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Penguins Nip Sabres in OT on Controversial Goal by Crosby

The Pittsburgh Penguins came back from a 2-goal defecit against the Buffalo Sabres to force the extra frame and then won the game 4-3 on a controversial overtime goal by Sidney Crosby.  The game-winning goal which was deflected in by Crosby looked as if it may have hit his stick above the crossbar (high stick), but the on-ice official with a good line of sight called it a goal and the video review was ruled inconclusive.  Nonetheless, it looked questionable from the difficult to discern high angle view of the game camera, adding to the likely displeasure of Sabres fans.  While Crosby got the game-winner and finally put in his first goal of the month, the first star of the game was clearly rookie defenseman Alex Goligoski who put in 2-goals of his own and added a helper on the OT-goal.  Evgeni Malkin continued his domination of the league scoring race by adding 3-assists, to give him 9-points (3G, 6A) in just his last 3-games.  The come from behind win was a much needed victory for the Penguins who struggled at times in the game and committed numerous penalties.  They will look to use this game as a spring board to get back on track and put the month of December behind them.

In the first period, the Penguins got off on the wrong foot.  Just 1-minute into the game, Marc-Andre Fleury gave up a goal on a slap shot by Daniel Paille to fall behind 1-0.  Teppo Numminen and Adam Mair assisted on Paille’s 4th goal of the season.  The Penguins pressed hard though and outshot the Sabres 11-7 despite picking up the period’s lone penalty on an interference call to Brooks Orpik.  It would end up being the only period in which the Penguins outshot the Sabres, however.

In the second period, Buffalo struck again at 5:23 as Ales Kotalik found the twine on a wrist shot that beat Fleury to make it 2-0.  Daniel Paille and Adam Mair combined for the assists on Kotalik’s 8th tally of the season.  Just a little under a minute later, however, the Penguins took advantage of a bad line change by the Sabres as Pascal Dupuis chipped a goal high over Ryan Miller’s shoulder at 6:18 to cut the Sabres lead in half.  Miroslav Satan and Brooks Orpik picked up the assists on the quick conversion.  Then at 12:23, Evgeni Malkin set up Alex Goligoski for a blast that found its way through traffic and into the net to tie the game 2-2.  Ruslan Fedotenko joined Malkin on the assist.  At 14:46, Eric Godard boarded a Sabres’ player behind his own net and then got in a fight (or rather a slow dance)  with Andrew Peters.  Neither player got in any shots and the Penguins found themselves short-handed for 2-minutes on Godard’s boarding minor.  The Penguins were unsuccessful on the ensuing penalty kill as the defense left Clarke MacArthur standing all alone in front of Marc-Andre Fleury.  MacArthur quickly moved from the backhand to a wrister that Fleury had no chance of stopping.  Ales Kotalik and Teppo Numminen picked up the assists to make it 3-2.  The Penguins, who found themselves in a bit of penalty trouble in the second period, were outshot 15-6 and were 1-for-3 on the penalty kill.   

In the third period, the Penguins finally got a break at 10:35 when Daniel Paille took a roughing penalty for a hit to the head of Alex Goligoski.  It took Alex Goligoski just 42-seconds to make Paille pay as he collected a feed from Evgeni Malkin and launched a roofer through traffic that sailed over Miller’s shoulder to tie the game 3-3.  Jordan Staal joined Malkin on the assist, as Goligoski picked up his 2nd of the night and 6th of the season.  Marc-Andre Fleury came up big in the 3rd period as he stopped 13-shots to force the overtime.  e was particularly effective in helping his team kill off 4-minutes of penalty time as Philippe Boucher sat for hooking and high sticking.  The Penguins managed to get just 3-shots on net. 

In the sudden death overtime period, the Penguins needed just 43-seconds to score the game-winner.  Standing in front of the net and battling with a Sabres’ defenseman, Crosby deflected an arcing shot by Evgeni Malkin down and into the net.  After a lengthy review, the call was made that the puck was not hit with a high stick and the goal was awarded to the Penguins. 

• VIDEO:  Game Hghlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Event Summary
• Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary
• Penguins’ Ice Time Report

Alex Goligoski (2G, 1A) and Evgeni Malkin (3A) led the Penguins with 3-points each.  Sidney Crosby (1G), Pascal Dupuis (1G), Ruslan Fedotenko (1A), Miroslav Satan (1A), Jordan Staal (1A) and Brooks Orpik (1A) all had 1-point.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32-of-35 shots for a 0.914 save percentage.  Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang led the team in shots with 3 each, while Mark Eaton, Petr Sykora, Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby each had 2-shots.  Sidney Crosby was excellent in the faceoff circle winning 16 of 23 for 70%.  Pascal Dupuis led all forwards with 20:32 in ice time, while Rob Scuderi led all defensemen with 22:13.  The Penguins out-hit the Sabres 16-10 with Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke registering 4-hits each.  The Sabres blocked 14-shots while the Penguins blocked 11. 

