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Hossa Trade Analysis

Ray Shero and the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly surprised many of us with the last minute deal today, especially given the pre-trade day belief that the Penguins were not looking for a blockbuster deal.   It would be hard to refute that snatching Marian Hossa, one of the league’s top wingers, to play alongside one of the league’s most talented centers is anything but a blockbuster deal.  The Penguins also got left winger Pascal Dupuis in the deal that sent Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 1st round draft pick to Atlanta.  But will it be a good trade?  Have the Penguins given up too much for what some consider to be a short-term rental in Hossa?  In June will it be viewed as a great trade, or a bust?  Only time will truly tell.

According to Shero, this deal wasn’t even on the plate at 1PM this afternoon, just 2 short hours before the deadline.  There were other unstated deals being considered, but none of them panned out.  Ray Shero was looking at the prospect of finishing the trade day without pulling the trigger on anyone.  But somewhere late in the day the deal came through, sending Hossa to Pittsburgh instead of Ottawa or New Jersey.  The Penguins also picked up giant, stay at home defenseman Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2nd and 5th round pick. 

While I am still not sure what to think about the Hossa deal in terms of the long run, it is a bold move by the Penguins in the short run.  In terms of on-ice assets, they gave up Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen.  We were likely to trade at least one of them away regardless of this deal.  Christensen has been great at the shootout, but pretty inconsistent outside of that.  Armstrong has been a physical presence, but has also been inconsistent on the scoresheet.  On most accounts, both players are 3rd line talents.  The biggest concern with losing them (especially Armstrong) is an indeterminate impact it may have on the intangible element of team chemistry.  It is no secret that Colby Armstrong has helped lighten the load for Sidney Crosby in the locker room.  It is unclear what his loss may do to team chemistry.  The Penguins also lost Angelo Esposito in the deal, a highly regarded, but yet unproven prospect whose capital may have lessened over the past several months, as well as a first round draft pick.  Given the high performing youth that the Penguins already have on the roster, I don’t view this as a critical concession for the immediate future of the team. 

So what does Marian Hossa bring?  Talent, and plenty of it.  He is the poster child of a scoring winger that many have said this team needs to complement the talent of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.  He has scored 80+ points in each of his last 4 seasons, and had a career high 100-points (43G, 57A) last season.  This season,  he has 56-points (26G, 30A) in 60-games for Atlanta.  Most people expect that a Crosby/Hossa combination will be an explosive pairing.  It would give Sidney Crosby a world class natural winger that may be able to more readily take advantage of his speed and creativity.  It also frees up Evgeni Malkin to continue his domination as a natural center.  But what will happen after the season ends?  I guess it will depend upon what happens through the remainder of this season and into the playoffs.  It is very possible that Hossa’s stint with the Penguins may only last through the post season.  One could easily see the Penguins having difficulty trying to retain a trio of top forwards under the current salary cap restrictions.  These are thechallenges that the Penguins will face down stream.

In the short run, this trade is a big win for Pittsburgh.  Aside from the obvious upgrade to the Penguins offense, it gives the Penguins a leg up in the wide open Eastern Conference.  In my opinion, more importantly than adding Hossa to the Penguins lineup is the fact that it prevented Ottawa or Montreal from adding him to theirs.  In a Conference where the top 3 positions are separated by just 2-points, this can only be seen as a huge advantage for Pittsburgh.  The only potential near term downside is the affect it will have on team chemistry by taking Colby Armstrong out of the lineup.  Add to the trade a decent winger in Pascal Dupuis, and I find it hard to argue with this bold move by the Penguins.  It is definitely a trade focused on this season, and not necessarily the long run……but isn’t that what trade day is all about?  Good job Ray Shero!

Penguins Trade – Hossa/Dupuis/Gill in…Armstrong, Christensen, Esposito out

BREAKING TRADE NEWS

TRADE DEALS JUST ANNOUNCED…..the Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers have completed a trade with less than an hour to go to before the deadline. 

