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Time to Get the Funk Out of Pittsburgh!

The Pittsburgh Penguins have found themselves in an early season funk, territory that is not entirely unfamiliar ground for them.  In each of the last two seasons, the Penguins have gotten off to a mediocre start at best before igniting and powering their way through the rest of the season to finish near the top of the league.  Is it unreasonable to think that they can pull it off for a third season in a row? 

Prior to Thursday night’s loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, I thought it would be interesting to compare and assess some stats between this season and the same point last season.  So here are some selected points of comparison after the first 10-games of each season: 

TEAM RECORD:

• Last Season: 5-4-1 = 11 Points
• This Season: 5-3-2 = 12 Points
• Assessment: Roughly equivalent start as last year

OFFENSE:

Goals For

• Last Season: 30 (3.0 per game)
• This Season: 24 (2.4 per game)
• Assessment: Goals for is ~20% off from last season

Sidney Crosby

• Last Season: 13 Points (4G, 9A)
• This Season: 13 Points (3G, 10A)
• Assessment: Roughly equivalent start as last year

Evgeni Malkin

• Last Season: 13 Points (3G, 10A)
• This Season: 15 Points (3G, 12A)
• Assessment: ~15% increase in points this season

All Other Players

• Last Season: 26G
• This Season: 18G
• Assessment: Scoring by others is off ~31% from last season

GOALTENDING/DEFENSE:

Shots Against

• Last Season: 307 (30.7 per game)
• This Season: 337 (33.7 per game)
• Assessment: Giving up 9.8% more shots this season

Goals Against

• Last Season: 33 (3.3 per game)
• This Season: 21 (2.1 per game)
• Assessment: Goals against is ~57% better this season

Marc-Andre Fleury

• Last Season: 463 mins, 27GA, 3.49 GAA, 0.892
• This Season: 498 mins, 18GA, 2.17 GAA, 0.933
• Assessment: ~38% improvement in GAA and ~4.6% improvement in save percentage

Dany Sabourin

• Last Season: 144 mins, 5GA, 2.08 GAA, 0.920
• This Season: 124 mins, 3GA, 1.45 GAA, 0.957
• Assessment: ~30% improvement in GAA and ~4% improvement in save percentage

Looking purely at the stats, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Penguins need to find more balanced scoring behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Goaltending has been great so far with significant improvement over last season’s start, but the Penguins’ defensive game is off last year’s pace.  There is no doubt that having both Gonchar and Whitney out of the lineup has been a contributing factor to the lagging defensive play and to some extent the lagging offensive production.  But the real issue here more than anything else has been the lack of a balanced offense, and there are many contributing factors to this not the least of which is the large turnover in the off-season and the resultant number of new players trying to fit into the roster and learn the new system. 

Looking beyond the simple stats assessments, you can’t help but see some very troubling signs for the team so far in the early going.  Sitting on a 3-game losing streak is bad enough, however, it is how they have played in those last 3-games that gives rise to significant concern.  There is definitely something wrong with the forwards in Pittsburgh when the team has averaged just 3-shots on goal per period across 5 of the last 9 periods of play.  WIth several new players in the lineup and their 2 top defensemen out for an extended period of time, the Penguins are going through a period of adjustment and struggle.  Undoubtedly, the Penguins coaching staff has had to start back at square one this season in getting the new players to buy into the system that was praised for the Penguins success last season.  As we have seen in season’s past, it takes time and the players aren’t pre-disposed to embrace it right off the bat….especially when the team is struggling.  Unless and until that buy-in happens, the team will continue to struggle and be inconsistent. 

One also has to question how much chemistry this new group of teammates has been able to develop.  This off-season the Penguins had the largest turnover of players since returning from the lockout.  Chemistry is not a guarantee, and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight.  Several Penguins are returning with the fresh experience of the Stanley Cup Finals, while other new players are coming in trying to learn a new system and find their spot in the roster. 

