Lightning 4 Pens 1
Goals: Kennedy (2) from Martin, Staal
Top 3:
1) Matt Niskanen. There wasn’t much good in this game, but Niskanen played one of his more solid games of the season tonight. He did a good job of getting the puck to the net and played soundly on defense, not getting caught out of position once. He also made a nice save to help Fleury keep the puck out of the net with his stick. He really gets this spot for fighting Stamkos towards the end of the game. Anyone who fights a star gets credit for it in my book.
2) Paul Martin. Martin put together one of his best games of the season after a string of poor efforts. He was very solid defensively and assisted on Kennedy’s goal. His pinching into the offensive zone wasn’t overzealous, and he was able to get back into the defensive zone when he needed to. It was a much calmer game for Martin than we have seen in a while.
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| Would you say this makes me worth $5 million? |
3) Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy has come back from his concussion looking no worse for wear so far. He scored the only goal of the game on a nice one-timer. He hasn’t been playing his usual minutes yet, but he has been pretty effective when on the ice. I imagine with a few more games, his forechecking will continue to improve and TK will get back to form quickly.
Bottom 3:
1) Steve MacIntyre. I did this earlier in the season, and I’ll continue to do it. MacIntyre played 3 shifts for a total of 1:42. If you aren’t playing well enough or aren’t good enough to warrant more time than that, you’re going to be the worst player on the team for being a waste of space more than anything. I really don’t understand why he entered the lineup, dad’s trip or not. I’m sure Mr. MacIntyre didn’t get much joy for 1:42.
2) Kris Letang. Letang had a very rough game, turning the puck over frequently and flat out falling at the blue line to give Lecavalier a breakaway on an empty netter in the 3rd period. He also took a very stupid penalty, going after Victor Hedman purely out of frustration/emotion. Letang’s the best when he’s on, but he can be an absolute killer to the Pens when he’s not. He is starting to remind me of Malkin in that regards, which isn’t a good sign for consistency.
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| Discipline? No thanks. |
3) Jordan Staal. Staal played well on the penalty kill, but made a horrific turnover in his own zone for the Lightning’s first goal. Staal was coming out of the corner and flat out mishandled the puck allowing Lecavalier to walk in on Fleury by himself for an easy goal. It’s a rare mistake in the defensive zone for Staal, and I wouldn’t expect to see it again this season, but it was definitely not the start the Penguins wanted against Tampa.
Injury Report:
- Sidney Crosby (concussion) is still out, but on the 2 game Florida trip with the team
- Zbynek Michalek (finger) remains out for a few more weeks, but skated with the team this morning
- Brian Strait (elbow) has been skating before practice, but remains a couple of weeks away
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) will be out for at least 6 weeks still
Takeaways:
1) All in Due Time. Unfortunately, when your penalty kill is clicking at 93%, you have to expect it’s going to drop off at some point. The same way we always said the powerplay drought had to end last season, the penalty kill streak had to go down at some point as well. Fleury allowed his first powerplay goals of the season in this one, and it’s astounding that it took this long for it to happen. The Pens will just have to shake this one off and start up another streak now!
2) Dad’s Weekend. As the Penguins go on their annual dad’s weekend trip, the coaching staff attempts to get everyone into the lineup over the weekend. This means Fleury and Johnson each get a start, and some of the normal players sit for no reason. I bring this up because MacIntyre dressed instead of Richard Park. I’m not saying the Pens would have won this game with Park, but it would have been nice to see a player who could contribute on the PK and with energy rather than one sitting on the bench. Wasn’t the time to impress parents back when these players were kids?
3) 1-3-1. The 1-3-1 really didn’t play a factor in this game. The Penguins did a good job of pressing the Lightning and got plenty of scoring chances without letting them set up the 1-3-1. The difference in this game was a very strong Dwayne Roloson. He anticipated the Pens shots and chances very well. So while we might have heard the 1-3-1 about 80 times during the broadcast, it really didn’t have any effect on the game.
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| Owns the Penguins when Lemieux is busy. |
Pens Record: 11-5-3, 25 pts.
Goals For: 58
Goals Against: 47
PP %: 19% (16 for 84)
PK %: 91% (53 for 58)
Next Game: 11/19 @ Fla, 7:30pm LET’S GO PENS
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