Pittsburgh Penguins

[Nights]

Dear Marc-André Fleury.

I understand you are from Québec, but that doesn't give you the right to play like Patrick Roy. Or Martin Brodeur.

Please leave us score a goal and not make 10 miracle saves in the first period alone.

Sincerly,
The Toronto Maple Leafs.

And talk about a horrible called off goal... horrible, horrible call.

[mounD]

- The Penguins had to overcome a whole lot over the course of tonight's game. Early on the team struggled to find their legs, and looked incredibly sluggish in the first game back from the All Star break. The Penguins were outshot heavily in the first period [14-6], and dominated in all ends of the ice. The Penguins got an early break in the game when a Leafs goal was disallowed on a pretty bogus goalie interference call. Going into the 1st intermission, the game was scoreless mainly due to some strong play from MAF.

- The 2nd Period was a much different story for the Penguins, as they saw the Leafs storm off to an early 2-0 lead on two early goals from Grabovski. The birthday boy for Toronto had himself a WHALE of a game on his birthday, racking up 6 shots in his first 7 minutes played in tonight's contest. Matt Cooke managed a late goal, tipping a Paul Martin shot past Gustavsson to bring the Penguins within 1 going into the 2nd intermission. 2-1 Leafs after 40 minutes.

- The Leafs really seemed to take over the game in the early parts of the 3rd Period. Two more quick goals from the Leafs, the first of which came on the PP, gave the Leafs a commanding 4-1 lead with 13+ minutes to play in regulation. All seemed lost for the Penguins, but then the feverish comeback began. At 8:33 of the period, Steve Sullivan let go a howitzer from the right-wing beating Gustavsson high short side, to bring the Penguins within 2; Vitale added a marker with just under 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd to set the stage for a fantastic finish...

- Evgeni Malkin scored off his chest [James Neal shot from the slot; deflection] with under 7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game 4-4 and send the affair to OT. Both goaltenders were outstanding in the OT period, especially Gustavsson as he made a sparkling save on Letang in the latter parts of the OT period. Ultimately, the game would be decided in the skills competition.


Shootout Results

PIT: Letang, Malkin, Kunitz
TOR: Grabovski, Kadri, Kessel

Round 1: Letang - No Goal // Grabovski - No Goal

Round 2: Malkin - Goal // Kadri - No Goal

Round 3: Kunitz - No Goal // Kessel - No Goal

Penguins win 5-4 in Shootout


NHL.com Boxscore:

Game Totals:

Penguins 5 - Maple Leafs 4 (SO)

SOG: 39-35 TOR
HITS: 28-20 PIT
FOW: 30-30 tie
BLKS: 17-10 TOR

Three Stars:

1. Marc-Andre Fleury was absolutely amazing all throughout the late 3rd Period, Overtime and in the Shootout - stopping all three TOR shooters in the skills competition to clinch the win. Stopping 35 of 39 Leafs' shots, but making clutch save after clutch save is the reason why MAF is the #1 star tonight.

2. Mikhail Grabovski has himself a game, folks... I mentioned that he fired 6 SOG during his first 7 minutes played, well he finished the game with some pretty gnarly totals: 2G, 1A, +1, 7 SOG in 20:28 TOI. That's pretty darn impressive, and for good reason Grabovski gets #2 star honors.

3. Evgeni Malkin was absolutely CLUTCH in tonight's game, creating offensive chances at a feverish pace late in the 2nd and 3rd Periods of tonight's game. Malkin registered 4 SOG in 22+ minutes TOI, and scored the game-tying goal late in the 3rd Period on a puck off his chest. Evgeni Malkin earns #3 star honors more for his late-game presence, but the goal doesn't hurt.


*** As always, follow me on Twitter for in-game tweets / updates / play-by-play.

[mounD]

I apologize for the delay on this coverage; I have been really busy with classes recently, and have just had too much reading and work to complete. There hasn't been a whole lot of free time for fantasy hockey, and ultimately my time on Dobberhockey forums have been strained recently.

In any event, I wanted to give a little breakdown from yesterday's game against the surprisingly hot New Jersey Devils.