To the Penguins:  Marian Hossa and Pascale Dupuis

To Atlanta:  Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 1st Round Draft Pick

• Marian Hossa:  6′1″, 210#, Right Wing, Shoots Left – 56 Points (26G, 30A) in 60 games

• Pascale Dupuis:  6′0″, 200#, Left Wing, Shoots Left – 15 Points (10G, 5A) in 62 games

Also announced, a trade between the Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs:

To the Penguins:  Defenseman Hal Gill for a 2nd and 5th round pick. 

• Hal Gill:  6′7″, 250#, Defenseman, Shoots Left – 20 Points (2G, 18A) in 63 games.

More to come.

Penguins Awaken in 3rd Period, Beat Hurricanes 4-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins can thank Ty Conklin for keeping them in the game until the 3rd period before they finally awoke to score 4-goals and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Saturday night.  Despite playing arguably his worst two periods of hockey this season, Evgeni Malkin recovered in the 3rd to get a goal and 2-assists and was crowned the game’s 1st star.  Ty Conklin was the 2nd star giving up 1 goal on 28-shots, and Petr Sykora was the 3rd star with a goal and an assist.  The New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers won their games on Saturday to keep the 1st through 3rd spots in the Atlantic the same, with 2-points separating the 3 teams.

In the 1st period, it was largely the Carolina Hurricanes show.  With the exception of the 2nd line of Staal, Christensen and Talbot, the Penguins played very flat.  At 4:40, Erik Cole and Brooks Orpik fought to a tie with a lot of dancing and few punches thrown.  The Hurricanes notched their lone tally at 8:27 on a wrist shot by Sergei Samsonov.  Andrew Ladd and Rod Brind’Amour picked up the assists.  But it wasn’t for a lack of trying as the Hurricanes went on to pepper the Pittsburgh net with 15-shots in the period, taking advantage of several bad turnovers by the Penguins.  It seemed as if the Penguins were not skating and making bad decisions in their own zone.  Evgeni Malkin made a few notable bad decisions and blind passes that ended up on the Canes’ sticks, and Sergei Gonchar seemed unable to clear the zone.  As a result, the Penguins were unable to generate much offense, getting just 8-shots through the end of the period despite getting a 4-minute powerplay for a high-stick put on Max Talbot that resulted in blood.  “The first period we didn’t play that well at all and we got an earful,” Christensen said, referring to unspecified comments made between periods.  The Penguins were 0-for-2 on the power play and killed off their lone man-down situation as Jordan Staal sat for holding the stick. 

In the 2nd, neither team was able to find the back of the net as the Penguins improved their play and outshot the Hurricanes 10-7.  Each team had a power play opportunity, but failed to convert. 

In the 3rd, the Penguins came to life by working hard and capitalizing on their chances.  The first goal came just 37 seconds into the period as Erik Christensen buried the puck into the open side of the net past Cam Ward.  The play was set up beautifully by Jordan Staal and Max Talbot who moved the puck to Christensen, who found himself alone in front of the net to the glove side of Ward.  At 6:23, Brett Hedican took a hooking penalty with 7 seconds left on a Penguins tripping penalty to Max Talbot.  The Penguins took advantage of the power play at 7:26 as Ryan Malone swatted the puck out of the air and into Hurricanes’ net.  The video replay showed the puck trickling fully across the goal line before being swiped out by an opposing player, to make the score 2-1 and put the momentum in Pittsburgh’s favor.  Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar were credited with assists.  At 9:42, Evgeni Malkin put the team on his shoulders and put the game a little further out of reach for the Hurricanes as he split the defense and beat Cam Ward with a backhander that caught the far post and went in the net.  Petr Sykora and Brooks Orpik were given assists for the outlet passing to Malkin.  Then at 13:03 on the power play, Petr Sykora added an insurance goal as he picked up a rebound and beat Cam Ward on a backhander.  Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin picked up the assists on the final goal of the game.  The Penguins converted 2-of-2 on the power play in the third, and sucessfully killed off 2 penalties of their own.

