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A Date with Destiny

Hearken back…

Stanley Cup Finals (2008)…

The Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves like Cinderella at the ball, in the Stanley Cup Finals facing the storied and formidable Detroit Red Wings. For me, it might as well have been USA versus USSR in the 1980 Olympics, it was that gut-wrenching.

We all felt the overwhelming crush of the first game and then the second when our boys found themselves slapped around the ice much like they were in the first round against the Senators the previous season. We stood behind them, willing them to fight to stay alive, and out of sheer will they scratched and clawed to make it a brave game.

We stayed up through the multiple overtime sets when Petr Sykora joked during an intermission that he’d score the sudden-death game-winner–and did.

Maybe, like me, you were one of the ones who got an interesting e-mail the next day from a friend with a doctored photo of Babe Ruth calling his shot superimposed by Petr Sykora at the plate, signaling with  his hockey stick. It was inspiring.

Our boys had a chance.

Back in the ‘burgh, home ice, for Game 6 and a chance to even the series at 3 apiece. I never felt sicker than when that final horn blared the death knell of one hell of a season. It was hard to watch them, stunned, drained, shredded, slumped on the ice, backs against the boards. An epic denouement. Lord Stanley’s Cup was in our house but not in our hands. The photo of Evgeni Malkin standing alone near the Stanley Cup Finals ice stamp was a haunting and compelling image. The scene as all those whited-out Penguins faithful, with class, stayed and stood for the victor as the Red Wings relished in holding the Cup. We felt the sting as if we had been in those skates and sweaters, too.

And we vowed we’d be back.

Stanley Cup Finals (2009)

The path this year began in a high-powered, promising way with one of the best starts in franchise history, and then like that, the bottom fell out. Through 82 games of soul-searching, fumbling, struggling, but never saying die, they pulled themselves up by their skate laces. If nothing else can be said about this team (from the first to last guy), it is one seriously cohesive unit.

In the face of critics and nay-sayers and hand-wringers, they have managed to let it all roll off of broad, matured shoulders. Old souls in young bodies.

They had to earn their way into a playoff spot–unlike last season where they shot to second seed in the conference and home ice.

They had to fight and rally through two physically demanding rounds–unlike last season where they sailed through the first three rounds.

They have progressed steadily but quickly under Dan Bylsma who has shown his ability to read his players individually and collectively, leaving them confident and well-prepared–unlike last season when they didn’t really know any better and really hadn’t an idea just what THAT level of hockey was all about. Detroit was only too happy to initiate them and maybe to their own present and future peril.

At last season’s end, fans and pundits worried out loud about the loss of Hossa, Roberts, and Malone, but as Mark Madden pointed out in his radio talk show on Friday, if Hossa stayed, we might be looking at key players with much shorter contracts and the possibility of Malkin going to another team.

Instead, the loss has paid dividends thanks to Ray Shero’s shrewd dealing:

• To join Sidney Crosby (who when his contract was due took less to make room to keep others in the future), contracts of 4 or more years for Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury completed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, giving the Pens a solid corps, and defensive insurance in Brooks Orpik.
• Add to that the late season acquisitions of Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, and Craig Adams.
• What you find is depth from 1st line to last, especially as the prodigal son Miroslav Satan arose from AHL purgatory to show some of his best work all season in the playoffs.

Let’s not forget that every guy who played this year contributed mightily whether for every game or for a short stint.

• When Gonchar was down, Goligosky answered the bell. Philippe Boucher continues to sniper with a Howitzer.
• Cooke and Kennedy meshed with Jordan Staal to become one of the best shut-down third lines that could generate a spark with their grinding cycle work.
• Max Talbot and Pascal Depuis played anywhere they could be of service, getting time on every one of the four lines and contributing mightily in penalty-kill situations. An unfortunate injury sidelined Mike Zogomanis, but when healthy, he is one of the deadliest in the face-off circle.
• Eric Goddard and Paul Bissonnette enforced when it was needed, but they made skilled contributions as well.
• Ruslan Fedotenko has come on to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs and worked throughout the season to try to keep the team sparked and competitive.
• Kris Letang has grown in confidence and skill. He is fearless, and not to be outdone is Mark Eaton whose defensive skill has also morphed into an offensive threat.
• Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill have developed into a strong defensive pairing, facing the likes of Ovechkin and Eric Staal with little difficulty.