-PIT scratches: Asham, Lovejoy, McDonald

- Going into Sunday's game the Penguins had won their last 8 games, dating back before the All-Star break, and were looking to draw closer to the Flyers and division-leading Rangers.

- The Penguins gravy-train would come to an end on Sunday, the Devils completely dominating the course of play - getting the big saves from Brodeur when he was called upon. Fleury wasn't so strong, and was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 12 Devils' SOG. Brent Johnson was pretty solid in relief, stopping 11/12 shots and giving the Penguins a chance to come back late in the 3rd Period.

- After first period tallies from Kovalchuk and Volchenkov, and an early 2nd Period SHG from Dainius Zubrus, the Penguins saw themselves in a huge hole before the halfway point of the contest. Unable to get much offensive pressure going over the first period and change, the Penguins seemed to be struggling after a very strong effort the previous afternoon against Boston.

Matt Niskanen answered with a PPG shortly after (3:02 of the 2nd), a goal on which newly acquired Penguin Cal O'Reilly recorded his first point with the club. Parise kind of burst the Penguins momentum before the 2nd Intermission, adding another Devils' tally to increase their lead to 4-1 going into the final 20.

Just past the halfway point of the 3rd Period, Evgeni Malkin pretty much did what he's been doing lately. His team-leading 29th goal of the season drew the Penguins within two goals with just under 9 minutes to play in the 3rd. The Penguins put on a valiant late-game push, seriously testing Brodeur on a couple of occasions - particularly a one-timer from James Neal soon after Malkin had scored.

Ultimately, the Penguins were unable to covert in the last minutes of the game, and the Devils' David Clarkson added an EN goal (his 20th goal of the season...wow). Final score: Devils 5 - Penguins 2.

- Evgeni Malkin led all Penguins forwards with 20:45 TOI [3:35 on PP], registering 1 Goal on 4 SOG, but a whopping -4 rating. James Neal and Chris Kunitz finished with 5 and 1 SOG, respectively; each with a -4 rating as well. Craig Adams, Joe Vitale, and Tyler Kennedy were the only Pens' players to finish with an even rating. Kris Letang led all Penguins w/ 22:19 TOI [3:35 on PP], adding 3 SOG with a -3 rating. Not very good stats to report for the Penguins...

Game Totals:

Penguins 2 - Devils 5

SOG: 30-25 PIT
HITS: 13-13 tie
FOW: 34-31 PIT
BLKS: 12-10 NJD

Three Stars:

1. Ilya Kovalchuk has been a damn force all week long, and Sunday's affair was no different. Kovalchuk opened up the scoring for the Devils, and factored in on the team's first three goals. With 1G, 2A, 3 SOG and a +3 rating in 19:47 TOI, Kovalchuk was easily the best player on the ice.

2. Zach Parise/David Clarkson: Both players added their 20th Goals of the season in Sunday's contest, Clarkson's coming in the EN. Parise added an assist, while the pair combined for 6 SOG and a +3 rating.

3. Evgeni Malkin just continues to dazzle offensively, even though his defensive game left plenty to be desired against the Devil's top unit of Kovalchuk/Elias/Parise. Geno scored his team-leading 29th goal (61st point) of the season, temporarily keeping hope alive for the Penguins in the 3rd Period.

[mounD]

- Penguins have reassigned Jason Williams and Colin MacDonald to the AHL.

via @pghpenguins on Twitter:

Twitter

NEWS ALERT: #Pens have re-assigned Jason Williams & Colin McDonald to @WBSPenguins http://bit.ly/xOlIGo

News could be a good indication that either Aaron Asham or Jordan Staal [potentially both] could be ready to resume action for the Penguins. Asham has been a scratch for the past couple weeks dealing w/ concussion, and Staal is currently out of the lineup with an MCL / knee injury. Could also be good news for Tyler Kennedy, who left the other night's game with injury.

Further updates hopefully to come later.

[Carcillo]

News could be a good indication that either Aaron Asham or Jordan Staal [potentially both] could be ready to resume action for the Penguins. Asham has been a scratch for the past couple weeks dealing w/ concussion, and Staal is currently out of the lineup with an MCL / knee injury. Could also be good news for Tyler Kennedy, who left the other night's game with injury.

