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Sabourin Victimized by Rangers in Shootout

The Pittsburgh Penguins coughed up a 2-goal lead to a New York Rangers’ rally on Wednesday night to force the overtime, and then lost the game 3-2 in the shootout.  The Penguins got goals from Mark Eaton (yes, you read correctly) and Jordan Staal in regulation, and Kris Letang in the shootout.  Sidney Crosby was held to a point and, in a rare moment, Evgeni Malkin failed to get on the scoresheet.  Dany Sabourin stopped 25 of 27 through 65-minutes of play for a commendable 0.923 save percentage, but turned to swiss cheese in the shootout where he was beaten mercilessly by all 3 Rangers’ shooters. 

In the 1st period the Penguins fired the puck relentlessly on Henrik Lundqvist, getting off 12-shots despite being short-handed for 4-minutes of play.  At 2:46, Mike Godard squared off with Colton Orr for an extended tussle.  While neither player landed any killer blows, Orr appeared to finish with a bit of an edge.  Then at 12:23, Brooks Orpik took 2-minor penalties for tripping and unsportsmanlike conduct as he retaliated against Orr for his physical work over on Sidney Crosby.  Fortunately for the Penguins, less than a minute into the first penalty, the Rangers were called for too many men on the ice.  In the ensuing 4-on-4 play, Sidney Crosby mesmerized the crowd by taking the puck around the back of the net and then passed the puck out to Mark Eaton who jumped up on the play.  Eaton took the pass and deposited into the empty side of the net at 13:56 as Lundqvist was caught hugging the post in anticipation of a Crosby shot.  For Eaton, it was a rare goal on a memorable night as he skated in his 400th career NHL game.  The Penguins outshot the Rangers 12-6 in the first, and were 0-for-2 on the powerplay.

In the 2nd period, the Penguins widened their lead to 2-0 at 9:35.  With traffic in front of the Rangers’ net, Rob Scuderi blasted a shot from the blueline.  Towering in front of the net, Jordan Staal got his stick on Scuderi’s shot and deflected the puck past Lundqvist.  Matt Cooke was credited with the other assist on the play.  Just a minute and a half later, however, the Penguins were dealt a similar hand as Scott Gomez unleashed a hard shot that was deflected past Sabourin by Nikolai Zherdev to make it 2-1.  Wade Redden picked up the other assist on the play.  The Rangers came on stronger late in the period and managed to outshoot the Penguins 9-7.  Both teams were 0-for-1 on the powerplay.

In the 3rd period, the Rangers kept coming as they managed to score the game-tying goal on a wrister at 14:03 from Petr Prucha.  Scott Gomez and Wade Redden were again credited with the assists, their second of the night.  The Penguins were dealt a blow as both Mike Zigomanis and Tyler Kennedy left the game with undisclosed injuries and did not return.  The Penguins continued to battle on and got numerous scoring chances, but were unable to beat King Henry.  Dany Sabourin posted some important saves late to send the game into overtime, and guarantee a point.  The Rangers edged the Penguins in shots in the 3rd period 10-9. 

After a scoreless overtime in which the Penguins outshot the Rangers 3-2, the game went to the shooout for the final decision.  The Rangers chose to shoot first and put Markus Naslund up front.  Naslund skated in and beat Sabourin with the backhand high glove side.  The Penguins then inexplicably fielded Miroslav Satan who has cooled off and is 0-for-3 on the shootout this season…..make that 0-for-4 now.  Next, the Rangers put up Nikolai Zherdev who had the team’s first goal of the night, and he beat Sabourin with a backhander as well.  In a must score situation, the Penguins put up sniper Kris Letang.  Letang came in and roofed a snap shot that beat Lundqvist quite handily and gave the Penguins a thin lifeline on the game.  But it just wasn’t meant to be as Fredrik Sjostrom came in and wristed the 3rd consecutive shootout goal past Sabourin to clinch the game 3-2, just as he did in their last matchup in October.  Despite playing a decent game in regulation, poor Sabu just got taken to the cleaners in the shootout.  