It’s scary just how calm and loose this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins team really is. And maybe it’s a little maddening for the reporters who try to get some juicy tidbit out of them in interviews. In the hopes of a spark, they ask about the re-match, feelings about Hossa, the adversity, back-to-back games or too much time between games, and always, they are left a little diappointed. 

These players are even keeled, unflappable, and take it all in stride. It’s good to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. They don’t think too much about the rivalry or how Hossa left. The adversity has made them stronger, and they know what they can do and the kind of character that’s in the locker room. Each knows he has a specific role to play and plays it with 110% intensity, stressing time and again the need to “play the right way.” Back-to-backs are the nature of the beast. They faced many during the regular season, faced them in the playoffs already. Not a big deal. And too much time? They’re glad it’s not a 10-day lay-off because, well, they’d rather be playing hockey.

They are a better, healthier, and more psychologically ready team than the Penguins of 2008, but they needed the early play-off spanking in 2007 to prepare them for the 2008 run, and they needed the 2008 finals defeat to prepare them for this run.

Yeah, that’s still hard to say (as a fan), but if we are going to be honest with ourselves as the Penguins have been with themselves, then we have to agree. This is going to be one hell of a series.

Sidney Crosby Hat Trick Bedevils New Jersey

The Pittsburgh Penguins bounced back from Friday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres by posting a 4-1 win against division rival New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.  Team Captain Sidney Crosby netted 4-points (3G, 1A) and proved that he is returning to form by scoring his second career hat trick, his first on home ice.  In the last few games, Sidney Crosby has been playing with the fire and intensity that hasn’t been evident since before he went down last season with the high ankle sprain.  In the words of Devil’s goaltender Scott Clemmenson, Crosby is an elite player who is “scary good” when he outworks everyone on the ice.  Crosby has exploded for 9-points (6G, 3A) in his last 3-outings, and is ranked 2nd in the league with 34-points (13G, 21A) behind Evgeni Malkin who has 39-points (10G, 29A).  Improving their record to 14-6-3, the Penguins are in 5th place in the league with 31-points. 

In the 1st, it took just a little over a minute for the Penguins to get on the board.  AFter splitting the defense, Sidney Crosby eluded a poke-check and backhanded the puck through the Devils’ netminder Clemmenson to take the 1-0 lead.  “The guy never gives up on the play, that’s for sure,” Clemmensen said after the game.  Miroslav Satan and Hal Gill picked up the assists on Crosby’s goal.  The Penguins went on to outshoot the Devils 16-12 in the first period, but went 0-for-2 on the powerplay.  They managed to kill off penalties to Petr Sykora (high stick) and Mark Eaton (holding). 

In the 2nd period, the Penguins finally managed to convert on a powerplay opportunity at 12:34.  After keeping the puck in at the blueline, Evgeni Malkin moved the puck up to Tyler Kennedy who made a tremendous blind pass between his legs to Sidney Crosby.  Crosby dished a pass over the sticks of 2 New Jersey defenders onto the tape of Petr Sykora who was posted on the empty side of the net.  Sykora popped the puck into the net, beating Clemmenson.  Then at 11:29 while skating 4-on-4, Evgeni Malkin blocked a cross-ice pass in front of the Devils’ net and then in a diving play poked the puck to Sidney Crosby on of the side of the net.  Crosby stopped the puck with the back of his stick, moved it to his forehand and chipped it into the net to make it 3-0.  The Penguins again outshot the Devils 12-8, were 1-for-2 on the power play, and 1-for-1 on the kill. 