The Penguins return to Mellon Arena for their final pre-Christmas game on Tuesday night against the strugglin Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Penguins Come Up Short in Buffalo

The Pittsburgh Penguins gave up 2-goals in the 3rd period and posted none of their own as they lost to the Buffalo Sabres on the road on Friday night 4-3.  John Curry’s first start in goal for the Penguins didn’t go the way he wanted it, despite a couple of spectacular saves late in the game.  He ended up stopping 28-of-32 shots for a 0.875 save percentage.  But don’t pin the blame on Curry.  The Penguins’ defense failed to keep the front of the net cleared, and most of the Sabres’ goals came from the traffic in close.  The Penguins faltering power play resulted in numerous missed opportunities as they went 0-for-7 on the night.   

The Penguins were first to get on the scoreboard at 10:29 of the 1st period as Tyler Kennedy took a cross crease pass from Matt Cooke and popped it into the net.  Rob Scuderi picked up the other assist.  The goal was Kennedy’s 6th on the season and it was Cooke’s 7th assist.  Less than a minute later, however, the Sabres tied it up at 1-1 as Drew Stafford wristed a puck past John Curry.  Maxim Afinogenov and Jaroslav Spacek picked p the assists on the play.  The Penguins went 0-for-3 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill as they outshot the Sabres 12-11.

In the 2nd period, the Penguins’ defense took a blow when Philippe Boucher left the game after one shift due to an unsepcified injury.  He didn’t return.  The Buffalo Sabres took the lead at 12:21 as they scored on the power play while Brooks Orpik sat for an interference call.   Paul Gaustad picked up his first goal of the season on the tip-in, with assists from Drew Stafford and Mark Mancari to make it 2-1.  Just 34-seconds later, however, Sidney Crosby tied it back up at 2-2 as he collected a rebound off from Evgeni Malkin’s shot and whacked the puck out of mid-air and into the net.  Then at 19:04, Evgeni Malkin created a Buffalo turnover and sent Sidney Crosby streaking in on net.  Crosby faked a slapper and then snapped the puck into the far side of the net, beating Ryan Miller to give the Penguins a 3-2 advantage.  Evgeni Malkin provided the lone assist on both of Crosby’s goals.  The 2nd period was the Penguins best offensive effort of the game as they outshot the Sabres 15-11, but the power play again came up empty on 4 attempts.  The Penguins penalty kill was 1-for-2. 

In the final period, the Penguins offense withered as they only managed to get off 3-shots on net while the Sabres fired 10-shots and connected for 2 goals.  The Sabres tied the game just 3:11 into the third on Drew Stafford’s second goal of the game.  Off the rush, Stafford redirected Thomas Vanek’s pass to beat Curry on the open side.  Then at 16:36, Paul Gaustad redirected a Jason Pominville pass by Curry to put Buffalo ahead for good.  There were no penalties called in the 3rd period.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS: In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Penguins Ice Time Report
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Comparison

Sidney Crosby picked up 2-goals and led the team in shots with 5.  Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy each posted 4-shots, while Evgeni Malkin only had 1 shot on the evening.  Evgeni Malkin did pick up 2 more assists to boost his NHL-leading points total to 37.  He is 7-points ahead of #2 Alexander Ovechkin (30) and leads the league with 27 assists, 5 ahead of Boston’s Marc Savard.  In the faceoff circle, Tyler Kennedy was 2/2 (100%), Max Talbot was 4/5 (80%) and Mike Zigomanis was 7/12 (58%).  Ruslan Fedotenko and Mark Eaton were healthy scratches.  WBS call-up Janne Pesonen skated 6:02 and had no shots on goal.  Sidney Crosby led all players in ice time with 24:29, with Evgeni Malkin second at 23:25.  Kris Letang led all defensemen with 23:14. 

The loss was just the Penguins’ 2nd regulation loss in November.  They return to Mellon Arena on Saturday to take on the New Jersey Devils.

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Penguins Unleash the Hounds in 3rd Period, Beat Sabres 5-2

Donning their new powder blue 3rd Jerseys, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted yet another late game comeback by scoring 4-goals in the last 8:17 of the game to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Saturday night.  Trailing 2-1 with less than 9-minutes to go in the game, the Penguins converted on a powerplay to tie the game, and then unleashed 3 more, including an empty netter to clinch the win.  Evgeni Malkin not only kept his league leading scoring streak alive at 13-games, he picked up 4-points (1G, 3A) to regain the NHL scoring lead and increased his league leading assists total.  Malkin now has 3-more points (30) than #2 Alexander Semin (27) and 7 more assists (23) than #2 Sidney Crosby (16). 

In the 1st period, the Buffalo Sabres came out shooting, looking to avenge their prior night’s 6-1 loss to the Carolina Bluejackets.  The Sabres ultimately outshot the Penguins 11-6, and connected for an even strength goal at 8:14 to make it 1-0.  Jason Pominville collected his 7th goal of the season on a wrist shot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury.  Andrej Sekera and Adam Mair picked up the assists on the play, the only goal of the period.  The Penguins went 0-for-2 on the powerplay and were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.   