Further updates hopefully to come later.

Could also be a cap saving more since there's few days before the next game. No need to pay NHL salary for those scrubs for the time being.

I doubt it's Asham since he hasn't returned to practice yet. So hopefully this paves the way for Staal to return in the lineup.

[One87]

This link speculates a Staal return:

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/...liams-02-08-12

Considering his initial time table and the fact that he's been skating, i'm pretty confident that he returns Friday.

[mounD]

Jordan Staal will be back in the lineup on Saturday when the Penguins play Winnipeg at Consol Energy Center. Solid.

via @pghpenguins on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/pghpenguins/s...49519693533184

#Pens have activated center Jordan Staal from Injured Reserve.

[Bomm Bastic]

LETANG!

Man or Titan???

[bondon]

LETANG!

Man or Titan???

What a sight for sore eyes eh Bomm?

After seeing him go pointless in six straight it felt like last season all over again.

[Bomm Bastic]

What a sight for sore eyes eh Bomm?

After seeing him go pointless in six straight it felt like last season all over again.

You ain't lyin', b0ndon! I was betting on him big this week, and damn today's effort was splendid.

[mounD]

The Penguins entered the weekend sked with a couple big games at home, but riding a two-game losing streak - picking up losses against New Jersey and Montreal. Going into a Saturday afternoon affair, the Penguins wanted to start strong and flex their muscle. Things didn't exactly start out quickly, but the Penguins put forth a pretty solid effort.

- The Pens were victim to two early goals, from Wellwood [5:17] and Burmistrov [8:04. The Penguins were outshooting the Jets early in the contest, but found themselves in an early hole halfway through the first. Just past the halfway point, Dustin Jeffrey fired in a wrist shot coming down the left wing - a beautiful shot. With just over 3 minutes to play in the 1st period, James Neal scored on a snipe off a Penguins faceoff win for his 29th goal of the season. The game was tied 2-2 going into the 2nd Period.

- The Penguins continued their onslaught in the 2nd Period, scoring two more unanswered goals before the 10-minute mark. Kunitz scored on the powerplay just over 3 minutes into the period, and Kris Letang added another marker on a backhander just before the 10:00 mark of the 2nd. Both teams would each add another marker apiece - Stapleton and Evgeni Malkin - and the Penguins held a 5-3 lead going into the final period. * Malkin's 2nd period tally was his 30th goal of the season.

- Early in the second period Dustin Byfuglien scored his 8th goal of the season to bring the Jets within 1 score. It seemed as if the visitor might make a valiant comeback, but that hope was shortlived... 20 seconds to be exact, as Richard Park answered back to re-extend the Penguins lead to two goals [6-4]. Jordan Staal would score again 3+ minutes later to extend the Penguins lead to 3 goals, which they would not relinquish. Bryan Little scored a few seconds past the halfway point of the period, and Kris Letang added a marker on the PP - his 2nd of the contest - to bring the final count to 8-5 Penguins. In a game that was an absolute Shootout, Marc-Andre Fleury received the Win w/ only 20 saves on the afternoon.

Game Statistics:

Penguins 8 - Jets 5

SOG: 39-25 PIT
HITS: 29-24 PIT
FOW: 35-31 PIT
BLKS: 21-7 PIT

Link to Box-score for TOI / Statistics


Three Stars:

1. Evgeni Malkin was an absolute stud out there on Saturday afternoon, registering a game-high 5 points [1 goal, 4 assists]. Two of Malkin's 5 points came with the man-advantage, and the shifty Russian also added 4 SOG and finished the contest with a +2 rating in 19:26 TOI.

2. Kris Letang had a monster afternoon himself, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Letang fired 3 SOG, registered 2 PIMs and finished the game with a team-high +3 rating. Solid effort through and through as Letang led the team w/ 24:45 TOI.