In the 3rd period, the Devils picked up their game and tried to put pressure on the Penguins.  With the Penguins a bit sloppy in their own end, Mike Rupp took advantage of Rob Scuderi’s mishandling of the puck in front of his own net and laced into the corner of the net, beating Dany Sabourin.  Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta had the assists.  But that was all that the Devils were able to get past Dany Sabourin.  With Clemmonson pulled early for the extra attacker, Sidney Crosby again split the defense and fell to the ice while getting hooked from behind as he steamed towards the empty net.  He still managed to use on hand on his stick as he was sliding down the ice on his stomach to redirect the puck into the empty net for the Hat Trick and the final 4-1 tally.  It was one of the more spectacular empty net goals I have seen.  “It’s nice to do it at home,” Crosby said after the game. “It’s something that you don’t know when it’s going to happen again, so it’s nice.”  Evgeni Malkin and Mike Zigomanis had the assists on the play.  The Penguins were outshot 10-7 in the final frame. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Crosby Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Sabourin Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Orpik Post-Game
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Penguins Hotline Show
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Face-off Comparison
• Penguins Ice Time Report

Tyler Kennedy led all players with 7-shots on net.  Sidney Crosby had 6-shots on goal and netted 4-points (3G, 1A).  Petr Sykora had 5-shots on net and 1-goal.  Evgeni Malkin picked up 2 more assists and had 4-shots on net.  Dany Sabourin stopped 29-of-30 shots for an impressive performance with a 0.967 save percentage.  Evgeni Malkin led with 22:54 of ice time across 23 shifts.  Sidney Crosby had 20:14 in ice time and 23 shifts.  Kris Letang led all defensemen with 21:53.  Mike Zigomanis was once again impressive in the faceoff circle winning 11 of 14 for 79% effectiveness.  Pascale Dupuis was a healthy scratch, while Phillipe Boucher and Marc-Andre Fleury were out with injury. 

The Penguins will take a few days off before hitting a 3-game road trip with back to back games against the New York Rangers on Wednesday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, before heading to Ottawa to take on the Senators on Saturday.

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Penguins’ Effort Falls Short Against Canucks

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered their first regulation loss during the month of November on Saturday afternoon as they fell 3-1 to the Vancouver Canucks.  Despite an apparent groin injury to Canuck’s tender Roberto Luongo early in the first period that sidelined the two-time Vezina finalist, Vancouver held the Penguins to just one goal to win their 3rd straight on the road.  With the loss,  the Penguins’ November record stands at 7-1-1 for 15 of 18 possible points.  While it remains one of the best starts for the Penguins in over 20-years, the Penguins lost a little ground in the Eastern Conference to the red-hot Boston Bruins who are 9-0-1 in their last 10-games.  The Penguins (27) trail the Bruins (32) by 5-points with a game in hand.  The Penguins also trail the Rangers (30) by 3-points with 3-games in hand. 

Despite playing well from behind this season, the Penguins ran out of time on Saturday against Vancouver.  After falling behind 2-0 on a goal in each of the 1st and 2nd periods, the Penguins looked like they might bounce back as they scored just 22-seconds into the 3rd to make it a 1-goal game with plenty of time left on the clock.  Mike Zigomanis connected with a wrister on a pass by Tyler Kennedy to beat backup netminder Curtis Sanford.  Alex Goligoski collected the other assist.  But that was all the Penguins could muster against the tight trapping system of the Canucks, despite outshooting them 8-3 in the 3rd.  The Canucks finished the Penguins off with an empty net goal by Pavol Demitra with 12-seconds left to go in the game.  Pavol Demitra also scored the Canucks first goal of the game in the 1st period.  Daniel Sedin got the Canucks 2nd goal in the 2nd period and assisted on the other 2-goals for a 3-point night.  Daniel’s brother Henrik Sedin assisted on all 3-goals.  The line of the Sedin brothers and Pavol Demitra has been one of the NHL’s hottest, combining for 23 points during their past 5-games.  “It’s a great feeling playing with guys like that,” Demitra said. “As a team, we didn’t really give (the Penguins) anything, not even on their power play. Our (penalty) killers were playing great.”  Dany Sabourin stopped 16-of-18 shots that he faced for a 0.89 save percentage.

