Sid the Kid baby...I needed that goal
Pittsburgh 5 Detroit 2
Looked like the same ol' Pens in the first with Detroit going up by two. Something happened in the first intermission though.
Pittsburgh came out looking hungry in the second. Hornqvist in particular came out looking like he was on a mission with something to prove. He scored a powerplay goal early in the second and assisted on Letang's 11 minutes later. Pittsburgh kept it up in the third, with Crosby and Malkin getting into the action. Letang added an empty netter at the end.
Great stat lines for
Letang 2G 1A 6pim 5shots
Malkin 1G 2A 3shots
Hornqvist 1G 2A 6shots
Crosby 1G 4shots
Slight change to the lineup where Cullen moved up to the Malkin-Kessel line to help out on faceoffs. Hornqvist as moved to L3. The Crosby line stayed the same.
Looks like Ian Cole might miss some time after an open-ice hit in the first. Only played 5:22.
Sid the Kid baby...I needed that goal
Just noticed Horny only skated 12 minutes last night... what's up with his demotion to the third line? Looked like he played an awesome game... if anything I would've figured he'd get more minutes.
Letang really is amazing WHEN healthy..
Does anyone know when McFleury will be back??
Zorro says "vote for Dobber"
Angus is my best friend at dobberhockey..
I haven't heard a date but I heard he was practicing and making progress
I wouldn't read too much into it. It wasn't as much a demotion to the third line as it was Sullivan trying to get something started after yet another loss. Not sure what was said in the locker room but Hornqvist came out in the second and played like a madman, mixing it up in front of the net, digging in the corners and such. Something that I haven't seen from yet this season.
Seeing how well all three lines were rolling I don't think Sullivan wanted to break anything. If you look at the TOI for the top 9 they are all a little lower than normal.
Crosby 17:34
Malkin 16:44
Kessel 15:52
Hornqvist 12:18
Perron 13:47
Kunitz 15:52
Bonino 14:42
Sheary 9:55
Hornqvist might stick on L3 for a little while but I expect that to change over the rest of the season. Sullivan seems to like to tinker with the lines and seems intent to roll three scoring lines. The one thing to think about is that Hornqvist is still on PP1 with Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and Letang and that powerplay is starting to roll.
Horny looked good out there last night from what I saw.. Looked motivated..
Zorro says "vote for Dobber"
Angus is my best friend at dobberhockey..
How's Kunitz looking these days?? More fantasy relevant??
It's the most motivated I've seen Hornqvist this year. Hope he keeps up the intensity.
Plus is that he's been on Crosby's line even strength since the break and he's seeing some chances when Crosby puts the puck on his stick. Minus is that he isn't doing much with those chance. Good news is his physical game is still there and he's still hitting a lot. Too bad his offensive skills continue to degrade. Other than deep leagues, I don't see him being that relevant.
Fleury activated and Murray sent down.
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=795509
Fleury expected to start.
https://twitter.com/OtherNHLCrosby/s...17969682837505
After missing last two periods of Thursday's game against Detroit, Cole is back in his normal spot with Daley.
Morning skate lines:
CHRIS KUNITZ SIDNEY CROSBY DAVID PERRON MATT CULLEN EVGENI MALKIN PHIL KESSEL CONOR SHEARY NICK BONINO PATRIC HORNQVIST KEVIN PORTER ERIC FEHR SERGEI PLOTNIKOV
BRIAN DUMOULIN BEN LOVEJOY OLLI MAATTA KRIS LETANG IAN COLE TREVOR DALEY
Powerplay Lines:
SIDNEY CROSBY EVGENI MALKIN PHIL KESSEL PATRIC HORNQVIST KRIS LETANG DAVID PERRON NICK BONINO CHRIS KUNITZ BRIAN DUMOULIN BEN LOVEJOY
Pittsburgh 5 Islanders 2
Fleury back in net. Looked solid giving up two on 40 shots.
Great night on the special teams with Crosby getting two powerplay goals and Cullen getting a shorty.
Cullen looked good on the Malkin-Kessel line, assisting on Kessel's goal in the first with a nice pass from in back of the net.
Three assists each for Malkin and Letang.
Hornquist also got into the action with a goal on seven shots.
All in all a nice game for the Pens tonight.
Was horny on the third line the entire game?
What a great night, stats wise, for alot of the Penguins players.. Sid with 2 goals, Malkin and Letang 3 assists!!
Fleury shutting the door with 38 saves!!
Hornqvist looked to still be in the bottom six, but definitely earning his way back up into the top six..
Zorro says "vote for Dobber"
Angus is my best friend at dobberhockey..