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

Jordan Staal, Max Talbot, Ruslan Fedotenko and Kris Letang all registered 4-shots on goal, while Evgeni Malkin posted 3 and Sidney Crosby had 2.  In the faceoff circle, the Penguins were horrible.   While Max Talbot was 67% (2 of 3), Jordan Staal was the next best at 47% (9 of 19).  Sidney Crosby was just 31% (5 of 16) and Evgeni Malkin was 17% (1 of 6).  Mike Zigomanis, who leads the NHL in faceoffs, was just 33% (2 of 6) before leaving the game with injury.  Evgeni Malkin led all forwards with 23:23 of ice time, while Kris Letang led the team with an impressive 26:25.  Marc-Andre Fleury and Philippe Boucher remained off the roster with injuries. 

The Penguins make a quick trip down to Carolina overnight where they will take on the Hurricanes on Thursday evening.  It is uncertain who will play in net for the Penguins.  Marc-Andre Fleury is traveling with the team and practicing, but no return time has been announced.  John Curry is also traveling with theteam and was tonight’s backup.

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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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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.

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

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

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Fleury Helps Steal a Point in Dismal Opener

The Pittsburgh Penguins came out blazing early in the first period and then utterly collapsed with the exception of goaltending through the following two periods plus overtime.  The New Jersey Devils peppered the Penguins with 49 shots on goal, while the Penguins managed just 15 of their own, 8 of which were in the first period.  Marc-Andre Fleury was on fire for the Penguins, and was solely responsible for the point that the Penguins managed to get in the 2-1 overtime loss to the Devils.  Extremely efficient in net, Fleury was pitching a shutout until the Devils got a lucky bounce of the puck off from Hal Gill’s skate and into the Penguins’ net. 

In the first period, things were looking up as the Penguins powerplay connected on their first man advantage of the night.  Miroslav Satan scored his first goal in a Penguin uniform on the powerplay as he collected a rebound and put it past Martin Brodeur to make it 1-0.  The Penguins cracked their powerplay woes by putting Evgeni Malkin and his blistering shot at the blueline in the place of a missing Sergei Gonchar.  Malkin unleashed a heavy shot through traffic that resulted in a scrum near the paint that Satan converted on.  Along with Malkin, Jordan Staal was credited with an assist on the play.  Eric Godard and Mike Rupp went for a dance early in the period that ended without too much action.  At the end of the period, Patrick Elias was given a roughing minor for some after the buzzer action near the Penguins net.  The Penguins were outshot 10-8 in the 1st period, but were 1-for-2 on the powerplay and had no penalty kill time.  The Penguins looked aggressive in the first and did a tremendous job of moving the puck up the ice.

Despite getting the early power play in the 2nd, the Penguins came out extremely flat and gave the Devils a chance to find their offensive game.  At 6:42, Hal Gill and David Clarkson squared off and walked away with fighting majors.  Despite being vastly outsized, Clarkson held his own with neither side really getting in any significant licks.  The Devils proceeded to outshoot the Penguins 15-4 in the 2nd period team, dominating the play and taking the Penguins largely out of the game.  The Penguins finished the period 0-for-1 on the powerplay and 2-for-2 on the Penalty Kill. 

Through the third period and despite the Penguins horrendous play, Marc-Andre Fleury continued to be very strong in net and it looked as if they might steal a win.  However, at 17:31 Patrick Elias centered a puck from the sideboards that deflected off from Hal Gill’s skate and into the far side of the net past Fleury.  The goal was unassisted.  Although it was a lucky bounce, it was a reward for the Devils hard work through the 2nd and 3rd periods.  The Penguins hung on by a thread in the 3rd period as the Devils outshot them by a punishing 20-2.  The Penguins did manage to kill off 2-penalties in the 3rd, but were afforded no powerplay opportunities. 