“It’s a disappointing game for us,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. “We didn’t have the right attitude to play that game. They worked harder than us and deserved to win.”  The Penguins had only 11 shots through two periods and were 0-for-4 on the power-play.  The Penguins failed to get a point from Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin for the 2nd time in three games.  It was only the 3rd time this season that both players were held off from the scoring sheet.  “I think when you get chances, you have to put them in,” Crosby said.  “When a team’s playing tight defensively like that, when you get quality chances you have to put them in.  If not, they come back to hurt you.”  The Penguins played most of the game without gritty Matt Cooke after he was ejected from the game just 25-seconds in after a multi-fight melee that sent 3-players from each team into the penalty box.  Jannik Hansen and Matt Cooke both received game misconduct penalties, although it wasn’t entirely clear why Cooke was sent packing. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Therrien Post-Game Press Conference
• VIDEO:  Crosby Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Sabourin Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Orpik Post-Game
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Penguins Post-Game Hotline Show with Grover
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Faceoffs Report
• Shots Summary

The Penguins get a few days off before playing 3-games in 4-nights starting on Wednesday as they travel to New York to take on the Islanders.  They then head to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Friday night before hosting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

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Jordan Staal Reigns God-Like as Pens Stun Red Wings in OT

It promised to be a great rematch between last season’s Stanley Cup finalists, and for Jordan Staal and the Pittsburgh Penguins it turned into a personal and team statement about resilience!  After falling behind 5-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted one of the most significant comebacks in recent years against the seemingly invincible team that bested them for Lord Stanley’s prize in June.  Long overdue for a breakout, it was Jordan Staal who put the team on his back in the 3rd period and carried them to an improbable overtime frame by scoring 3 consecutive goals for the hat trick.  But he wasn’t done there.  In the overtime frame, Staal stunned the Stanley Cup champions by stealing the puck from Pavel Datsyuk to force a turnover and then threading a cross-ice  pass to Ruslan Fedotenko who buried the puck in the net to win the game.  The 7-6 victory powered the Penguins to their 4th straight win and improved their record to 9-3-2. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins jumped out to a quick lead on a goal by Sidney Crosby to make it 1-0 at 4:34.  Tenaciously chasing the Red Wings into their own zone, Max Talbot stripped the puck away and passed it back to Miroslav Satan coming across the blueline.  Satan fed the puck to Crosby at the net, where he backhanded it through the pads of Chris Osgood.  At 13:21, the Red Wings bounced back on a goal by Darren Mccarty, his first of the season, off from a chip pass by Kirk Maltby.  Then at 13:43, Mike Zigomanis took a tripping call to set up the league’s best powerplay unit.  At 15:19, with Ziggy in the box, Tomas Holmstrom tipped in a shot by Niklas Lidstrom to make it 2-1.  Marian Hossa also picked up an assist.  With 32 seconds left in the period, Alex Goligoski (holding) took the Penguins 3rd penalty which would carry over into the 2nd.  The Penguins were outshot 14-5 in the 1st, were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, and 0-for-1 on the powerplay. 

In the 2nd period, the Red Wings scored with 19-seconds left on the 1st period carryover penalty to Alex Goligoski.  Mikael Samuelsson attempted a cross ice pass that got caught up in Brooks Orpik’s skates, before Jiri Hudler collected it and placed it on the blade of a wide open Johan Franzen who beat Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 3-1.  At 4:14, however, the Penguins drew within a goal as Petr Sykora threw a puck on net that deflected off from Max Talbot’s skate and across the goal line.  Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora were credited with assists on Talbot’s goal.  But with under 2-minutes left to play in the period, Pavel Datsyuk let a hard one-timer rip from the point that eluded a screened Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 4-2.  Marian Hossa and Niklas Lidstrom were credited with the assists.

