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Pens Roll Over the Wounded Wild: Game Recap

The Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into St. Paul tonight and took advantage of an abbreviated Minnesota Wild lineup to win their 1st of a 4-game road trip by a score of 4-2.  The Wild, who were missing first line forwards Marian Gaborik, Pavol Dimitra and #1 goalie Niklas Backstrom to groin injuries, lost their 4th consecutive game.  It was also their first loss at home for the Wild this season after going 4-0-0 prior to tonight. 

With the NHL’s unbalanced schedule, this was the first time in their short careers that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have played in front of fans in the NHL’s Northwest Division.  Malkin and Crosby impressed the crowd as they played together again on the first line and dominated the ailing Wild, putting up 7-points between them.  The game started with the usual first period slumber party by the young Penguins, who were outshot 10-6 in the starting frame.  Backup goaltender Dany Sabourin took the start and looked very good in net for the Penguins. 

The Penguins came alive in the second period on an even strength wrap-around goal by Evgeni Malkin at 3:30 that somehow found its way between Wild tender Josh Harting’s skate and the goal post.  The play was created by Sidney Crosby who was making a move to the front of the net while being ridden by a Wild defenseman.  When the puck came off Crosby’s stick, Malkin grabbed it and shoved it around to the other side of the goal mouth and into the net.  Ryan Malone picked up an assist on the play.  Less than 3 minutes later, the Wild evened the game at 1 apiece on an even strength goal by Stephane Veilleux from Radivojevic and Koivu.  But the tie was short-lived as Malkin struck again on a rebound just 15 seconds later with a diving shot that beat Harting.  The goal, Malkin’s 2nd of the night, put the Penguins ahead by a score of 2-1 and was assisted again by Sidney Crosby and Ryan Malone.  The Penguins outshot the Wild 12-8 in the second. 

In the third period, the Wild evened it up at 6:26 on an even strength tally by Brian Rolston, from Koivu and Burns.  The Wild took advantage of a turnover by Eric Christensen in the neutral zone, and Rolston capitalized on a juicy rebound slapping it into a gaping net as Sabu tried to move back across the goalmouth.  However, the Penguins took the lead for good with a go-ahead power play goal by Petr Sykora on a beautiful set play by Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar at 10:05.  At 14:29, Sidney Crosby scored an even strength insurance marker on a breakaway play during a Wild line change.  The play resulted from a superb up ice pass by Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin to hit Crosby breaking into the Wild defensive zone.  Crosby skated in on goal and let a quick release that rocketed through the 5-hole of Harting. 

The game was a bonanza for the top line of Crosby, Malkin and Malone.  Crosby finished the night with 4-points (1G, 3A), his 8th career 4-point game, and was named the games 1st star.  It was also his 10th consecutive game of the season with at least a point, tying his career record, and tonight’s production elevated him to 4th in the NHL in scoring with 17-points, just 4-points behind the leader Henrik Zetterburg.  Malkin finished with 3-points (2G, 1A) and was named the games 3rd star.  Malkin now has 6-points (3G, 3A) in his last 3 games.  He looked extremely confident out there tonight and smiled more in tonight’s game than I have ever seen.  Malone and Gonchar each picked up 2-points in assists.  Goaltender Dany Sabourin played a very solid game with 28 saves on 30 shots, and may have earned a start in Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.

• Click Here for the Official NHL Game Rosters
• Click Here for the Official NHL Game Summary
• Click Here for the Official NHL Boxscore
• Click Here for the Official NHL Play-by-Play
• Click Here of the Penguins Hotline – AUDIO with Bob Grove and Joe Sager
• Click Here for the Penguins Post-Practice Scrum - VIDEO Today’s post practice locker room interviews with Malone, Crosby, Recchi, Kennedy and Eaton
• Click Here for Post Practice Presser – VIDEO Today’s post practice presser with Coach Therrien

The Penguins continue their 4-game road trip with a game against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, 1 Nov 07, at 9PM eastern, in what promises to be a much more challenging game for the Penguins.

Pens Look to Go Wild in Minnesota: Game Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins (5-4-1) travel to Minnesota on Tuesday night to face off against the Minnesota Wild (7-2-2) in a rare matchup between the 2 teams.  The Penguins will be looking to avoid a 3-game losing streak, while the Wild will be looking to snap its own 3-game winless streak after starting off their season on fire.  The last meeting between these 2 teams was in Dec 2005, in which the Wild beat the Penguins 5-0 at Mellon Arena.  Minnesota has owned the Penguins going 5-1-0 with 1 tie against Pittsburgh. The Penguins have never won a game in Minnesota, going 0-2-0 with a tie.

The Wild, who lead the Northwest Division with 16 points, lept out of the starting gates by going 7-0-1 fueled by forwards Marian Gaborik and Pavel Demitra.  However, on October 21st, Demitra left the lineup with a groin injury and Minnesota hasn’t won a game since.  Gaborik also hurt his groin in practice Saturday and was out of the lineup for Sunday’s loss to the Avalanche.  Demitra and Gaborik, who normally play on Minnesota’s top line, are both uncertain for Tuesday’s game.  Their absence could make easier sledding for the Penguins. 

The injury-riddled Wild will have to contend with a Penguins team anxious to find their mojo in their 1st of a 4-game road trip.   This marks Sidney Crosby’s second career game against the Wild, and his first NHL career game in Minnesota.  “I think we need to play with more emotion,” said Crosby, who has scored at least a point in each of the last 9 games.  Evgeni Malkin, who has been playing with unbridled confidence, netted 3 assists Saturday night and has accumulated 6 points (1G, 5A) in his last 3 games.  Rookie forward Tyler Kennedy was called up on Saturday from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and had an impressive (albeit no points) NHL debut against the Canadiens.  It is rumored that he will be in the lineup against Minnesota on Tuesday.  It is unclear whether Gary Roberts, who sat out Saturday night with “a cold”, will be back in the lineup on Tuesday. 

The Penguins’ goaltending situation continues to be the topic of discussion, if for no other reason than the early inconsistency of Marc-Andre Fleury.  Fleury, who had appeared to break out of his early slump by allowing 1 goal on 67 shots against the Canes and Rangers, allowed 3 goals on 15 shots against Montreal.  Fleury has let in 8 goals in his last 80 minutes of play and has a 3.50 GAA on the season.  Fleury is 0-2-0 with a 5.36 GAA in two career games against the Wild.  The Penguins may well start backup netminder Dany Sabourin, who is 2.08 GAA in 4 games, but who has not yet squared off against the Wild.

Going head-to-head, the Penguins have the edge in goals per game (2.9 versus 2.5), but the Wild’s stingey defensive play has only allowed 2.0 goals against average this season.  The Penguins have given up too many goals, averaging 3.2 per game.  The Penguins have been very effective on the power play scoring 23.2% of the time, but the Wild have managed to maintain an 87.3% effectiveness on the kill.  Minnesota is not much of a threat on the power play, especially with Gaborek and Demitra gone, netting just 14% of their man advantage opportunities.  The Pen’s have been 83.3% effective on the penalty kill.   

NHLPens.com Prediction:  If Gaborik and Demitra are still out, I give the Penguins the win by a score of 2-1.  If they are in, I still give the Pens the edge, but by a score of 3-2 in overtime.  Likely goal scorers are Malkin, Recchi, and Talbot.  Despite their effectiveness on the PK, I predict at least one Pens’ goal will be made on the power play to keep their streak alive for scoring at least 1 power play goal per game.