In the 2nd period, the Penguins’ offensively loaded powerplay beat the 2nd best penalty kill in the league and evened the score at 1-1.  At 11:07,  Evgeni Malkin blistered a shot from the blueline on a perfect feed from Alex Goligoski.  While Sabres netminder Ryan Miller was able to get in front of the heavy shot, he couldn’t stop its momentum as it trickled across the goal line behind him.  Ruslan Fedotenko was credited with the other assist.  At 18:50, Tyler Kennedy was sent to the box on a hooking call giving the Sabres a late chance to restore their lead.  Thomas Vanek, posted in front of the Penguins’ net, pushed off Mark Eaton to free himself up at the side of the net where he took a perfect pass through the crease and deposited it in the net behind Fluery.  Clarke MacArthur and Derek Roy picked up the assists on the goal, putting Vanek in a tie with with Alexander Semin for the league’s most goals (13).  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 10-6 in the 2nd, going 1-for-3 on the powerplay and 2-for-3 on the kill. 

In the 3rd period, the Penguins got one more shot on the powerplay and they made the Sabres pay.  At 11:43 with Henrik Tallinder in the box for tripping, the Penguins #1 powerplay unit went to work.  With 48-seconds left on the powerplay, Evgeni Malkin fed a pass from the blueline to Sidney Crosby working along the walls.  Crosby faked a shot on net that committed Ryan Miller and the defense, and instead made a hard cross-ice pass to a wide open Alex Goligoski who laced it into the open side of the net to tie the game 2-2.  Then with just 4:33 left in the game, Jordan Staal connected on a beautiful bang-bang play on a quick pass from Matt Cooke from behind the net to beat Miller and take the 3-2 lead.  Workhorse Tyler Kennedy picked up the other assist.  Just over a minute later, the Sabres turned the puck over deep in the Penguins zone giving the Pens a 3-on-1 breakout with Evgeni Malkin leading the charge.  With Petr Sykora streaking down the other side of the ice, Ruslan Fedotenko held up ever so slightly to get himself free behind the lone Sabres’ defenseman.  Malkin saw Fedotenko coming late and fed him a tape-to-tape pass that he buried in the net to make it 4-2.  Petr Sykora was credited with the other assist.  Finally at 19:36 with Ryan Miller pulled for the extra attacker, Evgeni Malkin took a chip pass from Petr Sykora and started up ice with Jordan Staal on a 2-on-1.  Malkin unselfishly passed the puck to Staal who deposited the puck in the empty net for his 6th goal and 7th point in the last 4-games.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 9-6 in the final frame and converted on the period’s only powerplay. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Sidney Crosby Interview
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Jordan Staal Interview
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Alex Goligoski Interview
• PHOTOS  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Game Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary

Evgeni Malkin led the team with 4-points (1G, 3A).  Jordan Staal (2G), Alex Goligoski (1G, 1A), Ruslan Fedotenko (1G, 1A), and Petr Sykora (2A) all connected for 2-points.  Sidney Crosby (1A), Tyler Kennedy (1A), and Matt Cooke all collected a point.  Max Talbot (2-for-2) was perfect on the faceoff.  Evgeni Malkin (5-for-6) was 83% on the faceoff, while Mike Zigomanis (8-for-14) was 57%.  Evgeni Malkin also led the team in shots with 4, while Jordan Staal, Alex Goligoski, Ruslan Fedotenko, Tyler Kennedy and Miroslav Satan each had 3-shots on net.  Sidney Crosby only had 1-shot on the evening.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 23 shots for a 0.913 save percentage. 

The win improved the Penguins’ record to 11-4-2, extended their unbeaten streak to 6-games, and advanced them into 2nd place in the Eastern Conference (tied in points with Boston, but leading in wins).  Despite their slow starts to games, the Penguins have scored 32 goals in their 6-game winning streak averaging 5.33 goals per game.  In the same stretch, they have given up 22-goals for an average of 3.67 goals against per game.  Evgeni Malkin’s scoring streak was extended to 13 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.  Malkin has accumulated 27-points (6G, 21A) during his 13-game points streak for a 2.08 point per game pace. 

The Penguins get a couple of days off before hosting the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night at Mellon Arena.  The Penguins will again don their powder blue 3rd jerseys for their 2nd of 11-planned times this season.  The game wil be featured on the Versus network.

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Penguins Unleash Offense, Finish Season Sweep of Sabres

The Pittsburgh Penguins completed a 4-game season sweep of the Buffalo Sabres for the first time in franchise history by beating them soundly 7-3.  The Penguins continue to deal with an injury riddled lineup as Sidney Crosby and Max Talbot both sat out due to aggravation of their high ankle sprains.  However, despite dressing only 3-centers for the game, the Penguins found plenty of offense as 7-different players found the back of the net, including Chris Minard who picked up his first NHL goal.  Tyler Kennedy had a career game posting 3-points (1G, 2A).  Ty Conklin completed his dominance over the Sabres by saving 29-of-32 shots.  The win puts the Penguins back on top of the Eastern Conference in a points tie with the Canadiens, but with the advantage in games won.

In the 1st period, Tyler Kennedy put the Penguins on the board early with an amazing goal at 3:30.  Pascal Dupuis made a pass up ice to Kennedy who broke in on Ryan Miller and put the puck behind his outstretched leg for the goal.  The Penguins were outshot 8-7 in the first, were 0-for-1 on the power play and killed off 2 penalties against Connor James (tripping) and Petr Sykora (holding). 