In the 3rd period, it looked as if the Red Wings were going to finish off the Penguins as they built a 3-goal lead on a powerplay goal at 5:03 while Sidney Crosby sat for interference.  Henrik Zetterberg took a cross ice feed and placed the backhander into the open side of the net to beat Fleury and extend the lead to 5-2.  The Red Wings then got into penalty trouble as Johan Franzen and Vilttari Filpulla each took hooking calls 5-seconds apart to give the Penguins an extended 5-on-3 opportunity.  After some early frustration, the Penguins took their timeout to regroup and discuss a change-up in their set play.  They then came back out and executed a pass play to perfection that moved the puck to the side of the net first, before moving it back out to Evgeni Malkin at the point for the one-timer.  The play turned the Red Wings defense around and got Osgood out of position as Malkin’s shot blistered into the far side of the net to make it 5-3.  Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby picked up the assists on the goal.  Then a little over a minute later, the Penguins drew to within a goal as Jordan Staal chipped a backhander into the net at 8:09.  Matt Cooke and Mike Zigomanis were credited with the assists on Staal’s goal.  At 10:14, however, the Red Wings got a goal back as Jiri Hudler launched a big blast that trickled behind Fleury and into the net just out of the reach of a scrambling Kris Letang.   With just over 4-minutes left in the game and trailing 6-4, Jordan Staal collected a rebound in traffic and beat Chris Osgood to make it interesting as the Penguins trailed by just one goal again.  Matt Cooke and Kris Letang got the assists.  Then with just 23-seconds left in the game and Marc-Andre Fleury at the bench for the extra attacker, Jordan Staal collected another rebound in traffic and fired it into the net for the hat trick and the improbable game tying goal.  Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski were credited with the assists.  With just 4-seconds left in regulation, Brian Rafalski took a hooking penalty that would carry over 1:56 seconds into the overtime period.  The Penguins finished the 3rd period by outshooting the Red Wings 16-8.

In the overtime period, the Penguins were unable to score on the 4-on-3 but managed 3-shots on net.  After the penalty expired, Pavel Datsyuk was attempting to carry the puck out of his zone with Jordan Staal approaching from behind on the backcheck.  Staal lifted Datsyuk’s stick and stripped him of the puck and turned it back into the Red Wing’s zone.  Staal then placed a perfect cross ice pass onto the stick of a streaking Ruslan Fedotenko who one-timed it past Chris Osgood to win the game 7-6 with 1:11 left in the overtime.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Game Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary

Jordan Staal had 4-points (3G, 1A).  Sidney Crosby had 3-points (1G, 2A) and led the team with 6-shots on net.  Evegeni Malkin had 2-points (1G, 1A) to keep his NHL leading points streak alive at 11-games.  He also leads the NHL in points (24) and assists (19).  Miroslave Satan (2A) and Matt Cooke (2A) each picked up 2-points.  Defenseman Rob Scuderi left the game with an ankle injury after blocking a hard-shot in the 1st period.  He returned briefly, but then left the game in the 2nd period and didn’t return. 

The Penguins return to the Mellon Arena where they will face the cross state rival Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

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TK Gets 2 Goals as Pens Win Shootout on the Island

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 3rd straight game on Saturday night by coming from behind and beating the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on the island.  After a largely flat 1st period, the Penguins picked it up to score 2-goals in the 2nd and poured it on in the 3rd to tie the game and send it into overtime.  The Penguins got contributions from their lower lines as their offense was powered by the 3rd and 4th lines in regulation.  After a scoreless sudden death, Petr Sykora notched the only goal in the shootout to snatch the victory for the Penguins and improve their record to 8-4-2.  The win puts them in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the New York Rangers.