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

The Penguins travel to New Jersey on Monday looking for a win to put 3-points of separation between themselves and the Devils, and to edge the Flyers by a point for the Atlantic Division lead. 

 

Penguins Come From Behind Twice to Beat Devils 4-2

The injury-riddled Pittsburgh Penguins continued their strong play without several key players as they came from behind twice to roll over the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Tuesday night.  With Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Gary Roberts, Mark Eaton, Colby Armstrong and Tyler Kennedy all out of the lineup, the Penguins got some much needed offensive production from Ryan Malone (2G), Erik Christensen (1G, 1A), Jordan Staal (1G), Maxime Talbot (2A) and Petr Sykora (2A) to beat the Devils and edge them in the standings.  The win advances the Penguins record to 2-1-1 since Sidney Crosby left the lineup with a high-ankle sprain, and keeps them just 1-point out of the Atlantic Division lead behind the surging Philadelphia Flyers.  Despite the injury and illness depleted roster, the Penguins have gone 8-2-2 in January and recorded 18 of 24 possible points on the month so far. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins came out ready to play and had the Devils on their heels for the early part of the period.  However, Jordan Staal took a high-sticking penalty at 6:56 and the Devils capitalized with just 2 seconds left on the man-advantage to go up 1-0.  Mike Rupp put a wrist-shot past Ty Conklin for the power-play goal.  Assists were credited to Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias.  The Penguins killed off their second penalty of the period, an interference call against Jarkko Ruutu at 17:30.  The Devils outshot the Penguins 11-8 in the first and were 1-for-2 on the power-play.  The Penguins had no man-advantage play in the period.

In the 2nd, the Penguins rebounded early on a goal by Jordan Staal at 1:26, his 6th of the season to make it 1-1.  Staal walked the puck out from behind the goal line and was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce as the puck bounced off a Devils player and between the legs of Martin Brodeur.  Maxime Talbot and Erik Christensen picked up the assists.  At 13:49, the Devils got a lucky bounce of their own as Mike Rupp got his 2nd of the night (and the season) as he threw the puck towards the net just after the faceoff in the Penguins zone.  The puck hit Laraque’s stick and then deflected down off from Kennedy’s chest surprising and beating Ty Conklin.  Rod Pelley, who had won the faceoff, was credited with the assits.  But the Penguins scored less than a minute later to tie it up 2-2, as Max Talbot and Erik Christensen broke up a routine clearing attempt by the Devils.  Maxime Talbot picked up the puck on a botched behind-net pass by the Devils, and threw it to Christensen in front of the net.  Christensen used a nifty backhand shovel to beat Martin Brodeur as he moved across the goal mouth.  Then, less than 2-minutes later, Ryan Malone netted his 12th of the season to put the Penguins up 3-2.  Petr Sykora and Evgeni Malkin picked up the assists on the play.  The Penguins outshot the Devils 10-9 in the 2nd, and were 0-for-2 on the powerplay.  The Penguins managed to stay out of the penalty box in the period. 

In the 3rd, the Penguins power-play cashed in with a goal at 5:21 as Sergeio Brylin sat for a hooking call.  Ryan Malone picked up his 2nd of the night to give the Penguins a more comfortable 2-goal lead.  Petr Sykora and Sergei Gonchar got the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Devils 9-5 in the 3rd, and were 1-for-2 on the powerplay.  The Penguins killed off their only penalty of the period, a slashing call to Maxime Talbot.  The penalty to Talbot shortened their 2nd power play and provided some 4-on-4 hockey.  Despite pulling Martin Brodeur for the final 1:16, neither team was able to score again.  Ty Conklin made 23-saves and picked up his 11th win to advance his record to 11-2-2. 

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

The Penguins travel to Atlanta to take on the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night, and will be looking to pick up their 20th point of the month to pass the Flyers and regain the Atlantic Division lead. 

