Pens 4 Habs 3 (OT)
Goals: Malkin (8) from Kunitz, Crosby
Dupuis (6) from Martin, Cooke
Staal (12) from Malkin
Letang (3) from Neal (OT game winner)
Top 3:
1) Evgeni Malkin. Geno scored the opening goal just seconds into the game and set up Staal on a long cross ice pass for the game tying goal late in the 3rd to make his mark on this game. He played a solid offensive game, attempting 10 shots (hitting on 6) and had a didn’t have his usual turnover issues. The only downside to his game tonight was a 2 for 8 faceoff performance, an issue that plagued most of the team.
| 2) Jordan Staal. As Steigerwald said on the broadcast (and how could you miss it, he repeated it 9078097 times), Staal was a monster in this game. He was great on the backcheck, stripping the Canadiens of the puck a few times. He was his usual self on the penalty kill, and came up huge with the game tying goal in the 3rd period. It will be interesting to see how frequently he is put with Malkin as the season wears on. |
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| Look out Neal, Staal is coming for ya in goals! |
3) Kris Letang. All eyes were on Letang for this one as he got wrecked by Max Pacioretty and what surely was an illegal hit (though not called a penalty). Letang broke his nose on the hit in the 3rd period, got a pin placed in, and came back to score the winner in overtime on an odd play where all but about 4 people thought Price had the puck covered. All you can say is what a beast of a game for Letang. Talk about a hockey player!
Bottom 3:
1) Tyler Kennedy. TK followed up one of his best nights with a very quiet one. He was lazy on a backcheck that led to a goal for Montreal and he didn’t add much to the offense tonight. The problem with a player like Kennedy is that, if he’s not giving 110%, his effectiveness drops remarkably.
2) Matt Cooke. Kennedy’s frequent linemate also had a rough night, as he set the example for TK by being lazy on a backcheck that led to the first Montreal goal. The linemates together did a poor job of covering trailing players into zone tonight. For Cooke to be effective, he has to be a grinder and a harder work on both sides of the ice. Tonight wasn’t his best effort.
3) James Neal. Despite the fact that Neal leads the team in goals, it’s hard not to think that his hot start is going to slow down, and it might be doing that right now. He still managed 5 shots on net, but his overall play is starting to slow down a bit. He took 2 needless penalties and was demoted off of the “hero” line with Crosby and Malkin (replaced by Sullivan, Cooke, and Kunitz at times). He still was 3rd in ice time for the forwards, but we’ll have to keep an eye on his progress after a blazing start.
Injury Report:
- Brian Strait (elbow) is day to day
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) will be out for at least 5 more weeks
- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee
- Kris Letang left the game late in the 3rd period after breaking his nose, but returned in overtime.
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| No need to penalize for this, it's okay. |
Random Notes:
- Kunitz had 2 goals disallowed…for the 2nd time this season
Random Thoughts:
- Pacioretty’s hit on Letang…wow, Shanahan can have fun with that one
- A true display of Cooke’s maturity: he was next to Letang when he got hit and Cooke didn’t chase after Pacioretty
- This was an awfully officiated game, including Letang’s winner.
- Sid looked perfectly fine in back to back nights
- I was surprised Brent Johnson didn’t start either of the weekend back to back games
Takeaways:
1) Fleury Came Up Big. Most people will be talking about Letang, Staal, and Malkin in this one. Don’t forget Fleury. He may have let up 3 goals, but he made some HUGE saves throughout the game, especially on the penalty kill, to keep the Penguins in striking distance. MAF is getting harder and harder to rattle for opposing teams, and it makes the Penguins a dangerous team no matter what the score is. This is the 3rd time this season that the Pens have come back to win a game in which they were down 2 goals (happened 0 times last year).
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| All he does is win win win. |
2) Neal and Sullivan Switch. Neal is still got 7 more minutes of ice time than Sullivan in this game, but Sullivan is starting to play with Malkin and Crosby is more key energy situations. As Sullivan starts scoring again (hopefully he keeps it up), it will be interesting to see how that ice time gets split up and how it affects Neal. It’s clear that both Sullivan and Neal have chemistry with Malkin. The kicker might be finding out who has more chemistry with Crosby.
3) Awful Refs. This game was horrendous. Letang’s goal probably shouldn’t have been allowed. Pacioretty should probably have been given a 5 minute major for his hit on Letang. Orpik’s penalty for hitting Pacioretty in front of the net was a normal hockey play. The linesmen and refs got in the way of a few dump ins and clears. Hell, a ref even got in the way to send Kunitz on a breakaway for his 2nd disallowed goal. The officiating crew was generally horrible in every aspect for this game. Anytime that happens, you’re lucky to get 2 points because it may be out of your hands. Thankfully for the Pens, they won out in this one.
Pens Record: 14-6-4, 32 pts.
Goals For: 77
Goals Against: 59
PP %: 19% (19 for 101)
PK %: 91% (73 for 80)
Next Game: 11/29 @ NYR, 7:30pm LET’S GO PENS!!!
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