We have seen the Therrien line combination merry-mixer in full swing, but we have seen few matchups that have worked well as of yet.  As a result, we have seen Sidney Crosby making all too fancy, breathtakingly blind passes that have led to turnovers and missed chances.  We have also seen Evgeni Malkin in apparent frustration trying to take things into his own hands, only to cough up the puck to the opposition and cause odd-man chances.  And although Malkin can load up on a powerplay shot from the blue line like no other, he has been a significant defensive liability in that position, normally executed to perfection by Sergei Gonchar.  Miroslav Satan has found himself being juggled anywhere from the first to the third line, and Ruslan Fedotenko is just starting to click and gain the confidence that he needs to exhibit if he is to play with any impact.  Jordan Staal is a defensive juggernaut, but he has yet to find the offensive flair he displayed in his rookie year.  The Penguins need Jordan Staal to deliver this season, and so far no dice. 

Only Michel Therrien and his coaching staff can truly disect the team’s problems and identify solutions.  It would be naive for me to presume to know how to get the team out of its’ current funk.  However, it seems to me that the Penguins need to get back to the basics for awhile.  It sounds cliche, but they need to keep it simple, get traffic in front of the opposing net and shoot the puck.  Abandon the fancy pass play attempts that have led to dangerous turnovers.   Stop trying to endlessly cycle the puck in the offensive zone where Penguins’ forwards are often missing the pickup behind the net, leading to turnovers and lost opportunities.  Keep it simple.  There will be ample time in the season to get to their finesse game.  Right now, they need to develop some chemistry, generate some offense and build some confidence.  They also need to focus on putting together a complete and solid 60-minutes of play.  If they can accomplish that, then they can build from there. 

The Penguins have been dealt some adversity with the extended loss of Gonchar and Whitney, and now possibly Crosby for some period of time.  The Penguins will seek to do what they did last season and find a way to use that adversity to their advantage, and in so doing build up their character.  Only time will tell if they can pull it together, and whether the coaching staff can pull off another season rally after a mediocre start.  I certainly hope they do, and think that they have the potential to do so.  But there is often an unbridged gap between potential and accomplishment.  That is the challenge that the Penguins must conquer.

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Penguins Lose 2-Goal Lead in 3rd Period, Lose in Shootout

After playing a very strong 40-minutes of play, the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled another 3rd period disappearing act on Saturday night.  The Penguins allowed the Rangers to outshoot them 18-2 in the final frame and score 2-goals, including the game tying goal with just 9-seconds left.  After skating a scoreless 5-minute sudden death overtime, the game was settled by a shootout where Fredrik Sjostrom netted the only goal and won the game for the Rangers, 3-2.  It was the 5th overtime appearance for the Penguins in just 9-games played this season, and 2nd shootout.  The Penguins have won 3 and lost 2 of their overtime opportunities.

In the 1st period, the Penguins outshot the Rangers 10-8.  While the Penguins failed to score on their lone powerplay opportunity, they found the net just 3-seconds after it expired.  Darryl Sydor let a slap shot go from the high circle area that deflected off from the legs of a Rangers’ defensemen and into the net behind Henrik Lundqvist.  Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang picked up the assists on the play.  The Penguins played a very disciplined first period and took no penalties.

In the 2nd period, the Penguins struck again at 15:59 as Sidney Crosby whacked home a puck that had trickled between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist following a shot by Alex Goligoski.  Evgeni Malkin also got an assist on the play, which extended both his and Crosby’s scoring streak to 5-games.  The Penguins got into penalty trouble shorthly thereafter, however, as Brooks Orpik (slashing) and Mike Zigomanis (interference) took simultaneous minors at 16:36.  Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins penalty kill were outstanding, and they shut the door on the Rangers and killed off the 2-minute 5-on-3.  The Penguins were 0-for-1 on the powerplay in the period.

The 3rd period caught the Penguins looking too comfortable with their 2-point lead, especially as the Rangers came out looking hungry and aggressive.  The Rangers proceeded to outplay the Penguins for the final 20-minutes of the game, outshooting them 18-2.  The Rangers first goal came at 5:09 on the powerplay as Jordan Staal sat for a hooking minor.  It took the inefficient Rangers powerplay just 7-seconds of man advantage time to score, as Marcus Naslund took a Scott Gomez feed from behind the net and quickly beat Fleury to make it a 1-goal game.  Chris Drury picked up the other assist on the powerplay goal.  The Penguins continued to hang on through the remainder of the 3rd, and had an opportunity to score on the empty net, but Sidney Crosby’s backhand bounced wide of the net.  With the Penguins’ forwards in the offensive zone looking for the empty net insurance goal, Marcus Naslund quickly moved the puck up ice and found Nikolai Zherdev who unleashed a quick shot that flew over Fleury’s shoulder and into the net with just 9-seconds left.  The goal tied the game at 2 and sent it into overtime.