In the 2nd period, Georges Laraque took a 5-minute elbowing major and a game misconduct on an innocent looking hit on defenseman Nathan Paetsch.  Paetsch laid motionless on the ice for several minutes before finally getting up and leaving the ice under his own power.  In the ensuing 5-minute penalty kill, the Penguins went on the offensive and took control of the game, eventually drawing a penalty on Maxime Afinogenov to even it up 4-on-4.  During the 4-on-4 play, Jeff Taffe beat Ryan Miller to make it 2-0.  Darryl Sydor and Kris Letang were credited with the assists.  Then at 18:08 while on the power play, Sergei Gonchar let a shot rip from just inside the blueline that deflected past a screened Ryan Miller to make it 3-0.  Ryan Whitney and Petr Sykora picked up the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 14-10 in the 2nd, were 1-for-2 on the power play and killed off the extended penalty to Georges Laraque. 

In the 3rd, the scoresheet filled up as a total of 7-goals were scored between the 2-teams.  The first goal went to the Penguins just 56 seconds into the period when Petr Sykora beat Ryan Miller on the power play to put the Penguins up 4-0.  Ryan Malone made a beautiful play to strip a Buffalo player of the puck and then dish it to Sykora who fired it into a wide open net.  Sergei Gonchar got the other assist.  Then, the Buffalo Sabres showed their first signs of life as they scored an even strength goal at 3:02 from Jochen Hecht with assists by Mike Weber and Maxim Afinogenov.  Then, with the Penguins on the power play, the Sabres’ Daniel Paille managed to skate in and beat Ty Conklin short-handed.  Derek Roy and Henrik Tallinder picked up the assists.  But the Penguins got it back at 8:56 on a power play goal by Evgeni Malkin, his 39th goal of the season.  Darryl Sydor and Tyler Kennedy got credited with the assists.  Then, just over a minute later, Jordan Staal made a great pass to Chris Minard who fired the puck past Ryan Miller for his first NHL career goal to make the score 6-2.  Ryan Stone picked up the other assist.  The goal resulted in Ryan Miller being replaced by former Penguin Jocelyn Thibault.  Just 46-seconds later, the Sabres managed another goal as Daniel Paille made a great play on the doorstep against Ty Conklin.  Steve Bernier picked up the assist.  The Penguins closed out the scoring on a hard shot by Kris Letang that found its way past Thibault.  Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis got the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 15-13 in the 3rd, and were 2-for-3 on the power play.  The Penguins had no penalties in the 3rd.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline Show
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

Tyler Kennedy had a 3-point night (1G, 2A) and several players picked up 2-points, including Darryl Sydor (2A), Pascal Dupuis (2A), Petr Sykora (1G, 1A), Sergei Gonchar (1G, 1A) and Kris Letang (1G, 1A).  Evgeni Malkin notched 1-point (1G) on the night to maintain 2nd place in the NHL scoring race with 93-points, 4-points behind fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin who picked up 2-goals in his game on Wednesday.  The Penguins improved their record to 40-24-7, for 87-points.  The win tonight regained their lead of the Atlantic Division over the New Jersey Devils (86-points), and the Eastern Conference over the Montreal Canadiens (87-points, but 1 less win than the Penguins).  The Devils (12-games remaining) have a game in hand against the Penguins (11-games remaining).    

The Penguins have a few more days off before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, a noon game that will be broadcast as NBC’s game of the week.  The Penguins will hope to get Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa back for that game, but only time will tell if they are both healthy enough to play. 

Penguins Rattle Sabres 4-1, Regain Atlantic Lead

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Sunday night to regain the Atlantic Division lead alongside the New Jersey Devils.  After 59 games, the Penguins and the Devils amazingly share the exact same record (33-21-5) with 71-points, just 2-points behind the Eastern Conference leading Ottawa Senators.  Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin had another superb night in net as he turned aside 36-shots on goal to claim the game’s 1st star, and kept the Penguins in the game despite an offensive onslaught by the Sabres early on.  Red hot Evgeni Malkin continued his surge as he picked up 2-more points (1G, 1A) to pull within 1-point of Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL scoring lead.   

In the 1st period, it was all Buffalo as they outshot the Penguins 17-6.  Despite the lopsided play, Ty Conklin stood on his head, kept everything out of the net and kept the Penguins in the game.  The rest of the Penguins team continued their lackluster play of late throughout much of the period.  Aside from failing to keep their feet moving, they made some bad passes that resulted in turnovers.  As a result, the Sabres had the Penguins chasing the play through much of the period.  The Penguins managed to weather a lone penalty kill when Georges Laraque took a questionable roughing call at 3:05. 

In the 2nd, the Penguins got on the board first with a breakaway chance by Jarkko Ruutu as he emerged from the Penalty box at 7:28.  At the expiration of his 2-minute hooking call, Ruutu stepped onto the ice and skated to his own blueline before wheeling around towards the Sabres net and taking a long up-ice pass from Ryan Malone for the breakaway on Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller.  Ruutu made a couple of moves and then beat Miller on the backhand.  Rob Scuderi picked up the other assist.  Just 2-minutes later, Petr Sykora scored a power play goal on a 2-on-1 break with Evgeni Malkin to put the Penguins up 2-0.  Malkin attempted the shot, but it was deflected by the lone Sabres’ defenseman and bounced in front of Sykora who whacked it out of the air and into the net behind Miller.  At 14:45, Buffalo drew within one when Thomas Vanek wristed a power play goal while Colby Armstrong sat for an unsportsmanlike conduct call.  Derek Roy and Jason Pominville were credited with the assists.  The Penguins were outshot 10-6 in the 2nd and were 1-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. 