In the overtime period, it looked as if the Penguins might get a chance to redeem themselves in a shootout.  However, with 38 seconds left in overtime and the Penguins working a 3-on-2 break, Travis Zajac came up with the puck and made a long lead pass to Zach Parise, who streaked down the left-wing boards and beat Fleury for the game winner.  The Devils outshot the Penguins 4-1 in the OT period. 

• VIDEO:  Postgame Press Conference (Therrien)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Fleury)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Satan)
• VIDEO:  Postgame Interview (Crosby)
• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Game Summary
• Boxscore/Player Stats
• Play-by-Play

The only other side note to tonight’s game was the fact that Darryl Sydor played left wing on the 4th line as Michel Therrien played Gill, Eaton, Orpik, Scuderi, Letang and Goligoski on Defense.  The Penguins will get a couple days off to recoup before taking on the Philadelphia Flyers at Mellon Arena on Tuesday night.

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Penguins Fall to Rangers in OT, 2-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins came from behind in the 3rd period to force overtime, but gave up a powerplay goal to the New York Rangers in the extra marker to lose the game and the extra point that would have clinched the Atlantic Division title for them.  The Penguins need to get just 1-point in their remaining 2-games to lock up their first Division title in 10-years.  By earning a point in the overtime loss, the Penguins reached the 100-point mark on the season.  The Penguins now have a 2-point lead over Montreal for the Eastern Conference title, with the Canadiens having a game in-hand.   

In the 1st period, it was all New York Rangers as they outshot the somewhat listless Penguins 9-1.  The only sign of life for the Penguins in the period came at 5:22 when Ryan Malone took on Sean Avery in the game’s only fight.  Malone was never really able to get into a good fighting position, and only got in a few shots before going down to the ice after taking a blow to the head by Avery.  The Penguins failde to capitalize on a tripping call to Scott Gomez, but successfully killed off a boarding penalty to Georges Laraque. 

In the 2nd period, the Rangers got a 5-on-3 powerplay goal from Jaromir Jagr at 11:43 while Ryan Whitney (roughing) and Jeff Taffe (hooking) both sat in the box.  The goal was initially waived off as it appeared that Scott Gomez hit the puck out of mid-air and into the net with a high stick.  However, after a lengthy video review, it was determined that Rob Scuderi’s hand stopped Gomez’s stick just short of touching the puck.  The puck, still airborne above Fleury’s head from Jagr’s shot, then bounced off of Fleury’s mask and into the net for the goal.  The goal, Jagr’s 21st of the season, was assisted by Chris Drury and Brendan Shanahan.  After a miserable start, the Penguins did manage to outshoot the Rangers 9-8 in the 2nd, but were 0-for-1 on the powerplay.

In the 3rd period, Penguins’ Coach Michel Therrien continued to shake the lines up and the Penguins found a way to score with a pairing of Max Talbot, Ryan Malone and Georges Laraque.  Georges Laraque made a beautiful up ice dish to Max Talbot who passed the puck to Ryan Malone for the give and go.  Malone made a nifty pass back to Talbot who shot across the grain and beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at 1-1.  The goal was Talbot’s 12th of the season.  The Penguins failed to convert on 2 powerplay chances in the 3rd and killed off their only penalty as they outshot the Rangers 12-9. 

In the overtime, the Penguins’ Sergei Gonchar was assessed a penalty at 0:24 as he held Jaromir Jagr on a breakaway attempt.  The Rangers took full advantage of the powerplay and converted at 1:46 off from a screened shot by Chris Drury, his 24th goal of the season.  There were no less than 3 players in the line of sight between the Drury and Fleury, preventing him from even seeing the shot.  The goal gave the Rangers the much needed extra point to advance their standing in the Eastern Conference and bring them closer to a clinching a playoff berth.

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

The top two lines for the Penguins were held without any points tonight by the good defensive play of the Rangers.  Marc-Andre Fleury had his first loss in 8-games, and is now 9-2 since returning from the high ankle sprain that kept him out of the lineup for over 2-months. 

The Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night before traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday for the last regular season game. 

