Pens defeat Canadiens 3-1
Goals: Neil (7) from Sullivan and Park
Vitale (1) from Engelland
Asham (1) from Engelland and Niskanen
Top 3:
1) Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury made 27 saves and came within 2 minutes of earning a shutout, which clearly bothered him in the post-game press conference. Despite the goal he allowed, Fleury played wonderfully in net. He looked calm and controlled, not over-compensating on cross-ice passes and playing very well positionally. He made up for any rare defensive lapses there were, stopping a breakaway and slamming the door on a 2 on 1. MAF earned his money tonight.
2) Joe Vitale. Vitale’s never-ending hard work was finally rewarded with a goal tonight. Vitale deflected a point shot from Engelland that left Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price handcuffed. Vitale had yet another strong game forechecking and backchecking. He creates on almost every shift and he is very dependable on the ice. It’s about time he reaped the benefits of his work. He also received a 3 minute boost in ice time compared to the previous couple of games, well-deserved.
3) Deryk Engelland. Engelland recorded his first ever multi-point night, with 2 assists. His play tonight was a clear demonstration that getting the puck to the net will lead to good things. He had a slapper tipped in by Vitale for his first assist. His second assist came as he shot the puck from along the goal line at Price, and Asham deflected the rebound out of midair to sore the Pens 3rd goal. Engelland also played much better in his own end than he has this season, looking very comfortable playing with Brooks Orpik, which admittedly was a pairing that I worried about going into the game. To cap off his great all-around game, Engelland absolutely leveled Habs on 3 different occasions, bringing his physical game up greatly.
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| Even Orpik was frightened on the bench. |
Bottom 3:
1) Zbynek Michalek. Preface: Michalek is the only one that belongs on this list, the other 2 will be nit-picking because everyone played great aside from Michalek to me. I had Michalek making the Bottom 3 after the first period alone. He had 3 awful turnovers in his own zone, and couldn’t keep up with guys skating to the outside of him. Michalek also took a bad penalty for hooking midway through the game (I have no qualms with his late penalty to stop a breakaway). I am very unimpressed with his game so far this season, and he was absolutely the only player who did not create anything all night.
2) Paul Martin. Now as I said, this is largely nit-picking. Martin had a couple of bad turnovers in his own zone, but he also had to make up for Michalek’s mistakes frequently. Martin also made a couple of good pinches in the offensive zone. Really, this is probably punishment for being paired with Michalek. I would like to see him shoot the puck more as well.
3) Steve Sullivan. I really have no problem with Sullivan’s play. He is all over the ice, makes great setups, and is responsible in both ends. He only ends up as #3 here because he is completely snakebitten, as shown by Price’s diving save across the crease and Sullivan’s inability to beat Price on a breakaway. Keep at it Sulli, and you’ll get a goal…or at least one would hope. Now that I type this, I feel like I’m summarizing Neal from last spring….
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| Really? Just really?!? |
Random Statistics:
- Asham played in his 700th game (1st one was for Montreal oddly enough)
- The Penguins dominated in faceoffs tonight, winning 39 of 64 (61%)
Random Thoughts:
- Hal Gill was honored in a video by the Pens for playing in his 1000th game and the fans welcomed him very warmly. It was very classy by the organization and the crowd and it made me proud to be a Pens fan.
- With Letang back on Saturday, who sits? Michalek is the one who looks the worst right now, but he surely doesn’t sit. Based on ice time, it’s between Engelland and Lovejoy, and I imagine it will go back and forth between those 2 depending on the matchup. My bet is on Lovejoy for Saturday.
- Can Neal do any wrong right now? Shot – post – Price – across the goal line. For as unlucky as he was last spring, he has gone the complete opposite way. I want to know when the normal Neal shows up (not that I mind this one).
- Dustin Jeffrey looked decent in his debut, though quiet. He only had 11 shifts, and I imagine Bylsma was trying to ease him into the lineup, but I surely like that way better than MacIntyre playing 23 seconds.
- This powerplay sucks again.
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| He's actually that much taller than Gomez while sitting. |
Injury Report:
- Both Brooks Orpik and Dustin Jeffrey were taken off of the IR and made their season debuts tonight
- Tyler Kennedy has been officially diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely, though the mood appears to be positive with him. He was placed on the IR
- Evgeni Malkin continues to be day to day with his knee injury
- Crosby continues to wait for more contact to get him going…the Penguins have a couple of stretches of 4+ days off at the start of November which could be perfect for him
- Brian Strait was placed on the IR with a hyperextended elbow, he is expected to be out for a couple of weeks
Takeaways:
1) Holy Centers. With the return of Dustin Jeffrey, the Penguins added yet another center to the lineup, with their top 2 out. So when Crosby and Malkin return, which could reasonably be within a couple of weeks, how is the lineup going to shift? Depth down the middle: Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Jeffrey, Letestu, Park, Vitale. All of them are pretty strong on faceoffs and solid in the defensive zone. Jeffrey was the odd man out of the 5 healthy ones tonight, but I don’t think Bylsma will want to keep him on the wing for too long. What a great problem to have.
2) This is the Tip of the Iceburgh. (Yes, I said Iceburgh on purpose. Largely, because his younger version, Tux from WBS, out performed him all night...but back to hockey...) Speaking of great problems to have, the Penguins are playing great all-around hockey despite not having Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Kennedy in the lineup. Just look at that, the potential top 4 scorers on this team (okay maybe a stretch putting Kennedy in there, but still) are sitting out and the team is winning and scoring. It’s a long season, and more injuries will occurs…hell, we don’t even know how Sid and Geno will be in their returns. But, all I can think about is this team has unlimited potential right now, and that potential is getting healthier and better every day. (And Tux might be ready for the NHL soon, who knows!)
3) Who goes? Along with the above points (it’s really hard to make takeaways when the team plays a completely game aside from the powerplay we’ve complained about for years), players are going to have to be sent down as the team gets healthier. Letestu needs to pass through waivers, Vitale doesn’t. Vitale is outplaying Letestu by 8 miles in my opinion. So who goes? Bylsma and Shero are going to face some tough decisions with how well this team is playing. This reminds me of a mini-effect from after the first Cup run, when other teams wanted all of our players. I have to imagine anyone we throw on waivers is getting picked up at this point, but does that mean we should deny worthy players of NHL time just because they still have options? It probably does…
Pens Record: 5-2-2, 12 pts.
Goals For: 26
Goals Against: 21
PP %: 19% (7 for 36)
PK %: 97% (30 for 31)
Finally, a random shoutout to Dave Brooks for being the reason that I even went to the game tonight.
Finally, a random shoutout to Dave Brooks for being the reason that I even went to the game tonight.
Next Game: Sat 10/22 vs. NJ, 7pm LET’S GO PENS!!!
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