In the final frame, Evgeni Malkin picked up his 34th goal of the season at 8:13 as he drove the net hard and poked in a rebound as Max Talbot and Petr Sykora crashed the net.  Malkin’s momentum carried him into the net with the puck after the goal was scored, but the hungry scorer was quick to come back out with a fist pump and a bounce off the glass to celebrate.  Talbot and Sykora were credited with the assists.  Trailing by 2-goals, the Sabres pulled Miller with 57-seconds left to go in the game.  Colby Armstrong took advantage of the open cage by flipping the puck past two defenders from the blueline, with the puck finding its way right into the middle of the net.  Ryan Malone was credited with the assist, his 2nd of the night.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres in the 3rd 13-10 and were o-for-1 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill.

• VIDEO:  Video Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

“Certainly we had to weather a bit of a storm early, but I think we got our legs under us as the game went on,” said Conklin, now 15-4-3. “We capitalized on our breaks.”  Coach Therrien was quick to credit Conklin on his play, “When your goalie’s giving you the performance like Ty gave us, it gives your team some confidence.  He’s a big part of the reason why we had success.”  One has to hope that the Penguins have awoken from their brief slumber over the period of 2 and a half games and will regain their momentum from the win over the Sabres. 

During the game, a Buffalo announcer stated that he had spoken with Crosby between periods and he had indicated that he could be back as soon as Tuesday when the Penguins host the Panthers.  However, the Penguins official website noted on Sunday night that Crosby is still expected to be out through the end of the month.  Nonetheless, the fact that he has started full contact practice with the team is very encouraging news.  It was also stated that Gary Roberts could be back within a week, although, one has to wonder if he will spend any time at WBS getting back into game shape.

The Penguins are back on the ice Tuesday night as they take on the Florida Panthers at Mellon Arena. 

Crosby Scores Winter Classic Shootout Winner!

The NHL’s Amped Winter Classic was just that;  the players and fans were amped, it was definitely winter weather, and it turned out to be a real classic!  The Pittsburgh Penguins needed 65-minutes of skating and a shootout, but they beat the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year’s Day by a score of 2-1.  As if scripted by NHL marketeers, the game went all the way to a shootout and the deciding goal was scored by none other than Sidney Crosby. 

It was a game that saw almost everything Mother Nature could whip up for a nice winter’s day.  With temperatures hovering around the freezing mark and winds blowing 15-20 mph, there was a little bit of rain, some sleet and snow to add to the challenges on ice.  The scene really could not have been more idyllic.  The weather conditions resulted in a lot of unscheduled mid-period resurfacing of the ice, as accumulating snow granules caused the puck to slow and bounce around.  The league did a pretty good job of keeping the ice clear after the first cleaning during the first period.  There were also several stoppages of play to correct some on-ice divits.  This resulted in a game that did not have the normal flow of an indoor NHL game. 

The Penguins stunned the crowd of 70,000+ fans as they scored on their very first shift of the game following a power drive to the net by Sidney Crosby that resulted in a goal by Colby Armstrong.  Crosby flew down the boards and around a Sabres defenseman to pull up in front of goaltender Ryan Miller.  Crosby was unable to put the puck past Miller, but the rebound landed on the stick of Colby Armstrong who threw it into the net, just 21 seconds into the game.  It looked like the beginning of an offensively loaded game for the Penguins, but it would be their only regulation goal of the game.  Pittsburgh had 3 chances on the power play in the 1st period, but was unable to convert.  They did manage to kill off their only short-handed situation as Colby Armstrong sat for goaltender interference.  Taking advantage of the man-advantages, the Penguins outshot the Sabres 11-9 in the 1st period. 

In the second period, the Buffalo Sabres scored quickly on a goal by Brian Campbell at 1:25, after he found himself alone near the circle and drilled the puck past Ty Conklin.  Tim Connolly and Daniel Paille were credited with the assists.  After the goal, the Sabres went to work and outplayed the Penguins for the remainder of the period.  The Sabres outshot the Penguins 14-2, with Ty Conklin coming up big in net to keep them in the game. 

In the 3rd, the Penguins offense returned to form as they outshot the Sabres 12-7.  But neither team was able to get one past the goaltenders despite several close calls.  In the last second of the 3rd period, Colby Armstrong was called for a hooking penalty in front of his own net, putting the Penguins at a man-disadvantage for the first 2-minutes of the sudden death overtime.  The Penguins managed to weather the penalty kill in overtime, and hung on to force the shootout after being outshot 7-0 in the extra frame. 