The Penguins gave up the first goal of the game to the Islanders as Doug Weight picked up his 3rd of the season at 16:23 of the 1st period, an even strength goal from Bill Guerin and Andy Hilbert.  The goal beat backup tender Dany Sabourin, playing in just his 3rd game of the season.  The Penguins were outshot 5-3 in the lackluster opening frame, with the Islanders getting the only powerplay opportunity as Max Talbot sat for slashing at 9:20.  The Weight goal gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd period. 

In the 2nd period, the Penguins offense started to click.  Tyler Kennedy picked up his 4th goal of the season at 2:16 on a beautiful give-and-go passing play with Mike Zigomanis that tied up the Islanders defense and caught goaltender Joey MacDonald out of position to give TK an open side to shoot at.  He didn’t miss on the golden opportunity.  Matt Cooke picked up the other assist on the game-tying goal.  At 8:15, the Islanders regained the lead as Tim Jackman collected a rebound after a 2-on-1 break and beat Sabourin.  Doug Weight and Andy Sutton picked up the assists.  Then at 14:30, the Islanders added another goal as Andy Hilbert was left all alone in front of the net and collected a pass into the crease and backhanded it in past Sabourin to make it 3-1.  Kyle Okposo and Andy Sutton got the assists on the play.    But a minute and a half later, Jordan Staal exorcised some hockey demons as he used his long stride to gain the breakaway and powered to the front of the net where he backhanded a goal between the pads of MacDonald to make it 3-2.  Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang were each credited with an assist.  The Penguins were given 4 powerplay opportunities in the 2nd, but failed to convert on any of them.  They managed to stay out of the box themselves, but were still outshot 12-8.

In the 3rd period, the Penguins finally took control of the game and dominated the Islanders by outshotting them 18-1.  At 16:45 it paid off as Tyler Kennedy beautifully redirected an Alex Goligoski slapshot for his 2nd goal of the night and 5th of the season.  The goal tied the game at 3-3 and ultimately sent it into overtime.  The Penguins had the only penalty of the period as Petr Sykora sat 2 minutes for hooking.  New York squandered a lead in the third period for the fourth time in five games.

After a scoreless overtime period in which the Islanders outshot the Penguins 4-3, it went to the shootout.  The Islanders opted to shoot first and sent out Doug Weight who put a backhander on net that Sabourin stopped.  Petr Sykora came out first for the Penguins and beat MacDonald with a backhander high on the glove side.  Bill Guerin’s wrister was then stopped by Sabourin, giving Miroslav Satan the opportunity to end the game.  Satan attempted to beat MacDonald with a quick snap shot, but failed.  Finally Trent Hunter had to score to keep the Islanders alive, but Sabourin appeared to stop the wrist shot as he slid most of the way into his own net.  The puck had lodged itself into his pads at the knee.  The referee immediately called it no goal, but they then went upstairs and to Toronto for an extended video review.  In the end, there was no way to tell by the video review whether the goal (hidden inside of Sabourin’s equipment) had actually crossed the line, although it was likely very close.  In accordance with NHL rules, no clear evidence showing that the puck had crossed the goal line, the ruling by the on-ice official stood and the game was ended.  “It was a tough call,” Sabourin said. “It was pretty close. The puck was in my pad where my knee was. There’s no way (referees) could see the puck.”