Malkin’s 1st Hat Trick Powers Pens Past Leafs 6-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins lit the lamp 6-times, with 3 goals coming in just 48-seconds of the 3rd, to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 on Thursday night.  Evgeni Malkin picked up his 1st career hat trick and Ty Conklin won his 6th straight game with the Penguins to advance his record to 6-0 on the season.  The win advances to the Penguins record to 22-16-2, an amazing 14-5-0 since Thanksgiving when they beat the Ottawa Senators in overtime and ignited a turnaround to their season.   

In the 1st period, the Maple Leafs outskated and outshot the Penguins 11-4 but finished the period up just 1-0.  It could have easily been 2-0, or more, but Erik Christensen managed to make an outstanding play to prevent the puck from completely crossing the goal line early in the period.  After the puck trickled behind Conklin, Christensen swept it out as it was crossing the goal line.  The call went upstairs and the video replay showed that the puck got about 7/8 of the way across the goal line before Christensen cleared it out.  Since the puck did not fully cross the line, the play was appropriately ruled a no-goal by the on-ice offical and the subsequent video review.  Midway through the period, however, the Leafs got the puck past Ty Conklin on a goal by Jason Blake from the side of the net to make it 1-0.  Mats Sundin and Alex Steen were credited with the assists.  Pittsburgh, looking like it had a little Winter Classic hangover, was 0-for-1 on the power play, and successfully killed off 2 power plays as Kennedy (slashing) and Sykora (hooking) sat.

In the 2nd, the Penguins came alive and tied it up early on a goal by Erik Christensen at 1:24.  Christensen, who played his best game of the season, put the goal in on a beautiful wrap-around that beat Leafs’ tender Scott Clemmensen on the glove side.  Petr Sykora and Jarkko Ruutu picked up the assists.  Shortly after the goal, Darcy Tucker tried to goad Christensen into a scuffle, but Christensen smartly skated away.  Answering the call at 9:33 was Jarkko Ruutu who schooled the more experienced fighter Tucker in one of the best fights I have seen in a long time.  Ruutu landed repeated blows to Tucker’s head, resulting in a gash above Tucker’s eye.  Less than 5-minutes later, while Tucker and Ruutu still sat, Evgeni Malkin scored his first goal of the night by chipping in the rebound on an incredible spinning backhand shot by Sidney Crosby.  Working the puck along the boards, Colby Armstrong picked up the other assist by getting the puck to Sidney Crosby in the middle of the ice.   Crosby quickly spun to his backhand to evade a Leafs’ defenseman and powered the puck in on Clemmensen, where Malkin chipped in the rebound.  The Penguins outshot the Leafs 11-9 in the 2nd, and were 0-for-1 on the power play and perfect in killing off a late penalty to Darryl Sydor (high sticking). 

In the 3rd, the Penguins exploded for 3-quick even strength goals and then added a 4th on the power play late in the period.  The first goal came on a tremendous play by rookie Tyler Kennedy.  After Kennedy made a play to keep the puck in the offensive zone, Jordan Staal used his long reach to spoil another clearing attempt by the Leafs as he tapped the puck back to Kennedy.  Kennedy let off a slapshot that Clemmensen saved, but picked up a big juicy rebound and then maneuvered away from a Leafs’ defender before throwing the puck into the net on the backhand as he was falling down at 3:00.  Then, just 37 seconds later, Sidney Crosby took a pass from Kris Letang and took off up ice with Evgeni Malkin.  Malkin drove the net as 3 Leafs players closed in on Crosby.  Crosby made a nice backhand pass through the Leafs players and onto the stick of Malkin who lifted it over Clemmensen for his 2nd of the night, making it 4-1.  Then, just 11 seconds later, the Penguins widened the margin to 4-goals as Petr Sykora took advantage of a mis-play by the Leaf’s defensemen backing up in their own zone to make it 5-1.  Jarkko Ruutu and Brooks Orpik were credited with the assists.  At 12:53, the Leafs got one back on the power play off from the stick of Pavel Kubina as Sergei Gonchar sat for hooking.  The assists went Tomas Kaberle and Mats Sundin.  At 16:38, the Leafs picked up a double-minor high sticking call by Andrew Wozniewski on Adam Hall that put them short-handed for the remainder of the tilt.  That was all the Penguins needed to get Evgeni Malkin his 1st career hat trick as he scored at 15:28 on a beautiful passing play between himself, Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney.  Working from behind the net, Crosby passed the puck to Malkin, who deflected the puck with his stick between his legs out to Gonchar on the point.  Gonchar passed the puck to Whitney on the sideboards, who then threw the puck cross-ice back to Malkin who let the one-timer go from his knee to beat the goaltender and complete the hat trick, winning the game 6-2.  Despite the lopsided scoring in the 3rd, the Leafs outshot the Penguins 15-9.   