In the overtime frame, the Penguins put pressure on Lundqvist, but came up empty despite outshooting the Rangers 4-2.  In the shootout, Kris Letang, Petr Sykora and Sidney Crosby were all stopped by Lundqvist.  Marc-Andre Fleury, who played very strong all night and gave up 2-goals on 44-shots, stopped Nikolai Zherdev and Nigel Dawes before Fredrik Sjostrom connected on a goal that slipped in under his pads.  The loss was surely a disappointing one for the Penguins who had a 3-game wining streak going and were riding a 2-0 lead going into the 3rd.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Rosters
• Game Summary
• Faceoff Summary
• Shots Summary
• Play-by-Play
• Shootout Details

Ruslan Fedotenko led the Penguins with 5-shots on goal, while Sidney Crosby and Mike Zigomanis followed up with 4-each.  Evgeni Malkin had 2-attempts go wide of the net and didn’t record a shot.  Maxime Talbot continued his mastery of the faceoff winning 5-of-8 for a 63% win %.  Mike Zigomanis went 5-for-9, or 56%.  Jordan Staal (6 for 12) and Sidney Crosby (7 for 14) both won 50% in the faceoff circle.  Brooks Orpik continued to be the hitting machine, with 6 hots and Kris Letang followed up with 5.  Ruslan Fedotenko added 3 hits of his own. 

The Penguins continue their road trip on Tuesday when they face the Sharks in San Jose, CA.

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Penguins Explode Late in 3rd to Beat Canes 4-1

It took almost two and a half periods for the Penguins offense to prime the pump, but when they did the goals started to flow.  With their first goal coming at 8:15 of the 3rd period, the Penguins managed to add 2 more in just 3:36 to put th egame out of reach for the Carolina Hurricanes.  Evgeni Malkin’s empty net goal at 19:09 was the icing on the cake as the Penguins beat the Canes 4-1.  The win advanced their record to 5-2-1 and moved them into 2nd place in the Atlantic Division 2-points behind the Rangers whom they will face on Saturday night in New York.   

In the first period, Paul Bissonnette tried to fire his team up by taking on Dan Lacouture just a little over 2-minutes into the game.  While there were no decisive blows, Bissonnette appeared to get the upper hand and shouted “let’s go boys!” at his bench as he headed off to the box for 5.  While the fight helped get the team into the game, the Penguins were unable to solve 6′3″ goaltender Michael Leighton.  A rare mistake on a flubbed pass by Brooks Orpik midway through the period resulted in a turnover and a goal by Brandon Sutter.  Sutter’s backhanded goal at 13:07 was unassisted.  The Penguins went on to outshoot the Hurricanes 10-9 in the period, and neither team was afforded a man-advantage.

In the 2nd period, the Penguins outplayed the Hurricanes but were still unable to solve Leighton.  The Penguins outshot the Canes 13-6, and missed on their only powerplay attempt early in the period.  At 9:20, Eric Godard fought to what I would consider largely a tie in a bout with Wade Brookbank. 

In the 3rd period, the Penguins finally found their scoring touch on the powerplay as Niklas Wallin sat for a hooking penalty.  At 8:15 Evgeni Malkin came off from the wall, skated towards the net and let a rocket go that hit a Canes player and then Sidney Crosby’s stick before bouncing off from Leighton’s should and into the net.  The goal was originally awarded to Malkin, but later changed to Crosby after it was determined that it was deflected off from his stick.  Malkin was cxredited with the lone assists.  Then, just 32-seconds later, Ruslan Fedotenko scored his first goal as a Pittsburgh Penguin as he converted on a cross-ice pass from Jordan Staal.  Petr Sykora picked up the other assist on a line combination that appeared to have some decent chemistry tonight.  Next, at 11:51, Max Talbot took a lead pass from Tyler Kennedy and scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-1, Penguins. Behind by 2-goals, the Carolina Hurricanes pulled their goaltender early which gave Marc-Andre Fleury an excellent chance to score on the empty net.  He took a chance and it looked good for a moment until the puck took a sideways bounce and missed the net by a couple of feet.  Evgeni Malkin sealed the Canes’ fate at 19:09 when he was able to take an up ice pass from Sidney Crosby and deposit it into the empty net.  Rob Scuderi was also credited with an assist on the final goal.  The Penguins outshot the Hurricanes 12-10 in the final frame.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Therrien Post-Game Press Conference
• VIDEO:  Ruslan Fedotenko Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Marc-Andre Fleury Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Sidney Crosby Post-Game
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange HIghlights
• AUDIO:  Penguins Post-Game Hotline
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Shot Summary
• Faceoff Summary