3. Chris Kunitz had possibly his best game of the entire season and it's worth repeating that he has been underrated all year long on a line w/ Malkin and Neal. Kunitz scored the go-ahead goal in the 2nd Period [a lead the Penguins never relinquished] and added three assists. Kunitz also had 2 SOG and finished the game with a +2 rating in an underwhelming 16:44 TOI.


.................................................. .................................................. ..................

- Sunday night's affair was a very different game from the firewagon blowout from the previous afternoon, although the game started out very similarly for the Penguins. Right around the halfway point of the period, Steve Downie scored two goals in almost immediate succession (11 seconds apart), both goals set up by Teddy Purcell to give him 20 assists on the year. With just a few minutes remaining in the opening frame, Evgeni Malkin scored for what seemed like the bagillionth game in a row to bring the Penguins within one - his 31st goal of the season. Going into the second period the visitors held a 2-1 lead but trailed in offensive zone pressure, SOG, and prime scoring chances. The Penguins were starting to come on strong.

- If the second half of the 1st Period was an onslaught from the Penguins, then the 2nd Period was a complete flood of Penguins' chances against Lightning goaltender Mathieu Garon. The Penguins were able to penetrate the defenses of the Lightning on numerous occasions, scoring three goals over the middle 'twenty'. Kunitz opened up the scoring less than a minute into the period, continuing his red-hot play. Letang followed suit and got into the action near the halfway point of the 2nd on a goal assisted by Kunitz and Neal. Not to be outdone, Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the game and 32nd goal of the season to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead on 4 unanswered tallies.

- The final frame was filled with plenty of chances for both squads, but neither netminder would yield another goal for the remainder of the game. After allowing two early goals in succession, Brent Johnson really righted the ship in what could be a seriously important moment for not only the veteran back-up tendy, but the Penguins season in general. As many of you out there know already, Brent Johnson has been struggling for the past month or so - at the very least - and his struggles have put an enormous amount of pressure on Marc-Andre Fleury to carry the load almost every single night, and especially in important division games. Not that Fleury can't handle the responsibility, but Johnson needs to be available for spot starts, B2B situations and the like in order to ease the pressure on Fleury later in the year, and when the Penguins needs MAF in the playoffs. Hopefully today's win for Johnny can bring about a relief of pressure from MAF. Ultimately the third period yielded no scoring, but the Penguins did manage to break the 40 SOG mark against the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 5th straight game. I'm not a statistician but I would imagine that's their longest streak against any team in the league.

Game Statistics:

Penguins 4 - Lightning 2

SOG: 41-23 PIT
HITS: 20-20 tie
FOW: 35-32 TBL
BLKS: 20-12 TBL

Link to BoxScore for TOI / Statistics


Three Stars:

1. I know that it's getting totally cliche at this point, but I'm giving Evgeni Malkin the number-1 star honors yet again for his two goal effort in tonight's game. Malkin continues to dazzle, and has pulled within 5 goals of the NHL lead and has extended his points-lead with 69 on the year [49 games]. No one has been as much of a beast as Malkin this year, and no one was as beastly in this evening's contest.

2. Steve Downie didn't have nearly as dominant a full-60 as plenty of other players on the ice, but he deserves a 2nd star honors for his two goal effort, with a pair scored 11 seconds apart in the first period.

3. Chris Kunitz and James Neal each recorded 3-point games, with Kunitz (1g,2a) again scoring the go-ahead goal {GWG} in the 2nd Period and James Neal (3a) assisting on both of Malkin's goals. Both players are on pace to set new career-highs in points, with James Neal on pace for 40+ goals and near-PPG totals.

[mounD]

Latest article over at HighHeels&Hockey ...


Pens Week in Review (Feb. 6-12)


Hope you guys enjoy...

[wendelclark17]

thank you Geno, Neal and Tanger for torching my H2H competition this weekend 20 points between the 3 of them

[mounD]

Entering today's contest againt the Flyers, the Penguins had not been able to earn a Win against their cross-state rivals - dropping games against Philly on December 8th and 29th. There was something in the air this afternoon, as these two teams always put on a show for those lucky enough to be watching the affair.


Scratches and Line Combinations via penguins.nhl.com:

The Pens scratch Kennedy, Lovejoy & O'Reilly. Pittsburgh's lines below...

Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Sullivan-Staal-Dupuis
Cooke-Jeffrey-Asham
Park-Vitale-Adams

Orpik-Letang
Martin-Engelland
Niskanen-Michalek

Fleury in net against Bryzgalov.

The Flyers used the following lines at warmups...

Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Briere-Read-Jagr
JVR-Schenn-Simmonds
Talbot-Couturier-Wellwood

1st Period:

- Things got started off very early in the 1st period with the Penguins carrying the pace over the first couple minutes. Matt Cooke scored his 10th of the season - unassisted - at the 3:07 mark and the Penguins were off and running; however, soon after the "Penalty Parade" would begin.

At 4:07 Braydon Coburn went off for cross-checking and the Penguins were unable to create a chance on the PP aside from an end-to-end opportunity for Malkin that was snuffed out at the last moment by the Flyers defense. The Penguins largely carried the play over the first half of the period, and then the floodgates really opened up and this game became one of the crazier affairs I've seen in quite some time.

Just after the 14-minute mark, Craig Adams was called for interference sending the Flyers to the PP; just 15 seconds later, though, Wayne Simmonds was called for a completely "phantom" goaltender interference penalty - 4 on 4 hockey for almost 2 minutes would ensue.

At 15:16 Jaromir Jagr scored on a beautiful wrist-shot - assisted by Danny Briere - coming down the RW, slinging the puck over MAF's shoulder into the top corner to tie the game 1-1. Off the ensuing center-ice faceoff, Jordan Staal was called for holding Brayden Schenn - a completely routine tie up on a faceoff at the 15:21 mark to give the Flyers a bogus 4-on-3 powerplay. Just 13 seconds later - 15:34 - Jagr scored his 2nd goal of the game [PPG] - assisted by Giroux and Timonen - to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead in a dramatic swing on a controversial PP chance.

After this turn of events, the Flyers carried the momentum for most of the final minutes of the 1st period; although with just 2 seconds on the game-clock, James van Riemsdyk took a slashing penalty on James Neal, giving the Penguins a carry-over PP chance in the 2nd Period. After 1 period, the Penguins trailed 2-1 but were looking forward to a man-advantage in the middle frame.


2nd Period:

- The Pens were unable to convert on their early period PP chance, still trailing by a goal a few minutes into the period. The momentum was basically up for grabs at this point in the contest, and the Flyers would soon grab ahold and create the next few scoring opportunities.

At 4:51 Paul Martin was called for Slashing, giving the Flyers their third PP chance on the afternoon. Though unable to convert, the Penguins kept giving the Flyers opportunities with the man advantage - penalties to Vitale at 7:52, Staal at 9:56 etc. seemed to keep the Penguins on the PK for much of the period.

At the 14:58 mark of the 2nd, Pascal Dupuis went off for a tripping minor. Just 16 seconds later - 15:14 - Jordan Staal scored a SHG - assisted by Adams - on a dud-wrist shot from the slot that Bryzgalov failed to locate as is fluttered past his glovehand. Tie game.

Still on a PP chance, the Flyers entered the zone just moments later and Brooks Orpik was called for a VERY questionable hooking call - at 15:31 - to give the Flyers a two-man advantage in a 2-2 hockey game. The Penguins didn't feel sorry for themselves, or anything along those lines.

Instead, they killed off the opportunity and Matt Cooke added a 3-on-5 score at 16:57 - only the 11th such goal scored in the NHL since 05-06 season - to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead on the backs of two shorthanded tallies. Of course, in a game as crazy as this the Penguins wouldn't go to 2nd intermission with a lead. That just couldn't happen.

On a routine play around his net, Derek Engellynd lost an edge while skating with the puck and Eric Wellwood was able to corrale the puck and poke it past MAF to bring the Flyers even at 19:41 of the 2nd. A HUGE goal for Philadelphia brough the affair to a 3-3 tie as the teams prepared for the final period.

Through two periods, the Flyers were 1-7 on the PP - surrendering two SHG to the Penguins - and were somehow unable to sneak a lead out in a game in which they dominated the penalty differential.


