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Broken Foot No Problem as Talbot Scores Game Winner

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series.  Max Talbot, playing his first game back since breaking his foot in Game 3 against the New York Rangers, scored the game winning goal midway through the 3rd period.  The Penguins have become the 8th team in NHL history to go 10-1 in a playoff season, and the first team to do so since the 1995 Detroit Red Wings. 

In the 1st period, the Flyers were dealt some adversity less than 2-minutes into the game when defenseman Braydon Coburn took a puck to the face.  Hal Gill launched a shot from the left point that deflected up off from Evgeni Malkin’s stick and hit Coburn near the left eye.  Coburn dropped to the ice with his hands over his face.  Coburn, obviously cut by the puck, ended up leaving the ice with the help of a trainer and never returned to the game.  After a break to clean some blood off the ice, play resumed for a short bit before Tyler Kennedy and Scott Upshall dropped the gloves at 3:49.  Kennedy looked like a machine as he unloaded some wild swings on Upshall.  After falling to the ice and getting back up again for a little more dancing, the linesmen stepped in an stopped the fight.  At 10:48, just seconds after the expiration of a brief 5-on-3 opportunity, Sidney Crosby threw the puck on net to score a powerplay goal and take the lead 1-0.  Sergei Gonchar assisted on Crosby’s 4th goal of the post-season.  At 16:41 while skating 4-on-4, Sidney Crosby appeared to get his second of the night as he poked the puck at the side of the net, before Martin Biron swept it out of the goal.  The on-ice officials called no goal, but went upstairs and to Toronto to see if the video replay conclusively showed the puck crossing the goal line.  While it appeared to me that the puck had indeed cleared the line, it was ultimately ruled no goal by the NHL.  The Penguins went 1-for-3 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill in the first period, with shots even at 9 per side.   

Image details: Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Two served by picapp.com
In the 2nd period, the battle of the special teams continued as the Flyers evened the score on their 2nd of back-to-back powerplay attempts as Pascal Dupuis sat for interference.  Jeff Carter scores his 5th goal of the post-season from Joffrey Lupul and Jaroslav Modrey.  But at 13:43, the Penguins powerplay hit back as Marian Hossa swatted a rebound past Martin Biron for his 6th goal of the playoffs to restore the Penguins’ 1-goal lead.  Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar collected the assists on the play.  But while on the powerplay late in the period, Evgeni Malkin made an ill-advised cross-ice pass at the Flyers blueline that was picked off by Mike Richards, who skated it in on Fleury and beat him high on the glove side shorthanded to even it up at 2.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 16-13 in the 2nd and were 1-for-3 on the powerplay, 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and gave up a shorthanded goal.  In the final period, the Penguins found a way to get it done 5-on-5.  The Penguins 4th line capitalized on a bobbled clearing attempt by James Dowd as the Flyers turned over the puck in their own end.  After the turnover, Georges Laraque took the puck and played keep away from a back-checking Sammi Kapanen before throwing it to the boards behind the Flyers net.  Gary Roberts raced in behind the net, collected the puck, and backhanded it into the slot onto the stick of Max Talbot who buried it in the net behind Biron.  Talbot’s goal at 8:51 from Roberts and Laraque ultimately proved to be the game winner.  The Penguins got the insurance goal at 19:31 as Jordan Staal put the puck into the empty net with Biron pulled in favor of the extra man.    Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar were credited with the assists on the final goal.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 134-10 in the final frame and were 0-for-1 on the powerplay. 
Image details: Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Two served by picapp.com

• VIDEO:  Video Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Interviews
• 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

Sidney Crosby (1G, 1A) and Sergei Gonchar (2A) each had 2-points on the night.  Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin now share the NHL post-season points lead at 17-points.  Coming off a 3-point performance in Game 1, Evgeni Malkin was held without a point in Game 2.  Marian Hossa (1G), Max Talbot (1G), Jordan Staal (1G), Ryan Malone (1A), Gary Roberts (1A) and Georges Laraque (1A) all finished the game with 1-point.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 2-of-32 for a 0.938 save percentage as he extended this post-season record to 10-1.  His 10-wins is a league best, as are his 2-shutouts.  His 0.937 save percentage in the post-season is just slightly behind league leader Chris Osgood with 0.939.

The Penguins travel to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Tuesday night, where they will hope to steal at least one of 2-games played there before returning home (if necessary).  The Penguins have kept the possibility of sweeping the Flyers alive, but they will face a big challenge and an unfriendly crowd in the next two games in Philly. 