Evgeni Malkin picked up 2-points (1G, 1A) and now leads the league with 13-points.  Sidney Crosby also picked up 2-points (1G, 1A) and is second in league scoring with 11-points.  Malkin and Crosby are also 1st and 2nd in the league in assists with 10 and 9, respectively.  Sidney Crosby and Ruslan Fedotenko each had 6-shots in the game, and Malkin picked up 5-shots.  Jordan Staal (12-18) and Michael Zigomanis (4-6) were both 67% on the faceoff.  The Penguins played without defenseman Hal Gill, who sat out with an unspecified injury.  Darryl Sydor replaced Gill in the lineup.  Rob Scuderi logged the most ice time with 22:29.  Brooks Orpik was close behind with 21:15, and led the Penguins with 5 hits.  Marc-Andre Fleury was very strong in net again as he turned aside 24 of 25 shots for a 0.96 save percentage and increased his record to 4-2-1. 

The Penguins start a 4-game road trip on Saturday that takes them to New York, San Jose, Phoenix and St Louis before returning back to Mellon Arena on November 6th.

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Sabourin Hot in Net as Penguins Win 2-1 in Shootout

The Pittsburgh Penguins got their first North American road win of the 2008-09 season on Monday night as they beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 after an extended shootout.  Backup Goaltender Dany Sabourin, playing in his first game of the season, was nothing short of outstanding as he turned aside 35 of 36 shots in regulation and 4-of-5 in the shootout.  Evgeni Malkin, shooting 5th in the shootout rotation, got the game winning goal as he beat Boston netminder Tim Thomas.  The win advances the Penguins record to 4-2-1 and 9-points in their first 7-games. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins found themselves short-handed far too many times as they picked up minor hooking penalties on Eric Godard, Sidney Crosby, and Miroslav Satan.  Eric Godard also picked up a matching 5-minute fighting penalty along with Shawn Thornton, although no significant punches were landed in the brief scrap.  At the end of Satan’s penalty, Sidney Crosby moved the puck up the ice passing the puck to Evgeni Malkin who fired a heavy shot in on Tim Thomas.  The rebound came out to the left circle where Satan, the late man streaking in from the penalty box, picked up the puck and roofed it over Thomas to make it 1-0.  It was Satan’s 4th goal in 5-games.  Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin picked up the assists.  Crosby has 7-points (1G, 6A) in his last 3-games, while Malkin has 8-points (1G, 7A) in the same timeframe.  The Penguins were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and had no powerplay opportunities in the period, as they were outshot 16-10. 

In the 2nd period, the Penguins poured it on and threw 14-shots on goal but were unable to beat Tim Thomas.  The Bruins managed 11-shots, with Dany Sabourin stopping 10 as he gave up the lone goal while the Penguins were killing off a holding penalty to Jordan Staal.  Phil Kessel scored his 5th goal of the season with helpers from Andrew Ference and David Krejci.  At 19:14, Sidney Crosby and Marc Savard got into a scrap along the boards and they both went to the box for roughing. 

Into the 3rd, both teams tightened up significantly with the Bruins holding the Penguins to just 4-shots, while getting just 5-shots of their own.  There were no penalties called in the 3rd, and no scoring. 