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Penguins Battle Hard, But Lose to Senators in OT

The Pittsburgh Penguins missed an opportunity to move into 1st place in the Eastern Conference as they lost to the Ottawa Senators with just 3.2-seconds left in ovetime on Saturday afternoon.  Despite outshooting the Senators 17-8 in the 1st period and building a 3-0 lead through the fist half of the game, the Penguins played a little sloppy late in the 2nd and allowed the Senators to battle back and pick up 2 goals and then one early in the 3rd to send it to overtime.  It looked like the game was destined for a shootout when Daniel Alfredsson scored the game winner with just seconds left on the clock to make it 4-3.  Red hot Evgeni Malkin played like a beast, but failed to put up any points, ending his 10-game points streak.  Despite the loss, the Penguins played a very strong game.

In the 1st period, the Penguins came out and man-handled the Senators with the help of 4-power play opportunities.  Petr Sykora cashed in on the first opportunity just 1:47 into the game.  He was assisted by Ryan Whitney and Ryan Malone.  The goal was Petr Sykora’s 20th of the season, marking the 8th time in his career to reach the 20-goal plateau.  The Penguins were unable to notch another power-play goal in the first, despite some fabulous opportunities.  The Penguins managed to stay out of the penalty box.

In the 2nd, it looked like it was going to be all Penguins as they continued to dominate through the 1st half of the period.  At 4:09, Colby Armstrong came down the right wing and blew a shot to the top of the net above Ray Emery to make it 2-0 on his 9th goal of the season.  Max Talbot and Rob Scuderi were credited with the assists.  Then at 10:20, it was Jeff Taffe who gathered some trash to the right side of a flailing Emery and lifted it into the net.  The goal, Taffe’s 3rd, was assisted by Jordan Staal and Darryl Sydor.  But at 12:47, a misplay by Ty Conklin led to a Cory Stillman goal that put the Senators on the scoreboard and ignited some fire in the lifeless team.  Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette picked up the assists.  Less than 5-minutes later, the Senators scored again as Dany Heatley picked up his 29th of the season with assists by Cory Stillman and Wayne Redden.  The Senators ended up outshooting the Penguins 11-7 in the 2nd, despite being short-handed twice.  The Penguins were 0-for-2 on the power play and again managed to stay out of the penalty box. 

In the 3rd, it was Dany Heatley again, notching his 30th goal at 6:09 from Randy Robitaille and Jason Spezza to tie it at 3-apiece.  It was the last goal to be scored in regulation as both teams put 7-shots on the board.  The Penguins killed off their only penalty and had no more power play opportunities.  Through 3-periods, Evgeni Malkin had 7-shots on goal but was unable to put one home. 

The Penguins had more opportunities in the overtime frame, missing on 4-shots, including one by Ryan Malone that hit both the left and right goal posts but failed to go in.  Malone, who thought he had scored raised his hands in jubilation, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Play continued as the clock ticked down to 3.2 seconds when Daniel Alfredsson managed to put a backhander past Conklin for the win.  Andrej Meszaros was credited with the assist. 

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

The Penguins picked up 1-point in the standings, to fall 2-points behind the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference race.  The New Jersey Devils won their game this afternoon against the New York Islanders, to put them 1-point ahead of the Penguions in the Atlantic Division.  Early in the 2nd, the Montreal Canadiens were losing 2-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The Penguins have an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday as they host the San Jose Sharks in another 3PM matinee game. 

Pens Lose to Caps 6-5 in Shootout, But Regain 1st Place

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered an overtime shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night in a spirited high scoring affair.  Despite the score, the Penguins were outshot 30-15 by the Capitals and were fortunate to pick up a point on the night to move them back into 1st place in the Atlantic Division.  Goaltender Dany Sabourin started in net for the Penguins, but was chased out after 4-goals in favor of Ty Conklin.  Conklin gave up 1-goal in regulation and 2 in the shootout, which cost the Penguins the additional point.  Evgeni Malkin (2G, 1A), Ryan Malone (1G, 2A) and Sergei Gonchar (3A) all had a great game and picked up 3-points each on the night.