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Penguins Take Commanding 3-0 Lead Over Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series. Marc-Andre Fleury was huge in net as he stopped 36-of-39 shots and Hart Trophy finalist Evgeni Malkin loomed large with 2 powerplay goals and an assist. The Penguins’ special teams were the difference, however, as they went 2-for-2 on the powerplay and killed off all 5 New York powerplays, including two 5-on-3 chances for the Rangers. The Penguins remain unbeaten in the playoffs, becoming just the 11th team in the NHL’s long history to win the first 7-games in a playoff. The last team to do so was the 1994 New York Rangers, who ultimately went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.

In the 1st period, the Penguins jumped out to a quick lead at 1:02 on a beautiful passing play by the Penguins top line. Sidney Crosby stripped the puck off from Jaromir Jagr in the neutral zone and passed it up to Pascal Dupuis. Crosby then rushed the net and redirected a hard shot by Dupuis onto the net. Henrik Lundqvist made a beautiful pad save on Crosby, but failed to control the rebound which came off of his pads and onto the stick of Marian Hossa. Hossa wasted no time as he buried it in the Rangers’ net to make it 1-0. The Rangers bounced back at 14:32 as Martin Straka took advantage of a mad scramble in front of the net and threw the puck over a sprawling Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury had his hands full with Jaromir Jagr and two of his own teammates all in the crease and pushing on the net. The play was ultimately reviewed to confirm that the goal went into the net before it was dislodged. Jaromir Jagr and Paul Mara picked up the assists on the play. But less than 2-minutes later while playing on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora, Georges Laraque found the corner of the net over Lundqvist’s shoulder to make it 2-1. Malkin and Sykora got the asissts on the goal. The Penguins then found themselves on a 4-minute powerplay after a high-sticking call on Ryan Callahan for catching Hal Gill in the nose. The Penguins wasted little time as Evgeni Malkin blasted his 4th of the post-season into the net to make it 3-1. Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa set up the Malkin goal. At the end of the 1st period, the Penguins found themselves up 3-1, despite being outshot 15-9. The Penguins were 1-for-1 on the powerplay in the period.

In the 2nd period, the Rangers poured it on as they outshot the Penguins 14-4. Early in the period, the Penguins found themselves in penalty trouble as Sykora, Dupuis and Orpik all took back-to-back overlapping penalties that resulted in two 5-on-3 chances for the Rangers. But the Penguins were phenomenal on the penalty kill as they have been all series, and shutout the Rangers on the man advantage. As the period wore on, Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka picked up their game to a frenetic pace to get themselves back in the game, and it worked. At 12:07, the Rangers finally managed to beat Marc-Andre Fleury as Ryan Callahan got his 2nd goal of the post-season from Scott Gomez and Sean Avery. Then at 13:11, Jaromir Jagr came around from behind the net and picked the high corner over Fleury’s right shoulder to tie the game 3-3. Scott Gomez and Martin Straka picked up the assists on the play. At this point in the game, the momentum had clearly shifted to the New York Rangers who were out-hustling the Penguins on every shift. Penguins’ coach Michel Therrien took a very wise timeout at this point in the game to slow the pace down and to chirp at his players. At 15:56 of the period, Ryan Hollweg took a bad boarding penalty on Petr Syokora that ultimately put the momentum back at the Penguins end of the ice. On the ensuing powerplay, Evgeni Malkin scored his 2nd of the night with another one of his signature blasts from the high circle area. Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby picked up the assists on the play, as the Penguins restored a 1-goal lead.

Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers – Game Three served by picapp.com

In the final period, the Penguins were outshot 10-4 but managed to score the only goal of the frame to make it 5-3. At 2:30, Kris Letang let a shot go from the point that was redirected between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist by Ryan Malone, who was left standing all alone 10-feet in front of net. Pter Sykora picked up the other assist on the play.The Penguins successfully killed off 2-penalties in the period, and were afforded no powerplay of their own, as they went on to win the game 5-3.

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

For the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin picked up 3-points (2G, 1A), Marian Hossa (1G, 1A), Sidney Crosby (2A), Sergei Gonchar (2A), and Petr Sykora (2A) all notched 2-points. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26-of-39 shots for a 0.923 save percentage.