In the shootout, Ty Conklin gave up a goal to the first Sabres shooter, Ales Kotalik, before shutting the door on Tim Connolly and Maxim Afinogenov.  For the Penguins, the shooters were predictably Erik Christensen, Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby.  Christensen lost the puck and missed on his chance.  Kris Letang made it a perfect 4 for 4 on the shootout as he deked and beat the Sabres tender stick side.  Then, with the game on his stick, Sidney Crosby skated in on Ryan Miller, anticipated the poke check and let off a quick wrister that slipped through the five-hole of Miller to win the game.

• VIDEO:  Winter Classic 2008 Video Highlights 
• PHOTOS:  Winter Classic 2008 Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• OFFICIAL NHL:  Game Rosters
• OFFICIAL NHL:  Game Summary
• OFFICIAL NHL:  Boxscore
• OFFICIAL NHL:  Play-by-Play
• OFFICIAL NHL:  Shootout Summary

The win improves the Penguins record to 21-16-2 and an impressive 13-5-0 since Thanksgiving.  The Penguins return home to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, January 3rd, at Mellon Arena. 

Winter Classic 2008 Primer!

The NHL’s Winter Classic 2008 is finally upon us, and we have compiled the following information as a primer to get you Amped up for the event!

Background:

In the 90-year history of the NHL, only 1 regular season game has ever been played outdoors.   That game, dubbed the Heritage Classic, was played in Edmonton on November 23rd, 2003, and featured a north of the border matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers.  It commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979.  The Heritage Classic was inspired by a 2001 outdoor game between two college rivals, Michigan State and the University of Michigan, that became dubbed the “Cold War”.  The Cold War was such a success that 74,554 spectators crammed into Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium and smashed the world attendance record for hockey.  Just 2 years later, the Heritage Classic was played in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in a bitingly cold -18ºF with an attendance of 57,167, the largest number of people to ever watch a live NHL game.  The Canadiens ended up winning the game by a score of 4-3 .   While the Heritage Classic was the first NHL regular season game to be played outdoors, it wasn’t the first NHL game to be played outdoors.  That honor belongs to an exhibition game in 1991 between the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers that was played outside of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

With the groundwork laid by the Cold War and the Heritage Classic, the NHL decided in the summer of 2007 to stage the 2nd outdoor regular season game on New Year’s Day, and dubbed it the Winter Classic 2008.  They selected two fast skating, talented young teams for the matchup, the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium was selected as the Venue for the event, marking the NHL’s first outdoor regular season game to be played in the United States.  Buffalo’s proximity to the Canadian border only increased its appeal to the NHL.  With over 70,000 fans expected, it could come close to the world hockey attendance record set by the Cold War event.

The Weather:

The weather promises to cooperate and will make this event interesting.  Monday’s overnight forecast calls for a 90% chance of precipitation, starting out as light rain and changing over to all snow by late morning on New Year’s Day.  Temperatures overnight will fall to 31º, and will peak at 36º on New Year’s day.  Winds flowing ENE will eventually shift to NNW and increase to 20-30 mph with occassional gusts of 40 mph.  Snow accumulations of 2-4 inches are expected.  Dan Craig, the NHL’s Facility Operations Manager, indicates that the winds aren’t really going to affect the rink because they put cable up on the tall glass to hold everything in place securely.  As for the snow, the NHL will use Zambonis and shovels to keep the ice surface clean prior to the game, and will monitor conditions within the periods and act accordingly.   

Unique Rules:

Being a regular season NHL game, all of the normal NHL rules will apply.  However, to ensure that neither team is aided or adversely affected by the variabilities introduced by playing outdoors, some unique and noticeable changes will be incorporated.  First, to equalize number of minutes each team has attacking or defending each goal, the 3rd period will be broken into two 10-minute segments.  At the end of the first 10-minute segment, the teams will switch ends as if it were a period break.  The whistle will be blown and the play stopped at the 10-minute mark of the 3rd, regardless of any on-going play on the ice.  Second, and along the same lines, if a 5-minute overtime period is required, it will also be divided in half with the teams switching ends after 2:30 of play.  Lastly, should the game go all the way to a shootout, each goaltender will be given the option of determining which goal to defend, making it possible for both teams to shoot at the same goal.  Another potential change that would be decided in real time could be the length of intermissions between periods, or timeouts within periods.  This will be dictated by weather and ice conditions, as determined by the NHL. 

The Teams:

The Pittsburgh Penguins (20-16-2) come into the game playing very well, having gone 12-5-0 in their last 17-games after a slow season start.  Coming off a win against the Sabres in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, the Penguins currently hold 7th place in the Eastern Conference with 42-points.  The Penguins will be without the services of forward Gary Roberts (broken leg), forward Max Talbot (ankle), defenseman Marc Eaton (torn ACL), and starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (ankle).  While the Penguins have been struggling with lineup injuries through much of December, this will be the first game they play without veteran leader Gary Roberts, who broke his leg in Saturday’s tilt against Buffalo.  Petr Sykora, who was out sick on Saturday, is expected to return, along with Ryan Malone who played his first game on Saturday after missing 5 with a leg infection.  Third string goaltender Ty Conklin is expected to get rewarded with the start in net for the Penguins after posting a shutout against the Sabres on Saturday night.  Conklin is 4-0 in his brief stint with the Penguins.     