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights 
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room
• 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

The Penguins ended up scoring 6-goals on 24-shots, and Ty Conklin let in just 2-goals on 35-shots to get the game’s 2nd star.  Malkin got the hat trick and the game’s 1st star.  Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar and Jarkko Ruutu each picked up 2-assists, with Ruutu getting the game’s 3rd star.  Colby Armstrong (1A) picked up his 7th point in 5-games.  Petr Sykora (1G, 1A) got back on the scorecard, as did Erik Christensen (1G), Jordan Staal (1A), Kris Letang (1A), Orpik (1A) and Whitney (1A).  Erik Christensen gets the unsung hero of the night for his inspired play, both offensively and defensively. 

The Penguins host the Florida Panthers at Mellon Arena at 3:00PM on Saturday.  Please note that the game time has been moved up 4 hours from the original schedule. 

Scary Gary Puts Up 3-Points, Pens Beat Bruins 4-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Boston Bruins for the 2nd time in 4-days on Sunday by a score of 4-2.  Unlike Thursday’s game in Boston, the Penguins held onto the lead in the 3rd period and managed to score an empty net insurance goal to seal the win.  Pittsburgh’s reserve netminder Ty Conklin was once again in net and had a fine performance turning away 28 of 30 Boston shots on goal.  The win gave the Penguins 38 points (18-16-2), and launched them from last place to 2nd place in the log-jammed Atlantic Division, ahead of the Rangers who also have 38-points, but less wins (17-15-4).  The Rangers lost to the Senators on Sunday. 

For the Penguins, it wasn’t just a win……there were other items to take note of.  First, the Penguins found offense outside of their 1st line with 3 of the 4 Pittsburgh goals coming from the 3rd line of Erik Christensen, Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque.  Second, Gary Roberts picked up 3-points (2G, 1A, including the empty net insurance tally) and was awarded the game’s 1st star for his performance.  The goals were Roberts’ 2nd and 3rd of the season and first since October 17th.  Third, Erik Christensen turned in a good performance in his natural position at center, picking up 2 assists on Sunday and scoring 4-points (2G, 2A) in his last 3 games.  Fourth, Ty Conklin had a confidence-building 0.934 save percentage win, giving up 2-goals and keeping the Penguins on top in the 3rd period, despite being outshot 11-8.  Lastly, any time that “big Georges Laraque” picks up 2-points (1G, 1A), you just have to feel that things are going well.  Noting their supporting role performances, Gary Roberts said, “We’ve all got to chip in and we’re going to need that for the remainder of the season to win hockey games.”   On the down side, Defenseman Mark Eaton sustained a knee injury in the second period as a Boston player threw a slew foot behind the net that was missed by the refs, but obvious on the video replay.  Eaton left the game and didn’t return.    

In the first period, Boston got on the board first with an early goal from P.J. Axelsson at 3:48 from Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard.  The Boston goal held up as the only tally in the first, with the Bruins outshooting the Penguins 12-10.  The Penguins were 0-for-2 on the power play in the period, including 1:36 of 5-on-3 time.  They killed off the only short-handed situation as Crosby sat for 2-minutes for slashing. 