The Penguins return to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night where they will be given the opportunity to sweep the series and keep their undefeated post-season record alive to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins can thank their brilliant goaltending, solid defensive play, and pheneomenal special teams for their success so far this post-season. The Penguins have also found offensive contriubutions from all four lines. It is undeniable that this team has the momentum and the skill to go a long ways in this post season, as long as they continue to play their game.

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Ruutu Powers Pens Past Islanders 3-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins avenged their recent loss to the New York Islanders by beating them 3-1 on Thursday night to take over 1st place in the Eastern Conference.  Sidney Crosby returned to round out Pittsburgh’s offensively laden top-2 lines, but it was Jarkko Ruutu who put up the points by scoring a short-handed goal and two assists to power the Penguins into the Eastern Conference lead over an idle Montreal Canadiens.  Despite the win, the Penguins were yet again dealt adversity as Marian Hossa left the game in the 3rd period with an unspecified upper body injury after being hit from behind.  Hossa briefly left the game in the 2nd period after taking a hip-check to his previously injured knee, but returned and appeared to be fine. 

In the 1st period, Evgeni Malkin notched his 45th goal of the season to put the Penguins up 1-0 at 6:53.  Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque picked up the assists on the play.  The goal was Malkin’s 103rd point of the season to draw him within 4-points of Alexander Ovechkin in the race for the NHL scoring title.  At 16:31, the Islanders tied it up on a goal by Josef Vasicek that eluded Marc-Andre Fleury.  Bill Guerin and Freddy Meyer were credited with the assists.  Shots were 11-10 in the first period in favor of the Penguins, who were 0-for-1 on the power play.

In the 2nd period, Jarkko Ruutu made a beautiful play to fool the Islanders’ goaltender and then scored on the wraparound with an unassisted short-hander.  It was a penalty laden period with a total of 14 infractions being called between the 2-teams for 40-minutes in penalty time.  The Penguins outshot the Islanders 11-5 in the period.

At 6:40 of the 3rd period, Georges Laraque took a nice breakaway pass from Jarkko Ruutu and chipped the puck past the Islanders’ tender to make it 3-1.  Despite being out of a playoff position, the Islanders didn’t give up and outshot the Penguins 13-7 in the final period.  Marc-Andre Fleury managed to weather the storm, and despite having 1:10 of empty net time, the Penguins failed to connect for a 4th goal.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room Interviews w/Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, Marc-Andre Fleury
• PHOTO:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 6th consecutive win and his 8th win in 9 starts since returning from his high ankle injury.  Jarkko Ruutu recorded his 4th goal and 6th point in the last 6-games.  The Penguins took a step closer to clinching the Atlantic Division title by expanding their lead to 6-points over the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers who are locked in a battle for 2nd place.  The Penguins host the surging New York Rangers in a Sunday matinee, the first of a back-to-back, home-and-home series with the Rangers.   

Laraque Ejected as Penguins Lose 4-3 to Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night by a score of 4-3.  For the Penguins, it was just their 2nd regulation loss since December 23rd.  Ty Conklin got the call for the Penguins and made 29-saves on 33 shots to move his record to 10-2-2.  The Penguins (27-18-4) have lost all 4-meetings with the Flyers this season, after sweeping them in 8-games last season.  With 59-points, the Penguins are still just 1-point behind the Atlantic Division leading Devils and Flyers (1st place tie).   

In the 1st period, Georges Laraque and Riley Cote mixed it up with a fight at 2:19 to set the tone for the game, with each player getting a 5-minute major.   Laraque pretty much beat the tar out of Cote.  The Flyers got on the scoreboard first on a goal by R.J. Umberger, his 9th of the season, at 9:34.  Jason Smith and Daniel Briere were credited with the assists.  The Penguins evened it up at 16:37 on a backhanded goal by Evgeni Malkin, his 27th of the year, after the Penguins went down 9-1 in shots earlier in the period.  Jarkko Ruutu and Darryl Sydor picked up the assists.  The Penguins were outshot 12-8 in the period and were 0-for-1 on the 30-seconds of power play time at the end of the period before Ryan Malone took a goaltender interference call with 4 seconds left in the period to even it up. 

In the 2nd, the Flyers scored just after the expiration of a power play advantage on a shot by Randy Jones at 12:59 into a yawning net.  Scott Hartnell and R.J. Umberger got the assists on the play.  The Penguins evened the score at 17:54 on a power play goal by Petr Sykora who redirected a hard shot by Sergei Gonchar.  Ryan Whitney picked up the other assist.  With 3 seconds left in the period, Georges Laraque was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting Steve Downie from behind into the boards.  Downie went head first into the boards and lay motionless for a few moments, but was able to leave the ice under his own power.  He subsequently rejoined the game.  While the hit from behind was a penalty, it did not appear to be an intent to injure by Laraque. 