In the overtime frame, it appeared that the Penguins would get the advantage to put it away as Marc Savard toook a hooking call at 3:08 to disrupt a quality scoring chance by Jordan Staal.  But just 17-seconds into the powerplay, Jordan Staal got his stick into a Bruins player and was called for a slash.  The remaining 1:35 was played 3-on-3 with some wide-open action, but Dany Sabourin and Tim Thomas continued their strong play as they each stopped 4-shots.

In the shootout, the Penguins shot first with Kris Letang losing the puck briefly and missing on a fairly good chance.  The Bruins first shooter, Phil Kessel, went to the backhand and beat Sabourin for the 1-goal advantage.  But Petr Sykora came right back with a backhand of his own and beat Tim Thomas at the other end of the rink to tie it up 1-1.  Tim Thomas then stopped Sidney Crosby and Dany Sabourin stopped Patrice Bergeron and Michael Ryder to send the shootout into extra rounds.  Miroslav Satan and David Krejci were both stopped in the 4th spot of the shootout.  Evgeni Malkin, shooting 5th, came in wide and then faked a shot to get Thomas to go down and then beat him with a snap shot to the left side of the net.  It was then up to Dany Sabourin, who put a punctuation mark on his outstanding night in net by stopping Marc Savard to win the game. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Faceoff Report
• Shots Report
• Play-by-Play
• Sootout Summary

The Penguins got 6-shots from Sidney Crosby, 4 from Evgeni Malkin, 4 from Tyler Kennedy and 3 from Petr Sykora.  Miroslav Satan had 2-shots on net and had the only regulation goal.  Maxime Talbot was a beast in the faceoff circle, winning 12/14 faceoffs, or 86%.  Mike Zigomanis continued his domination in the faceoff circle winning 7/12, or 58%.  Sidney Crosby was 9/20 (45%) and Jordan Staal was 7-/15 (47% ).  Evgeni Malkin was 0/5 in the faceoff circle.  Evgeni Malkin led all forwards in ice-time, logging 28 shifts and 24:58 TOI, including 4:06 on the powerplay and 1:47 on the kill.  On defense, Brooks Orpik led the pack with 28 shifts and 26:32 in TOI. 

The Penguins will get a few days off before they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Mellon Arena on Thursday night.

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Crosby & Malkin Hit Milestones as Penguins Rake Leafs

The Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of some retooled lines and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.  The dynamic duo of Sidney Cosby and Evgeni Malkin were reunited on the top line along with Pascal Dupuis, enabling Sidney Crosby to shake off a bit of an early season funk.  Crosby had a 4-point night (1G, 3A), notching his 100th career goal, and surpassing 200 career assists and 300 career points.  With tonight’s performance, Crosby now has 302 points (100G, 202A) in 219 career games, or 1.38 points per game career average.  Evgeni Malkin also had a 4-point night (4A) and surpassed his 200th career point tonight.  The 4-point night gives Malkin 201 points (82G, 119A) in 166 career games.  Marc-Adre Fleury was very strong in net, stopping 26 of 27 shots for a 0.963 save percentage. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins got into penalty trouble starting with a double-minor high sticking call to Alex Goligoski.  The Penguins successfully killed off the 4-minute disadvantage, but then took another penalty 20-seconds later as Mark Eaton was called for hooking.  Then, just 7-seconds after successfully killing off the Eaton penalty, the Penguins were called for too many men.  This time, the Maple Leafs made them pay, as Nik Antropov beat Fleury on the powerplay at 14:25.  The Penguins had killed off 17-straight penalties before this goal.  But the Penguins answered back just 51-seconds later, as Pascal Dupuis collected a rebound from a Sidney Crosby shot and placed it in the Leafs net to tie the game 1-1.  Evgeni Malkin was credited with the other assist.  Despite the extended time spent on the penalty kill, the Penguins matched the Leafs in shots on goal at 12-per side.  The Penguins were 0-for-1 on the powerplay and 2-for-3 on the kill.

In the 2nd, the Penguins picked up the only goal of the period on a powerplay at 7:55.  Taking a pass from Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby skated along the right wing boards and then charged into the circle before threading a tremendous pass through traffic to the tape of Miroslav Satan, who deflected it into the net past Curtis Joseph.  The goal was Satan’s 3rd of the season, and Crosby’s 300th career point.  The Penguins went 1-for-1 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill in the period, and were outshot 9-8 by the Leafs. 