The Buffalo Sabres (19-16-2) have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10-games, including Saturday night’s loss to the Penguins.  Currently in 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 40-points, the Sabres have a game in hand against the Penguins.  The Sabres will be without the services of forward Drew Stafford who is day-to-day with a concussion.  Other than that, the Sabres appear to be very healthy. 

Going head to head, these teams are pretty evenly matched.  They both favor a fast, open, offensive style of play as was witnessed on Saturday night.  The Sabres have the advantage in goals per game at 3.1 versus 2.7 for the Penguins.  The teams are nearly equivalent in goals given up per game, with 2.8 for the Sabres versus 2.9 for the Pens.  On the power play, the teams are in a statistical lock with the Penguins at 18.9 percent effectiveness versus 18.8 for the Sabres.  The Sabres have the advantage on the penalty kill with an 83.6 percent effectiveness versus the Penguins 80.0.

Cool NHL Videos: 

• VIDEO:  Building the Rink  
• VIDEO:  Winter Classic Preview Show
• VIDEO:  Today’s Press Conference - Practice Skate
• VIDEO:  NBC Promo Ad

Final Notes: 

Both teams practiced on the outdoor rink today, and from all accounts the rink got a big thumbs up.  The Penguins didn’t hit the ice until 3PM after traveling up from Pittsburgh this morning.  Coach Therrien gave the Penguins a day off on Sunday so that they could get some rest before the game. 

Both teams will be wearing retro-looking uniforms for the game.  The Sabres will sport uniforms similar to the ones they wore in the 1980s.  The Penguins will be wearing the original powder blue, navy blue and white color scheme the team first used when it entered the NHL 40-years ago in 1967. 

Coverage starts on NHL.com at 11AM with live coverage starting at 1PM on NBC and CBC on New Year’s Day.  Both the American and Canadian National Anthems will be sung prior to the start of the game.  Irish tenor Ronan Tynan will perform “God Bless America” and Sabres singer Doug Allen will sing the Canadian National Anthem.  Weather permitting, there will also be a flyover. 

Roberts Breaks Leg as Pens Shutout Sabres

The Pittsburgh Penguins played a very strong game and won the first leg of their indoor/outdoor back-to-back series against Buffalo Saturday night as they shut out the Sabres 2-0.  Despite the win, the Penguins suffered a loss in the 2nd period.  After being honored by Ray Shero at the beginning of the game for scoring 900-points in his NHL career, Gary Roberts left the ice midway through the 2nd period with a broken leg (fibula) after Buffalo’s Tim Connolly fell into him akwardly near the Penguins’ blueline.  Roberts, who left the ice with the aid of his teammates, avoided what appeared to be a likely serious ligament injury, but will still be out for an extended period of time, adding to the Pens’ injury woes.   

Ty Conklin got the nod in net and won his 4th straight game by grabbing his first shutout in nearly 2 years and advanced his record to 4-0.  His last shutout came on January 3rd, 2006, playing for the Edmonton Oilers.  Conklin stopped 26 Buffalo shots, including a few real nail biters, and was puck-handling all night like an accomplished 3rd defenseman. 

The 1st period was evenly matched with neither team scoring a goal.  The shots were even at 8, and the only power play opportunity went to the Buffalo Sabres when Ryan Malone sat for tripping.  It was Malone’s first game after missing 5 due to a leg infection.  He spent most of the night on the 2nd line, with Malkin, Crosby and Armstrong staying together on the top line. 

In the 2nd, the Penguins scored a quick goal just 12 seconds into the period.  Sidney Crosby set up the play perfectly by muscling his way past Jochen Hecht to get the puck at the blue line, and then faked a shot before dishing the puck to Colby Armstrong who was going hard to the net with his stick on the ice.  The puck was redirected into the net off from Armstrong’s stick to put the Penguins up 1-0.   Darryl Sydor picked up the other assist for his 3rd point in the last 2 games.  Midway through the period, the Penguins lost Gary Roberts to the broken leg.  Shots were again tied at 8 per side at the end of the 2nd, with both teams going 0 for 1 on the power play. 

In the 3rd, the score remained 1-0 until the last 22 seconds when Evgeni Malkin put the insurance goal into the open net.  Sidney Crosby unselfishly passed the puck to a wide-open Malkin who skated the puck most of the way to the net before tapping it in.  Colby Armstrong picked up the other assist, giving him 7-points (2G, 5A) in his last 5-games.  Sidney Crosby’s assist gave him 2-points on the night to increase his season total to 52-points.  Shots were 10-9 in favor of Buffalo in the third.  The Penguins were 0-for-3 on the powerplay in the 3rd and successfully killed off 2 penalties, albeit the 2nd one coming with less than 10-seconds to go in the game. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights 
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

The win extends Pittsburgh’s record to 12-5-0 in their last 17-games since beating Ottawa on Thanksgiving Day in the game that has turned their season around.  The Penguins travel to Buffalo for the much anticipated outdoor Winter Classic game to be played at 1PM on New Year’s Day.  The game will be carried live on NBC and CBC.  Current weather forecast is for snow showers with the day’s temperatures ranging from 24-32 degrees.   