In the 3rd, the Flyers scored at 3:53 while still on the extended power play as James Vandermeer got his 3rd of the season from R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter.  But the Penguins bounced right back on a quick short-handed goal by Ryan Whitney at 4:51 to tie it back up 3-3.  The Whitney goal, assisted by Jordan Staal and Ryan Malone, was reviewed by the league as Staal fell into the net and it came off from its mounts during the play.  The video review revealed that the puck had crossed the line before the net came off from its moorings, and it was ruled a goal.  The Flyers wasted no time before striking back and regaining the lead as Mike Knuble attacked the net and forced the puck past Conklin at 5:25.  Less than 10-seconds later, Ryan Stone and Steve Downie went for a fight, with Stone getting the worst of it after his jersey was pulled up over his head.  Downie may have won the fight, but took a 10-minute misconduct for failing to have his jersey tied down.  Perhaps it came undone when Laraque pasted him to the boards?  The Penguins were unable to find the back of the net again and the Flyers picked up the win 4-3.  The Penguins were outshot 12-11 in the 3rd, and were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.  The Penguins did not get any man advantage in the 3rd. 

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

With the loss, the Flyers move into a tie for first place in the Atlantic with New Jersey with 59-points, just 1-point ahead of the Penguins.  New Jersey lost to Montreal to stay put with 59-points.  Elswehere around the Division, the Islanders lost to Boston and the Rangers beat Atlanta 2-1 in a shootout.

The game was the final Penguins’ outing before this weekend’s All-Star game in Atlanta.  Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar will make the trip to the All-Star game to represent the Penguins.  Kris Letang will be playing in the Young Stars game on Saturday.  The Penguins will return to action against the Devils on Tuesday in New Jersey.   

Red Hot Penguins Burn Panthers 3-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a team on fire.  They collected their 7th straight win on Tuesday night as they beat the Florida Panthers by a score of 3-1, completing a sweep of the cats in the home-and-home series that started Saturday in Pittsburgh.  Over the course of those 7 wins, the Penguins have oustcored their opponents 24-9.  Ty Conklin remained unbeaten as he turned aside 27 shots and narrowly missed another shutout as the Panthers scored their lone goal with just 4:10 left in the game.

There was no scoring in the first period despite some good scoring chances by both teams.  The Penguins had a 10-7 advantage in shots, but were unable to convert on 2 powerplay opportunities. 

In the second, the Penguins dominated the Panthers and put up 3-goals in just over 3-minutes to take the wind out of the Panthers sails.  The Florida Panthers had a disallowed goal at 8:23 that was kicked into the net by Stephen Weiss.  The Penguins offensive explosion came right after a tremendous save by Ty Conklin on a 2-on-0 short-handed breakaway chance by the Panthers.  At 10:05 and still on the power play, Sidney Crosby walked out from behind the goal line and passed the puck through the crease to Petr Sykora who wristed it past Tomas Vokoun for his 13th goal of the season.  Evgeni Malkin picked up the other assist.  Then, just a little over a minute later, Sidney Crosby put it in overdrive and split the Panthers defense as he drove in on net and beat Vokoun for his 18th goal of the season, and second point of the night.  Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar picked up the assists.  Then just under 2-minutes later, Georges Laraque picked up the easiest goal of his career as the puck deflected off the post and he was left standing in front of an open net.  Adam Hall and Jeff Taffe were credited with the assists on Laraque’s 3rd of the season.   Panthers coach Jacques Martin pulled Tomas Vokoun in favor of Craig Anderson after the Laraques goal.  The Penguins outshot the Panthers 15-4 in the 2nd and were 1-for-1 on the powerplay. 

The Panthers pressured in the 3rd period, outshooting the Penguins 17-10 despite being shorthanded three times, to include a lengthy 5-on-3 that the Penguins failed to capitalize on.  The lone Panthers goal came as they were short-handed with 4:10 left in the game off from the stick of Gregory Campbell.  The shot beat Conklin 5-hole and spoiled a second consecutive shutout for the red hot tender.  Assists went to Radek Dvorak and Ruslan Salei. 

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

The win gives the Penguins 50-points, just 1-point behind the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils.  The Penguins travel north in the sunshine state to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.   