In the second, the Penguins came to life and scored 3-goals to put them up 3-1.  The 1st came off the stick of Gary Roberts at 2:16.  Working the cycle along the boards, Erik Christensen backhanded the puck to Georges Laraque who was behind the net.  Laraque quickly threw the the puck to the front of the net onto the stick of Gary Roberts who shot the puck past Alexander Auld to tie the game at 1.  Then at 13:04 while on the powerplay, Evgeni Malkin put a blazing shot past Auld from the sideboards after taking a beautiful pass from the center of the ice from Jordan Staal.  Sergei Gonchar picked up the other assist, the 400th of his career.  Then, just 30 seconds later, it was Laraque who capitalized on the third line rampage tapping in a Gary Roberts pass as he drove the net on a 2-on-2 play to make it 3-1.  The goal was Laraque’s 2nd of the season and 50th of his 9-year career.  Erik Christensen picked up the other assist, his 2nd of the night.  Georges Laraque noted that “I like playing with those two guys and hopefully it will keep going.”  The way they have played of late, he may just get his wish.   ”Gary, Christensen and Laraque really set the tone for this game,” coach Michel Therrien said. “They played well.”  Shots were even at 7 in the 2nd, with the Penguins going 1-for-2 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. 

Boston pressed the Penguins late in the 3rd when Petteri Nokelainen scored a goal with just 54 seconds to go in the game, while the Bruins’ netminder Auld was pulled from the net.  The Penguins held on, however, and picked up the empty net insurance goal from Gary Roberts, his second tally of the night, with just 10 seconds left in the game.  Sidney Crosby and Colby Armstrong were credited with the assist.  The Penguins were 0-for-1 on the man advantage in the third and killed off their only shorthanded situation.  The Penguins were outshot 11-8 in the final frame.  For Penguins’ netminder Ty Conklin, it was his 2nd start and 2nd win, both coming against the Bruins. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO

• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Crash the Net
• NHL DOCS:  Game Rosters
• NHL DOCS:  Game Summary
• NHL DOCS:  Box Score
• NHL DOCS:  Play-by-Play

The Penguins take a few days rest at home before playing host to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, December 27th, at Mellon Arena.

Penguins Fall 4-2 in Weak Outing

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Mellon Arena by a score of 4-2 after giving up 2-goals midway through the 3rd period in a sloppy game.  In a bit of irony, the tie-breaking goal was scored by rookie Blake Comeau who was called up when Islanders’ forward Chris Simon was suspended 30-games for stomping on the leg of Penguins’ forward Jarrko Ruutu with his skate blade last Saturday.  Comeau, playing in just his 2nd game this season and the 5th of his career, beat Dany Sabourin inside the far post to give the Islanders the lead at 3-2.

For the Penguins, the schedule may have played a factor with the game coming on the heels of Thursday night’s win in Boston.  The team traveled back to Pittsburgh overnight and played their second game in as many nights, and 3rd game in just 4-nights.  When the Islanders scored the tie-breaking goal midway through the 3rd, the Penguins just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to mount a viable comeback.  The Penguins were sloppy in their own end, had difficulty dealing with the bad ice surface and didn’t capitalize on their chances. 

In the 1st period, the Islanders scored quickly off from a goal by Miroslav Satan at 0:44, with assists by Josef Vasicek and Brendan Witt.  The Penguins bounced back late in the first when Erik Christensen found the back of the net at 18:50 to tie it 1-1.  Working the boards behind the Islanders’ net, Georges Laraque backhanded the puck along the boards to Gary Roberts who attempted a quick wraparound on goaltender Rick DiPietro.  Roberts’ attempt was stopped, but the rebound popped out to Christensen who drove it into the empty side of the net to beat DiPietro.  With the assist, Gary Roberts was credited with his 900th career point. 

In the 2nd period, the Penguins scored first at 4:20 on the power play as the Islanders netminder mishandled the play, leaving the net wide open for Jordan Staal who scored just his 3rd goal of the season.  Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar were credited with the assists.  It was Pittsburgh’s only goal in 6-power play chances, including a four-minute power play in the second.  They are just 2-for-25 with the man advantage in the last 5-games.  The Islanders managed to tie the game at 8:42 from Andy Hilbert.  Tim Jackman and rookie Blake Comeau were credited with the assists.