In the 1st period, the Penguins got on the board first with a goal by Max Talbot at 4:30, his 8th on the year, as he walked out from behind the goal line and stuffed one in between Olaf Kolzig’s pads.  Jordan Staal and Erik Christensen were credited with the assists.  At 10:43, the Capitals struck back with a goal by Tomas Fleischmann, with assists by Boyd Gordon and Alexander Semin.  The Capitals found the net again at 16:04 as Viktor Kozlov beat Dany Sabourin.  Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom picked up the assists.  Just 45 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin scored his 25th on the year to even the game at 2-2.  Ryan Malone was credited with the lone assist.  During the period, Alexander Ovechkin rushed in and tried to level Evgeni Malkin as Malkin came around the back of the Caps’ net with the puck.  Ovechkin was only able to clip Malkin and sent himself back first into the boards.  Malkin let him know he didn’t appreciate it by bumping Ovechkin at the end of the shift.  The Penguins were 0-for-2 on the power play, and were outshot 9-6 in the first frame.  Jarkko Ruutu picked up a 2-minute unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the period, giving the Capitals a power play to start the 2nd period.

At the beginning of the 2nd, Washington capitalized on the Ruutu penalty as Alexander Ovechkin chipped the puck past Dany Sabourin at 1:48.  Tomas Fleischmann and Nicklas Backstrom were credited with the assists.  At 3:34, with Washington’s Laich in the penalty box, Evgeni Malkin got his second of the night to tie the game at 3-3.  Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar were given assists on the play.  Then at 6:13 with Alexander Semin in the box, Petr Sykora scored a goal on a beautiful cross ice pass from Ryan Whitney to make it 4-3.  Sergei Gonchar got the other assist.  A little over a minute and a half later, Washington tied it again at 4-4 as Alexander Ovechkin picked up his second of the night, with assists by  Nicklas Backstrom and Milan Jurcina.  After the goal, Coach Michel Therrien pulled Dany Sabourin from net in favor of Ty Conklin.  The Penguins were outshot 10-5 in the second, but made hay with their powerplay, going 2-for-3 on the man advantage. 

In the 3rd, the Penguins put the power play to work again as Ryan Malone scored on the man-advantage at 5:04 to make it 5-4.  Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin picked up the assists.  But the lead wouldn’t last as the Caps, operating on the power play with Staal in the box (holding the stick), picked up the tying goal from Viktor Kozlov.  Matt Pettinger and Nicklas Backstrom were credited with the assists.  The Penguins were outshot 11-3 in the 3rd, but managed to hold on to the 5-5 tie to force the overtime.

In the overtime, the Penguins were given a golden opportunity as two Caps players took penalties giving the Penguins a rare 5-on-3 man-advantage in the sudden death.  But the Penguins were unable to score, and only managed 1-shot in the 5-minute overtime to force the shootout.

The Penguins put up Christensen, Letang and Ruutu for the shootout, while the Capitals countered with Kozlov, Ovechkin and Semin.  Kozlov, Christensen and Letang all missed on their shootout attempts.  As the second shooter for the Caps, Ovechkin scored.  Ruutu followed as the Penguins 3rd shooter and scored to keep the Penguins alive.  But Alexander Semin was the final shooter for the Caps and beat Ty Conklin to win the game. 

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The Penguins have a few days off before traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Thursday night.  The game against the Flyers is their last before the All-Star break. 

Recchi Spoils Penguins Streak in Shootout

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their first game in 9-outings on Saturday night to the Atlanta Thrashers, but still managed to pick up a point in the 3-2 overtime shootout loss.  As if scripted by the hockey gods, it was former Penguin Mark Recchi, the Thrashers’ 4th shooter, who scored the game winning goal in the extended shootout.  The overtime loss ends the Penguins’ winning streak at 8-games and red-hot goaltender Ty Conklin’s undefeated streak at 9-games.  It was Conklin’s first loss as a Penguin, despite an outstanding performance against Atlanta.

