes failed to use their first home game of the series to their advantage. Carolina is now 4-3 at RBC in the playoffs after posting an impressive 26-14-1 record as the host during the regular season.

The Penguins, who were 20-15-6 as the visiting club this season, improved to 5-3 on the road in the postseason with Saturday's victory. If Carolina is able to stave off elimination tonight then Pittsburgh will host Game 5 on Friday.

Evgeni Malkin was once again the offensive hero for Pittsburgh on Saturday, as he followed up a hat trick in Game 2 with two goals and an assist in the Penguins' 6-2 rout of the host Hurricanes.

Malkin has a six-game multi-point streak and during that time has amassed seven goals and nine assists. He leads the playoffs in points with 12 goals and 16 assists.

"He's focused on playing every night and as he gets older he's gonna get even better," said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma about Malkin. "Tonight he took things over and got the big goals for us."

Bill Guerin, Craig Adams, Sidney Crosby and Ruslan Fedotenko each finished the game with a goal and an assist for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots in net.

"I don't think we've looked that far at any point, really," said Crosby about returning to the Cup Finals. "Obviously we know we have an opportunity now, but I don't think we've let ourselves get that far ahead. We've been focused on what we need to do. We had a similar approach last year, but this year, a little more experience helps."

Sergei Samsonov and Matt Cullen each lit the lamp for the Hurricanes, while Cam Ward was charged with five goals on 39 shots in the loss.

"We started the game the way we wanted to," said Maurice. "But then they got the lead and were able to play the way they wanted to. We have to manage to move the puck better and faster and we're having issues with our defensive coverage."

Eric Staal continued to struggle for the Hurricanes as he went a sixth straight game without a goal. Carolina's top offensive weapon has just one assist in this series and two helpers over his last six games, but is still leading the 'Canes with 14 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in the postseason.

Pittsburgh and Carolina met four times during the 2008-09 regular season and the clubs split the season series with each team winning a game at home and on the road.

This series marks the first time the Penguins have faced the Carolina/Hartford franchise in the postseason.