Winter Classic 2008

 

On New Year’s Day, the Buffalo Sabres will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the much anticipated and widely publicized NHL Winter Classic 2008.   The Winter Classic, which will be played outdoors at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium, is the NHL’s 2nd outdoor regular season game.  The first was the Heritage Classic which was played in November 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta.  The NHL is hoping to cash in by highlighting the league’s marketing centerpiece, Sidney Crosby, and broadcasting live on NBC and CBC on a holiday opposite bowl games.  Buffalo is uniquely positioned near the US/Canadian border and will add to the ”international” appeal.

NHL WINTER CLASSIC ADVERTISEMENT

Preparations are on-going around the clock to convert the Buffalo Bill’s football stadium into a 70,000-seat hockey rink.  To add to the challenge, the NHL couldn’t start the physical conversion until December 23rd based upon football schedules.  Needless to say, the planning has been in work for more than 6-months.  One of the challenges is compensating for a 9-inch crown that exists on the football field.  The NHL is having to use styrofoam and plywood to create a level foundation for the rink.  They also have to establish the infrastructure that you would normally find inside a hockey rink, including the cooling equipment for making ice, locker rooms, etc.  Add to that, the challenges of making it broadcast and fan friendly in terms of camera angles and sight lines, and it is no small feat.

NHL VIDEO OF RINK PREPARATIONS

 

• AUDIO:  Pittsburgh Penguins Winter Classic Preview (8:29).   

Probably the biggest variable in playing an outdoor game will be the weather.  The forecast over the next several days in Buffalo consists of mixed rain and snow with temperatures ranging from the low to mid-30’s.  This will undoubtedly be challenging for the preparations.  On New Year’s day, the forecast currently calls for snow showers with a low of 24 and a high of 32.  Depending on how much it snows, it could make for an even more interesting game.   

With 70,000 fans in attendance and millions more watching on TV, this will be a banner event for the NHL and a great game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres.  The fun begins at 1PM on New Year’s Day on NBC and CBC.

Penguins Fall to Sabres 4-3

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their final pre-season game tonight in Buffalo by a score of 4-3.  With the loss, the Penguins finished the pre-season at 1-3-2, with the only win coming in Game #2 against Montreal.  Sidney Crosby, Petr Sykora, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts, Alain Nasreddine, Mike Weaver, and Kris Letang were all scratches for the game (presumed healthy scratches). 

The Buffalo Sabres got on the board first at 15:53 of the first period on a power play goal by D. Roy with assists from T. Vanek and M. Afinogenov.  At the time, Mark Eaton was serving a 2-minute minor for charging.  It was the only goal of the first period with the Sabres outshooting the Penguins 8-5.

In the second period, both teams picked up a goal.  Buffalo struck first on an even strength goal from D. Kalinen with assists by T. Vanek and D. Stafford at 4:32.  The Penguins battled back to within a point on a short-handed goal by Maxime Talbot at 12:10 from Colby Armstrong, while Jarrko Ruutu was in the box on an interference call.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres in the second 7-4.

In the third period, Pittsburgh picked up the next goal on an even strength attempt by Colby Armstrong at 1:47.  Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot each picked up an assist on the marker.  Pittsburgh then took the lead at 8:28 on a power-play goal by Sergei Gonchar, with assists by Ryan Whitney and Erik Christensen.  Unofrtunately, Buffalo took over the remainder of the game scoring the tying point on a power-play goal by J. Pominville (from D. Roy and M. Afinogenov), while Maxime Talbot was in the box on a tripping call.  The game winner came on an even strength chance by T. Connolly from D. Kalinen and J. Hecht.  The Sabres outshot the Penguins 12-5 in the final frame, and had the edge in shots overall at 24-17. 

Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for the Penguins and had some tremendous saves throughout the game.  However, the lack of quality defensive zone coverage by the Penguins allowed too many goals on net, particularly in the latter half of the third period.  Power play chances were even for both teams with 6 penalties and 12 minutes a side.  The Penguins had a much better showing on the face-off tonight, winning 55% of the draws.  Maxime Talbot had a goal and an assist tonight and picked up the game’s 2nd star.  Colby Armstrong also had a goal and an assist. 

Click HERE for the Penguins Rink Rat Post Game Report. 

And with that, the Penguins complete their pre-season, albeit less successfully than they might have hoped.  Nonetheless, the purpose of pre-season is to assess the team’s prospects, work the lines, and get back into game form.  Hopefully the Penguins can apply the right team and line adjustments to enable them to bolt out of the gate early in the regular season.  I was excited by the level of play that I witnessed in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Staal in the pre-season, particularly Malkin who really looks ready to turn it up a notch.  Hopefully he can deliver and be consistent throughout the whole season.  I am concerned by the current state of readiness of the Penguins defensive corps.  Hopefully they can pull it together before too many regular season games come and go.

Tune in next week as the Penguins drop the puck in their season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes at 7PM on Friday, Oct 5, 2007.  NHLPens.com will be hosting an audio feed, scoreboard and live chat at the “In Game” room.  It is a fun way to follow the game with other fans if you can’t be there in person.  Check back and look for “In Game” links on game day.  Also, be sure to check back daily for updated articles and forum postings on your favorite NHL Team, the Pittsburgh Penguins!

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