In other Penguins news:  

• According to the Penguins official website, Defenseman Mark Eaton will undergo surgery for his torn ACL on Monday.  Eaton will miss the remainder of the season as he endures 4-6 months of recovery. 
• After recieving 507,274 votes, Sidney Crosby will start for the Eastern Conference in the NHL All Star Game, to be played on Sunday January 27th in Atlanta.  Crosby will be paried with linemates Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning (224,661 votes) and Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson (224,483 votes). 
• Defenseman Ryan Lannon and Center Ryan Stone were called up by the Penguins as injury insurance for their southern road trip.  Lannon and Stone made the trip to Florida and will be with the team for the 3-game road trip that ends Saturday in Atlanta, should they be needed. 

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.

Pens Turn the Tide, Beat Isles

The Pittsburgh Penguins notched their first win in 5-games on Thursday night against the New York Islanders by a score of 3-2.  The long overdue win came with an altered lineup as veterans Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor were healthy scratches.  In their place on the ice for the Penguins (and looking good) were Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang.  Colby Armstrong was also a healthy scratch.  Marc-Andre Fleury had a very good night in net for the Penguins with 26 saves on 28 shots.

In an all too common occurrence, the opposition got on the board first with an even strength goal at 14:17 of the first period by the Islanders’ red hot Mike Comrie.   Standing in front of the net, Comrie picked up his 6th goal of the season by deflecting a Brendan Witt shot from the point past Fleury.  Trent Hunter was also credited with an assist.  Four minutes later, Sergei Gonchar scored on a blast from the point while the Jordan Staal put up a screen by tussling with two Islanders’ players in front of goaltender Rick Dipietro.  Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury were credited with the assists, but Staal gets our honorary assist for his work in front of the net to keep Dipietro in the blind.  Malkin’s assist extended his point streak to 12 consecutive games.  The goal tied the game at 1 at the end of the first, with the Penguins outshooting the Isles 10-6.   

In the second, the Penguins quickly scored a 5-on-3 powerplay that carried over from the first period.  Sergei Gonchar threw the puck against the wall to Dipietro’s right and it bounced toward the net and onto the stick of Evgeni Malkin who tried to jam it into the net.  Dipietro was able to stop Malkin’s attempt on the goal line, but was unable to prevent Petr Sykora from poking the puck the rest of the way across the line on the follow-up.  The goal came at 0:58 while Satan and Hilbert sat for holding and hooking.  The goal was Sykora’s 8th of the season from Malkin and Gonchar.  At 8:51, the Islanders responded with an even strength backhand goal by Josef Vasicek as Fleury was caught laying across the goal mouth.  Bruno Gervais and Sean Bergenheim were credited with the assists.  At 16:45, however, Georges Laraque chipped the game winning goal over Dipietro’s shoulder on a superb pass by  Sidney Crosby.  The goal was Laraque’s first goal in 40-games and his first as a Penguin, and was celebrated by jumping against the glass and then lifting a jubilant Crosby into the air.  With the assist, Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to 18-games and advanced to 2nd place in league scoring with 28-points, just 1-point behind the current leader Vincent Lecavalier.  Shots were tied at 12 apiece in the second.

The Penguins held onto the lead in the third despite being outshot by the Islanders 10-5, and killed off a late hooking penalty to Tyler Kennedy.  Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stood tall in net and kept out some excellent chances by the Islanders to maintain the advantage and the win.  The Penguins had two excellent chances on the empty net insurance goal, but failed to connect.  The first was at the expiration of Tyler Kennedy’s penalty as he came out of the box, but tried to make a passing play instead of shooting on the empty net as it appeared he did not notice Dipietro had left the ice.  The second came on an attempt by Sidney Crosby that just missed the net and bounced off the left post.  Sergei Gonchar had a great game, possibly inspired by the attendance of newly inducted Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey.  He picked up the game’s 1st star with a goal and an assist.  Georges Laraque picked up the game’s 2nd star with his inspired play and his game winning goal.  Marc-Andre Fleury picked up the game’s 3rd star with his play in the third period to keep the game in the win column for the Penguins.  Evgeni Malkin, who didn’t like quite as dominating as he has in recent games, still played a very good game and came away with 2-assists.  The Malkin-Crosby 12-game concurrent scoring streak is the longest in team history.  Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr never had a concurrent streak longer than 11-games. 

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to get back in a groove and extend their winning play as they host the New York Rangers at the Mellon Arena on Saturday night.