In the 3rd, Sidney Crosby finally notched his first goal of the season at 12:15 to make it 3-1.  Carrying the puck into the zone, Crosby eluded a diving poke check attempt by Curtis Joseph.  A Leafs defenseman managed to chip the puck away from Crosby to the boards behind the net.  But with Joseph still out of the net, Crosby quickly regained possession of the puck and threw a backhander toward the slot, hitting Toronto’s Mikhail Grabovski who ended up sliding into the net with the puck.  Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang picked up the assists on the play.  Then at 13:36, the Penguins powerplay converted again as Petr Sykora notched his 1st goal of the season on another beautiful pass by Sidney Crosby.  Evgeni Malkin picked up his league leading 8th assist on the play, as well as tying the league league in points (10) with Alexander Semin.  The Leafs had a late goal waived off as it was put into the net with a distinct kicking motion by Nik Antropov.  The Penguins ended the period going 1-for-2 on the powerplay, 2-for-2 on the kill, and were outshot 6-5. 

• VIDEO:  Game HIghlights
• VIDEO:  Coach Therrien Post-Game Press Conference
• VIDEO:  Crosby Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Fleury Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Dupuis Post-Game
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Faceoffs Report
• Shots Report

The game completed a 4-game homestand by the Penguins.  They hit the road for Boston, where they will take on the Bruins on Monday night.

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Penguins Squander 3-Goal Lead, Lose to Caps 4-3

The Pittsburgh Penguins withered under an all out 3rd period attack by the Capitals, getting outshot 21-6 in the final frame and giving up 3-goals to give Washington a 4-3 victory.  From the outset, it looked like it would be all Penguins as they notched 3-unanswered powerplay goals.  But the Capitals fought back with 4-unanswered even strength goals to steal the victory from the Penguins.  The loss gave Evgeni Malkin little to cheer about, despite a 3-point performance (1G, 2A).  Sidney Crosby (2A) and Miroslav Satan (1G, 1A) each notched 2-points in the loss, and Marc-Andre Fleury gave up 4-goals on 30-shots. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins flat outplayed the Capitals who quickly got themselves into penalty trouble.  The Capitals committed 4-penalties in the 1st, including a too many men offense with 4-seconds left in the period.  The Penguins managed to capitalize on 2 of their man-advantage chances in the period.  The first goal came at 12:58 as Alex Goligoski collected an Evgeni Malkin blast off the dashers, bobbled it a bit and threw it on net from an impossible angle.  The puck caromed off the post, up Jose Theodore’s leg and into the net.  Along with Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby picked up an assist.  The second powerplay goal came at 19:17 as Evgeni Malkin took a feed all alone in the slot from Sidney Crosby and blasted the puck into Theodore, who let the puck trickle into the net behind him to make it 2-1.  Miroslav Satan picked up the other assist on the play.  The Penguins were 2-for-4 on the powerplay, 1-for-1 on the kill, and outshot the Capitals 9-4 in the first. 

In the 2nd, the Penguins converted in the final seconds of the carryover penalty from the 1st period as Miroslav Satan poked in a rebound off from a hard shot by Evgeni Malkin.  Petr Sykora picked up the additional assist on the play.  But the Capitals would fight back as Eric Fehr created a turnover on Miroslav Satan along the boards in the Penguins end.  Fehr got the puck to Brooks Laich, who then passed it to Tomas Fleischmann who deftly redirected a backhander past Fleury to make it 3-1.  On the puck drop immediately following the goal, rookie Paul Bissonnette and Matt Bradley dropped the gloves for a go.  Bissonnette got in a good lick or two before falling to the ice.  Getting back up quickly he landed a heavy right on Bradley’s nose that buckled his legs and dropped him to the ice with a bloody nose.  Bradley ended up leaving the game and didn’t return until midway through the 3rd period.  The Penguins dominated the period by going 1-for-3 on the man advantage, 3-for-3 on the kill, and outshooting the Capitals 11-5.