In the 3rd, the Islanders scored twice to beat the Penguins 4-2.  The tie-breaker came from the stick of Blake Comeau at 10:28 with an assist by Andy Hilbert.  The insurance goal came less than a minute later at 11:05 from Trent Hunter with assists by Mike Sillinger and Ruslan Fedetenko. 

Dany Sabourin stopped 20 of 24 shots and lost his 4th game in 5-starts.  “We expect him to be better,” said coach Michel Therrien, who may opt to use Ty Conklin against Boston again on Sunday.  

• PHOTOS:  In Game Photos 
• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post Game Press Conference
• VIDEO:  Post Game Locker Room Report
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post Game Hotline
• Official Game Rosters
• Official Game Summary
• Official Game Boxscore
• Official Game Play-by-Play

Around the Atlantic, the Flyers and Rangers both lost on Friday night, enabling the Penguins to maintain 3rd place.  The Devils won to add another 2-points of separation from the rest of the tightly packed Atlantic Division, with just 4-points separating the 2nd and 5th place teams. 

The Penguins The Penguins play again on Sunday afternoon when they host the Boston Bruins at 3PM. 

Crosby Gets First “Gordie Howe Hat Trick”

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 on Thursday night in a thrilling game that was decided in a shootout after the Bruins posted a mighty comeback.  After going down 4-0 against the Penguins in the first half of the game, the Bruins battled back to tie the game and force the overtime marker, but were beat in the shootout after failing to put anything past Penguins reserve-backup goalie Ty Conklin.  Sidney Crosby had a 3-point night (1G, 2A) and a “Gordie Howe hat trick” (goal, assist, fight) as he picked up his career first fighting major against Andrew Ference. 

In the 1st period it was all Penguins.  Just 55 seconds into the game, Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins on the board for the early lead.  Battling along the boards, Colby Armstrong poked the puck free to Sidney Crosby who placed a perfect pass on the stick of Evgeni Malkin as he circled back off the blue line and into the center of the ice.  Malkin took the pass on his forehand and blew a shot past Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.  Then, at 8:26, Sidney Crosby redirected a Colby Armstrong pass from the boards as 6′9″, 255 pound Zdano Chara was draped over Crosby like a dirty blanket.  Crosby scored the goal and paid the price as he was driven into the end boards by Chara and Ference.  Sergei Gonchar also picked up an assist on the play.  At 11:53, Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the night on a failed clearing attempt by Bruins’ Andrew Ference.  Ference threw the puck around the sideboards from behind the goal, where Sidney Crosby picked up the puck and passed it to Malkin at center ice who ripped it off the post and into the net to make it 3-0.  The first period featured two dances between behemoths Zdano Chara and Georges Laraque, neither of which really resulted in anything more than a wrestling match.  The first “fight” ended up being called a matching 2-minute delay of game penalty at 12:30.  The rematch came 6-seconds after the first penalties expired, and was essentially another wrestling match that left Laraque laughing in disappointment.  This time, the officials called matching 5-minute majors.  The Penguins successfully killed the only man-advantage situation in the first period, and outshot the Bruins 14-13. 

In the 2nd, Sidney Crosby picked up his first career fighting major in an emotional battle with Andrew Ference.  Ference threw a a couple of shots at Crosby in the corner, before Crosby decided he had enough and threw a few of punches to the face and head and left Ference bloodied.  It is unclear if the cut to the top of Ference’s head came from the fist of Crosby or his own helmet as it was dislodged from his face.  The two got matching majors and Ference picked up an additional 2-minutes for roughing.  The Penguins failed to convert on the man advantage. 

At 11:26 of the 2nd, Eric Christensen redirected a Ryan Whitney shot to put the Penguins up 4-0.  Colby Armstrong picked up his 3rd assist of the night on the Christensen goal.  Boston finally got on the board at 16:04 as Marco Sturm beat goaltender Ty Conklin on a redirected shot from the point with Sergei Gonchar in the box for a tripping call.  Andrew Ference and Glen Metropolit picked up the assists.  Then, a minute and a half later while shorthanded, Jeremy Reich beat Crosby on a face-off in the Penguins zone and passed the puck to P.J. Axelsson who put the puck into the Penguins net to draw within 2-goals.  The Penguins were outshot 11-9 in the period. 