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Faceoffs Summary
• Shot Summary
• Penguins Ice Time Report
• Shootout Details

NOTES:  Tyler Kennedy led the team with 6-shots on net, and scored a pair of goals.  Miroslav Satan had 4-shots on net and a shootout attempt but came up empty against his former team.  Jordan Staal had 3-shots and connected on his first.  In the faceoff circle, Maxime Talbot (2/2), Matt Cooke (1/1) and Ruslan Fedotenko (1/1) were all perfect in their limited faceoffs.  Evgeni Malkin (3/4) was 75% , Mike Zigomanis (7/11) was 64% and Jordan Staal (11/21) was 52%.  Sidney Crosby (9/25) was only 36% on the faceoff.  Kris Letang led the team in ice time with an impressive 31 shifts and 29:49 on ice, and was even on plus/minus.  Sidney Crosby (26 shifts) and Evgeni Malkin (24 shifts) led all forwards with 24:14 of ice time each.  Matt Cooke and Mike Zigomanis led the team in plus/minus with a +2 rating each.  Mark Eaton and Sidney Crosby trailed the team with each registering a -2 rating in the game.  Dany Sabourin stopped 19 of 22 shots and was perfect in the shootout.  Hal Gill passed a milestone by skating in his 800th NHL game.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Penguins Ground Flyers 3-2 in Overtime

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Penguins Back in Pittsburgh, Working on Power Play

With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ European vacation now over, they got back to work on Wednesday with their first practice at Mellon Arena in nearly 2-weeks.  The Penguins, who split their opening weekend with the Ottawa Senators, got busy by working on key areas that need improvement.  Chief among those are special teams and the power play.  Having one of the most lethal powerplay units in the league last season, something was definitely missing last weekend as the Penguins went an abysmal 1-for-14 in their first 2-games.  Sergei Gonchar was missing.  With the accomplished defensemen out of the lineup for an extended period of time, the Penguins will need to find other ways to put the punch back in their powerplay. 

Last season, Sergei Gonchar was the highly effective quarterback for the Penguins explosive powerplay.  But with Gonchar out of the lineup and Whitney sidelined too, no other Penguin defenseman possesses the ability to effortlessly move across the blueline and set up Evgeni Malkin for the one-timer or to load up and blast one in hard from the blueline.  It is a time of great opportunity for young defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski to step up and into the void, but it won’t come easy.  As easy as Gonchar made it look, his skill was one borne out of experience…something the two young defensemen have not yet acquired.  Look for Michel Therrien to try and speed up their development in this role, as he has few other stop-gap options in the current lineup.  He will also stress getting back to basics as a time tested method of getting the powerplay back on track.  The good news is that the season is just getting started and their is plenty of time to work these things out. 

All this being said, I do have to give some credit to the Ottawa Senators for their aggressive penalty kill.  They never allowed the Penguins’ potent offense to get their powerplay set up.  As a result, the Penguins got very few quality scoring chances or set plays where a blast from the blueline could have resulted in a juicy rebound and an ensuing scrum in front of the net.  This could become a problem, however, as other teams scout the Penguins’ injury-shortened blueline and determine that an aggressive penalty kill can effectively defuse their potent offensive line. 

The defensive pairings continue to undergo change as Michel Therrien tries to deal with the loss of Gonchar and Whitney.  The current pairings are Hal Gill/Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik/Kris Letang, and Mark Eaton/Darryl Sydor/Alex Goligoski. 

The Penguins get back into action on Saturday night as they play their home opener against the New Jersey Devils.  The Devils will be playing their 2nd game in 2-nights after coming off from their home opener Friday night against the New York Islanders.  The Penguins will have had several days to recover from the European trip, and will hopefully be fully recovered and ready to play.  Petr Sykora, who has yet to play a game due to a groin injury, is questionable for Saturday’s game. 

The Penguins went out today and added center Mike Zigomanis from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for future considerations.  Drafted 46th overall in 2001 by the Carolina Hurricanes, he was signed as a free agent by Phoenix on July 21, 2006.  In 167 career NHL games, he has scored 33-points (19G, 14A) and accumulated 58-penalty minutes.  Zigomanis will wear #15, and rounds out the Penguins roster at 23.  Forward Jeff Taffe cleared waivers today and will be assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  Kris Beech was placed on unconditional waivers, and will leave the team and play in Europe if he clears the unconditional waiver wire.  The Penguins assigned forward Janne Pesonen and goaltender John Curry to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as expected.

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