Onto the 3rd period, you had to wonder what was said in the Capitals’ locker room between periods, and perhaps what wasn’t said in the Penguins’.  The Capitals came out scored early at 3:38 as Sidney Crosby lost a faceoff to Michael Nylander in the circle to Fleury’s left, with the puck going to Alexander Semin who laced it into the net.  With it now a 1-goal game, the Capitals came alive and started blazing at the net.  The Penguins on the other hand, ended up back on their heels and were never able to recover.  At 10:00, a 3-on-2 for the Caps quickly turned into a 2-on-1 with Tomas Fleischmann making a cross-crease pass to Michael Nylander who beat Fleury on his left side.  Alexander Semin picked up the other assist.  Then at 15:43, Boyd Gordon beat Sidney Crosby in the faceoff circle, and then threw the puck into the top of the net past Fleury.  The puck went in and out of the net so fast that play continued and the goal wasn’t immediately credited.  A full 2-minutes of hockey was played befor ethe next stoppage of play, at which time the video review clearly showed that a goal had been scored to give the Capitals the 4-3 lead.  The clock had to be reset to re-play the 2-minutes that had been played since the goal was scored, but it wasn’t enough time to allow the Penguins to claw their way back into the game.  The Penguins ended up getting outshot 21-6 in the period, with no penalties being called on either team.  Coach Therrien could not be happy with the fact that his team stopped working in the 3rd period and couldn’t score 5-on-5.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Coach Therrien Post-Game 
• VIDEO:  Brooks Orpik Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Sidney Crosby Post-Game
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Play-by-Play

The Penguins will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Mellon Arena.

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Penguins Ground Flyers 3-2 in Overtime

The Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded from their late overtime loss against the Devils on Saturday to grab a late overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.  The Penguins used up most of the sudden death overtime before Pascal Dupuis scored the game winner with just 11-seconds left to win the game 3-2.  The win improves the Penguins record to 2-1-1, and will hopefully give the team something to rally around moving forward.  Petr Sykora played in his first game of the season after sitting out 3-games du to a groin pull.

The first period featured some excellent hard-hitting, back and forth Penguins/Flyers action, but no scoring for either side.  Just over 5-minutes into the period, Eric Godard energized Mellon Arena by taking on Riley Cote in a battle of the big boys.  In what was undoubtedly the best fight of the year so far for the Penguins, both players got in plenty of good shots.  It was Godard, however, that got in the most and best hits of the bout, including a haymaker that connected and sent the linesmen in to break it up.  The Penguins were outshot by the Flyers 7-6, went 0-for-2 on the powerplay and 2-for-2 on the kill. 

In the 2nd period, the Penguins’ offense came alive and peppered Flyers’ goaltender Antero Nittymaki.  But despite all of the firepower up front for the Penguins, they managed to pick up 2-quick goals from a couple of unlikely sources.  At 14:12, while working the left point on the 2nd powerplay unit, Brooks Orpik took a hard shot that beat Nittymaki.  Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang picked up the assists.  It was just Orpik’s 5th career goal, and his first coming on the man advantage.  Then, just 42-seconds later, newly acquired Mike Zigomanis buried Matt Cooke’s pass from behind the net to make it 2-0.  Eric Godard picked up the other assist in a great play by the 4th line.  The goal was the 20th career tally for Zigomanis.  The Flyers bounced back, however, with 2-quick goals of their own with under a minute to go in the period.  At 19:16, Jeff Carter tried to make a pass across the crease and over the blocking stick of Hal Gill, but the puck hit Gill’s stick and bounced into the net past Fleury for a goal.  It was the 2nd consecutive game in which Hal Gill was involved in a flukey goal against his own team.  Then at 19:37, the Flyers won a face-off in the Penguins zone and passed the puck back to Simon Gagne who let a shot rip through traffic that beat Fleury to tie it up.  It was a huge goal for the Flyers to send them to the 2nd intermission with the tie.  Theshots were 12 a side in the 2nd, with the Penguins going 1-for-2 on the powerplay and masterfully killing off 2 penalties. 

The 3rd period again saw good end-to-end action, but no scoring.  The Penguins were outshot 9-8, were 0-for-2 on the powerplay and again did an excellent job of killing off 2-penalties. 