3rd Period:

- The Penguins came out very early in the 3rd period and asserted their dominance over the Flyers on this particular afternoon. Just 37 seconds into the final frame, Dustin Jeffrey located a puck in front during a goal-mouth scramble and fired in his 4th goal of the season - assisted by Cooke - to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead; one they would not relinquish in the remainder of the game.

Just over a minute and a half later, Pascal Dupuis managed a tally of his own - his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Staal and Sullivan at 2:09 - to give the Penguins a two-goal lead for the first time all afternoon. The Penguins were beginning to dominate the game, and had successfully weathered the storm of penalty after penalty called against the team in the middle period. The onslaught wasn't finished, though.

Just after the 9-minute mark, James Neal made a beautiful individual play coming down the wing to score his 30th goal of the season - his first 30-goal season in his 4-yr NHL career. After firing a puck while streaking down the RW, Neal managed to grab his own rebound and poke a slick, little backhander past Bobrovsky - who had come in to replace Bryzgalov after he surrendered the 3rd goal to Matt Cooke. The Real Deal gave the Pens a 3-goal lead, making the game 6-3 with just over 10+ minutes to play.

The rest of the affair was largely uneventful in terms of Penguins scoring chances, as they attempted to shut down the rest of the game without anyone getting killed by an errant punch - or stick. MAF was a total G-O-D as he usually is, and he needed to make a few pretty big saves down the stretch to maintain the Penguins advantage.

Joe Vitale and Scott Hartnell exchanged 10-minute misconduct penalties at 17:47 of the 3rd, further bolstering the already outstanding PIM totals for the Roto-beast that is Scotty Hartnell. At this point in the game, there was little chance of a comeback, but Hartnell pleased his fantasy-owners with another whopping boost to the PIMs category in a lost-cause of a game.

The Flyers' Wayne Simmonds - who is having an incredible season, on a tear recently - was able to add a goal (21st of the season!) at 19:41 of the final period, bringing the Flyers to a more respectable 6-4 deficit. That's how the game would end, with the two teams hating eachother even more than they did at the beginning of today's contest. What a game for the Penguins...

The team was able to overcome some controversial, and persistent, officiating this afternoon - killing off 6 of 7 PP over the first two periods and adding two SHG from Staal and Cooke. Special teams were the major difference in today's game, and the Penguins were the better team - especially due to their immaculate efforts on the PK. Huge, huge character win for the Pittsburgh Penguins.


Link to Box-Score for Statistics and Player TOI:

Game Statistics:

Penguins 6 - Flyers 4

SOG: 31-30 PHI
HITS: 39-37 PIT
FOW: 34-26 PIT
BLKS: 14-11 PHI

Three Stars:

1. Matt Cooke was absolutely other-worldy - for his standards - on this afternoon's game. The reborn former 'bad-boy' scored 2 goals, including a 3-on-5 shorthanded marker, and added an assist and finishing +2 with 4 SOG. Probably the best game I've seen Matt Cooke play offensively in my entire life, and he was the difference today - skating 16:05 TOI (2:07 on PP).

2. Jaromir Jagr scored two quick goals in succession, including one on the PP, on 3 SOG but finished the game with a -2 rating in a mere 13:47 TOI (3:40 on PP). The Jagr Salute wasn't enough to give the Flyers the edge in today's game, but two snipes from the aging Czech superstar are enough to garner my #2 star honors.

3. Jordan Staal continues to put pucks in the net, and today he scored a SHG and added an assist - finishing the game +2 with 4 PIMs and 3 SOG in 19:13 TOI (2:51 on PP). Quite the Roto statline for Jordan Staal, continuing his emergence as a legitimate goal-scoring threat in the NHL.

HM to the half-man, half-beast Brooks Orpik who finished today's affair +4 with 6 Hits, including a crushing blow on Andrej Meszaros in the 2nd Period. Orpik was a gem out there, playing in 21:37 TOI [4:47 on the PK] as a steady and physical defensive force against the Flyers' top offensive players all game long.

[Carcillo]

Tangradi got recalled yesterday.

Showcasing him for a trade?