Pittsburgh got on the board first by scoring at 5:23 of the 1st period.  Sidney Crosby was able to gather the puck up beside the net and quickly stickhandle it into the open side of the net past Kari Lehtonen for his 19th of the season.  Ryan Whitnery and Evgeni Malkin were credited with the assists on the even strength goal.  The Thrashers bounced back just 4-minutes later on a blistering power-play slapshot by league-leading goal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk that burned its way past Conklin.  Mark Recchi and Tobias Enstrom pitched in with the assists, as Darryl Sydor sat for hooking.  The Thrashers slightly outshot the Penguins 11-5, and were 1-for-1 on the powerplay.  The Penguins failed to convert on their lone man-advantage of the period. 

In the 2nd period, it was Sidney Crosby, playing like a man obsessed, that quickly scored his 2nd goal of the night at 5:06 to regain the lead.  Like a machine, Crosby set up the play inside the offensive zone and then circled back around into the slot to pick up a deflected shot and bury the puck in the back of the net.  Kris Letang and Colby Armstrong were credited with the assists.  The Penguins had a 13-10 advantage in shots in the 2nd and were 0-for-1 on the powerplay.  At the end of the period, the Penguins killed off the front end of a 4-minute double minor to Petr Sykora for a high stick that carried over into the 3rd. 

Early in the third, the Thrashers cashed in on the tail end of the 4-minute powerplay that carried over from the 2nd period.  Bobby Holik got the tip-in goal with assists by Marian Hossa and Vyacheslav Kozlov.  From that point on, the Thrashers largely dominated Pittsburgh offensively but were unable to get the go ahead goal past Ty Conklin, as they outshot the Penguins 14-6.  Regulation ended in a 2-2 tie, giving both teams a point in the standings and a chance to play for the extra point in overtime. 

The 5-minute sudden death overtime period ended without a decision to force the shootout.  The Penguins selected Petr Sykora, Kris Letang, and Sidney Crosby as the first 3-shooters, while the Thrashers selected Vyacheslav Kozlov, Marian Hossa, and Ilya Kovalchuk.  Lehtonen and Conklin stopped the first 3-shooters per side.  Former Penguin Mark Recchi came out as Atlanta’s 4th shooter and hesitated slightly before beating Conklin on the glove side.  Kari Lehtonen then stopped the final attempt by Pittsburgh’s 4th shooter, Evgeni Malkin, to end the game.

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With the Devils winning on Saturday night, the Penguins lose a point to trail the Devils by 2-points for the Atlantic Division lead.  The Penguins return to Pittsburgh to host the New York Rangers Monday night in an Atlantic Division matchup that will be televised nationally on Versus at 7PM. 

Penguins Drop to Rangers 4-3 in O-T

Despite a great 1st period start, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave up a 2-goal lead in the 2nd and had to scratch their way back into a tie in the 3rd to send it into overtime where they lost to the New York Rangers on Saturday night.  The Penguins did manage to come away from the game with a point, but also added a point of separation between themselves and their division rival Rangers.

In the 1st, Sidney Crosby played like a man obsessed.  The Penguins jumped out of the gate and put a lot of pressure on the Rangers’ stingey defense and on league leading tender Henrik Lundqvist.  Were it not for Lundqvist, the score might well have been 4-0 at the end of one.  The first goal of the game was an emotional one.  With Ryan Malone in the box for tripping, Coach Therrien put Sidney Crosby out on the penalty kill with Maxime Talbot.  With less than 30 seconds to go on the kill, Talbot laid down and blocked a Rangers’ shot high in the slot which bounced to the side walls where Crosby picked it up and took off down the ice.  Talbot quickly recovered and raced down the center of the ice to the Rangers’ net where he was fed a beautiful cross-ice pass from Crosby that eluded 2 Rangers’ defensemen.  Talbot poked the puck into the net on the open side of Lundqvist for an outstanding short-handed goal.  The play at 5:51 extended Crosby’s point streak to 19 games, and ignited the team.  Exactly 3-minutes later, Ryan Malone drew a delayed tripping penalty on the Rangers’ as the Penguins drove hard into the offensive zone.  In the ensuing 6-on-5 with Fleury pulled from the net, the Penguins swarmed the Rangers’ zone.  A blocked shot deflected to the left of Lundqvist where Sidney Crosby quickly collected the puck and threw it into the net from the bad angle.  Sergei Gonchar and Petr Sykora were credited with the assists to give the Penguins a 2-0 advantage at the end of the 1st.  The Penguins outshot the Rangers 12-11.