To the overtime period, both teams started a bit conservatively before exchanging a couple of good opportunities at each end of the ice.  But it was a beautiful long up ice pass from Brooks Orpik that gave Pascal Dupuis the opportunity to blast the game winner past Nittymaki with just 11-seconds left on the overtime clock.  The shot caught the upper right hand corner of the net, beating Nittymaki who was well out in front of the net on the play to cut down the angle.  Kris Letang collected the other assist, his second of the night.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• NHL Rosters
• NHL Game Summary
• NHL Boxscore
• NHL Play-by-Play
• NHL Shot Summary

The Penguins will play host to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at Mellon Arena.

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Ranger Prospect Cherepanov Dies During KHL Game

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Fleury Helps Steal a Point in Dismal Opener

The Pittsburgh Penguins came out blazing early in the first period and then utterly collapsed with the exception of goaltending through the following two periods plus overtime.  The New Jersey Devils peppered the Penguins with 49 shots on goal, while the Penguins managed just 15 of their own, 8 of which were in the first period.  Marc-Andre Fleury was on fire for the Penguins, and was solely responsible for the point that the Penguins managed to get in the 2-1 overtime loss to the Devils.  Extremely efficient in net, Fleury was pitching a shutout until the Devils got a lucky bounce of the puck off from Hal Gill’s skate and into the Penguins’ net. 

In the first period, things were looking up as the Penguins powerplay connected on their first man advantage of the night.  Miroslav Satan scored his first goal in a Penguin uniform on the powerplay as he collected a rebound and put it past Martin Brodeur to make it 1-0.  The Penguins cracked their powerplay woes by putting Evgeni Malkin and his blistering shot at the blueline in the place of a missing Sergei Gonchar.  Malkin unleashed a heavy shot through traffic that resulted in a scrum near the paint that Satan converted on.  Along with Malkin, Jordan Staal was credited with an assist on the play.  Eric Godard and Mike Rupp went for a dance early in the period that ended without too much action.  At the end of the period, Patrick Elias was given a roughing minor for some after the buzzer action near the Penguins net.  The Penguins were outshot 10-8 in the 1st period, but were 1-for-2 on the powerplay and had no penalty kill time.  The Penguins looked aggressive in the first and did a tremendous job of moving the puck up the ice.

Despite getting the early power play in the 2nd, the Penguins came out extremely flat and gave the Devils a chance to find their offensive game.  At 6:42, Hal Gill and David Clarkson squared off and walked away with fighting majors.  Despite being vastly outsized, Clarkson held his own with neither side really getting in any significant licks.  The Devils proceeded to outshoot the Penguins 15-4 in the 2nd period team, dominating the play and taking the Penguins largely out of the game.  The Penguins finished the period 0-for-1 on the powerplay and 2-for-2 on the Penalty Kill. 

Through the third period and despite the Penguins horrendous play, Marc-Andre Fleury continued to be very strong in net and it looked as if they might steal a win.  However, at 17:31 Patrick Elias centered a puck from the sideboards that deflected off from Hal Gill’s skate and into the far side of the net past Fleury.  The goal was unassisted.  Although it was a lucky bounce, it was a reward for the Devils hard work through the 2nd and 3rd periods.  The Penguins hung on by a thread in the 3rd period as the Devils outshot them by a punishing 20-2.  The Penguins did manage to kill off 2-penalties in the 3rd, but were afforded no powerplay opportunities. 

In the overtime period, it looked as if the Penguins might get a chance to redeem themselves in a shootout.  However, with 38 seconds left in overtime and the Penguins working a 3-on-2 break, Travis Zajac came up with the puck and made a long lead pass to Zach Parise, who streaked down the left-wing boards and beat Fleury for the game winner.  The Devils outshot the Penguins 4-1 in the OT period. 

• VIDEO:  Postgame Press Conference (Therrien)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Fleury)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Satan)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Crosby)
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Game Summary
• Boxscore/Player Stats
• Play-by-Play

The only other side note to tonight’s game was the fact that Darryl Sydor played left wing on the 4th line as Michel Therrien played Gill, Eaton, Orpik, Scuderi, Letang and Goligoski on Defense.  The Penguins will get a couple days off to recoup before taking on the Philadelphia Flyers at Mellon Arena on Tuesday night.

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New NHLPens.com Poll Regarding Pens Defense

With our top 2 defensemen are sidelined for an extended period of time, it is time for a new poll: 

Place your vote.  We will see how the results come in.

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