In the 3rd, the Bruins rallied and outshot the Penguins 17-4, scoring two late goals to tie the game and force the overtime.  The first goal came at 13:14 from Petteri Nokalainen who picked up a rare rebound off from Ty Conklin and threw it in the net through the 5-hole.  Andrew Ference and Glen Metropolit picked up the assists.  At 16:27, Erik Christensen picked up a hooking call and went to the box giving Boston the chance to tie the game.  The Bruins didn’t disappoint their fans as they finished their 4-goal comeback off from the stick of Dennis Wideman in the slot on the power play.  Marco Sturm and Marc Savard were credited with the assists.  With a little over a minute left in the period, the Penguins were dealt a blow when Mark Eaton got caught in an awkward position reaching for the puck and was run into by a Bruins’ player.  Eaton left the game in obvious pain with what looked like a potentially serious upper body/shoulder injury.  No further information was avialable on the extent of his injury.

After the Penguins dominated a scoreless overtime period and outshot the Bruins 2-0, the game went to the shootout to determine the extra point.  Erik Christensen shot first for the Penguins and converted high on the stick side of Tim Thomas.  Ty Conklin then stopped Phil Kessel.  Kris Letang came out next and beat Tim Thomas, making him a perfect 3 for 3 on the shootout.  With the game on the line, Conklin stopped Marco Sturm to clinch the victory for the Penguins.

With the exception of the 3rd period, the Penguins played a very good game.  Sidney Crosby (1G, 2A) and Colby Armstrong (3A) each had 3-points, Evgeni Malkin had 2-goals, and Erik Christensen picked up a rare goal.  Ty Conklin played a good game in net, and only gave up 1 questionable goal off from a rebound.  He had 37 saves on 41 shots (0.902 save percentage) and was 100% in the shootout. 

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The Penguins travel back to Pittsburgh on Friday to host the New York Islanders in the first of a 4-game homestand before traveling to Buffalo for the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. 

Penguins Drop to Leafs, 4-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins winning streak ended at 3-games on Saturday night as they lost to Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-2.  Despite a 3rd period surge, the Penguins were unable to break the stifling defense played by the Leafs.  Vesa Toskala, in net for the Leafs, frustrated the Penguins offense by making 30 saves on 32 shots, while at the other end of the ice Dany Sabourin stopped 38 of 41 shots.  The Leaf’s 4th goal was an empty net insurance goal.

“He played well,” Sidney Crosby said of Toskala. “I think we could’ve done a better job of getting some traffic in front but he made some big saves – a breakaway, some odd-man rushes – so you definitely have to give him some credit.”  Ryan Malone and Erik Christensen scored 3rd period goals for the Penguins after falling behind 3-0.  The Penguins lacked the jump they exhibited on Friday night in their 4-1 home win over Dallas.

In the 2nd period, Crosby fell on his left knee after being tripped in the goal mouth by Toskala, who was penalized.  Despite being in obvious pain, Crosby shook it off and was on the ice for his next shift.  “It’s all right, I twisted my foot a bit, but, other than that, it’s fine. It was my ankle. Just a bruise.”

Toskala stopped Ryan Malone on a fantastic breakaway chance in the third period, but Malone found the back of the net at 8:15 for his 8th goal of the season.  Despite being outplayed most of the game, the Penguins pulled within a goal at 17:55 of the 3rd on  a power play goal by Erik Christensen that trickled up and over the shoulder of Toskala and into the net.  Crosby picked up an assist to avoid being held without a point for only the third time this season.  “We had some chances to tie it up in the third, but I don’t think we gave ourselves a good chance in the first two periods,” Crosby said.

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The Penguins host the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night at 7:30.