In the 2nd, it was a completely different game.  The Rangers came out firing on all cylinders and the Penguins couldn’t seem to get it back in gear.  The Rangers got on the board quickly with an even strength tally at 0:49 from Michal Rozival on a shot that went high glove side past Fleury.  Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Hollweg picked up the assists.  At 4:05, the Rangers picked up a short-handed goal of their own off from the stick of Michal Rozival, this time assisted by Sean Avery and Marc Staal.  The Rangers finished their 2nd period romp with a power-play goal by Daniel Girardi to make it 3-2 while Rob Scuderi sat for 2 minutes on a hooking call.  Petr Prucha and Fedor Tyutin were credited with the assists.  The Penguins were afforded 1 power play opportunity early in the 2nd that they didn’t capitalize on, and were short-handed 3-times due to infractions by Christensen, Ruutu and Scuderi.  The Penguins were outshot 10-8 in the 2nd and were 0 for 1 on the power play.  The Rangers were 1-for-3 on the power play. 

The 3rd period was probably one of the tightest played periods I have seen this season, with neither team getting many chances.  The Penguins were finally able to tie the score on their 2nd shot of the period at 14:58.  With the Penguins buzzing, Eric Christensen fired a shot that deflected off the rear boards to Evgeni Malkin, who kicked the puck to Petr Sykora.  Sykora laced it past Lundqvist to force the overtime frame.  Christensen and Malkin picked up the assists, extending Malkin’s scoring streak to 13-games.  The shots were 4-3 Rangers in the 3rd with the Penguins successfully killing off the only penalty of the period (Malkin for hooking at 11:50).

At 1:40 of the overtime frame, Jason Strudwick beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a 2-on-1 breakout to give the Rangers the win and the extra point.  Strudwick, who managed to get behind defenseman Sergei Gonchar, took a cross-crease pass and put it inside the near post past Marc-Andre Fleury.  Paul Mara and Scott Gomez were credited with the assists on what was the only shot recorded between the 2-teams in overtime.  The goal gave the Rangers their 5th straight win.  “All I tried to do was get my stick on it and push it to the net,” said Strudwick, whose last goal came January 28, 2007 (also against Pittsburgh).

With the win, New York overtook the Flyers for the Atlantic Division lead.  All 4 Rangers’ goals came from defensemen as they completed a 4-game road sweep.  “When you have tight hockey like that, often times those defensemen are very much part of the offense,” Rangers coach Tom Renney said.  Regarding the Rangers’ defensive output, Marc-Andre Fleury said, “They have pretty good forwards. Usually if I can stop them, I’m in good shape.”  Referring to the Rangers finding 100% of their offense from the defensemen, Penguins coach Michel Therrien noted, “That’s a sign that things are going well for you , and things are going really well for the Rangers right now.  You’ve got to give a lot of credit to that team.”

The loss was a tough one for the Penguins who were fortunate to yield a point against the best defensive team in the league.  “We had a two-goal lead early and weren’t able to build on it,” Sidney Crosby said. “Lundqvist held them in the game. We get that third goal, we bury them.  We had our chances. It’s just taking advantage of our chances,” he continued.  “I hit a post and we had a couple of 2-on-1s (and didn’t score). They get that one 2-on-1 in overtime and capitalize.”  And so the Penguins woes continue.

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The Penguins hit the ice again on Wednesday night when they host the Devils in a Thanksgiving eve game.