Monarchy Overthrown, Pens win 3-2 in a Shootout!!

Pens beat Kings 3-2 (SO)

Goals:  Sullivan (1) (PP) from Letang, Neal

            Kunitz (5) from Staal, Dupuis

SO Winner: Kunitz

Recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400046860

Top 3:   

1)  Chris Kunitz.  Despite getting leveled in the first period by Ethan Moreau, Kunitz came back to play the role of hero by scoring the game-tying goal and the shootout winner for the Pens.  He led the team with 6 shots and showed great chemistry with Dupuis and Staal tonight.  Kunitz was also smart enough to avoid Justin Williams as he skated around trying to get someone to fight after the Pens took a 1-0 lead (credit to Adams for doing the same after the SJ debacle.)  It’s safe to say his slow start is over!

2)  Marc-Andre Fleury.  24 saves on 26 shots and yet another shootout win for Fleury.  I can’t speak enough about his play this season.  Both goals against were shots that he basically had no chance on, and his positioning was fantastic as usual.  He stopped a penalty shot against Mike Richards, where he gave absolutely no net to shoot at.  As a major key to special teams, Fleury has yet to allow a powerplay goal against this season, which was big tonight as the Kings went 0 for 4 on the powerplay, including a 5 on 3.  To get the extra point, MAF stopped 3 of 4 shootout attempts, putting him at 10 for 12 on the season.

Textbook Goaltending, right?

3)  Jordan Staal.  Staal’s return after a 2 game absence made a big difference on the penalty kill and for Dupuis and Kunitz.  His wingspan allowed him to control the point areas on the PK and his pass behind the net to Kunitz was flat out brilliant for the game-tying goal.  Having him in the lineup makes a big difference for the Pens in all 3 zones.  His line pushed the tempo at the end of the game and gave the Pens their best chance to win.  The only minus on him for the night was a 6 for 20 night in the faceoff circle, as Jarret Stoll owned him on the night.

Honorable Mention to Steve Sullivan for finally scoring his first goal as a Penguin!!!

Sulli can't even smile, just pure relief

Bottom 3:

1)  Richard Park.  Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of minuses marked down for bad plays during the game, but Park certainly got one for his errant pass that led to the Kings first goal.  He put the puck up the middle of the neutral zone right to the Kings, who turned it back in for an odd man rush and a goal.  Park didn’t play much of a role in this game, playing only 8 minutes, and most surprisingly just under a minute on the penalty kill.  I don’t think he deserves it necessarily, but look for Park to be the next guy to move to the healthy scratch list like he started the season if this is how Bylsma wants to use him.

2)  Deryk Engelland.  I’ve determined Engelland has 2 levels of play.  One when he’s on the ice without Orpik, which is fantastic and turns Engelland into a potential game changer.  There’s another level when he’s paired with Orpik, where he looks lost and incompetent.  The Kings got their 2^nd goal on the latter pairing, as Orpik stayed down by the crease but Engelland got caught up in no man’s land in the high slot with 2 Kings able to get beyond him.  The communication between the two just looks very poor.  Aside from that, Engo looked fine, but a goal against is a goal against.

3)  Kris Letang.  Letang on defense is the equivalent of Malkin on offense to me.  Both have flashes of pure brilliance and undoubtedly have the talent to be the best at their position.  But both also seem to get caught up in emotions, and are susceptible to WTF plays.  As for Letang in this game, he did a great job with the assist on the Sullivan goal, and scoring in the shootout.  However, he also made the ill-advised pass that Richards took for a breakaway while the Pens were on the powerplay.  Additionally, his penalty was purely out of emotion and retaliation.  Finally, he was the defenseman that was caught up too far on Park’s turnover that led to the first Kings goal.  I know everyone loves Letang unconditionally and I give him a much harder time than most, but here are a couple stats to look at (courtesy of @PensRadioNet):

- 2 for his last 14 shootout attempts after tonight’s goal

- 1 goal in his last 37 regular season games

- Hasn’t scored an even strength goal in his past 68 games

I like what Letang has talent wise, but I wouldn’t mind if he focused on defense more when we have him out for 30ish minutes a game.  His legs aren’t going to be there to save him all season at this rate.

This is where I like you best!

  

Injury Report:

- Tyler Kennedy (concussion) has been symptom free for a few days and was cleared to return to practice and take contact, but remains out

- Sidney Crosby (concussion) returned to Pittsburgh for a scheduled doctor’s appointment

- Zbynek Michalek (broken finger) remains out for 3-4 weeks

- Brian Strait (hyperextended elbow) remains out for a copule of weeks

- Jordan Staal (lower body) returned to the lineup tonight

- Matt Niskanen (lower body) sat out this game.  Bylsma said he’s day to day.

- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) is out indefinitely at this point (I’m still guessing 4-6 weeks)

Random Notes:

- Sullivan’s goal was his first in 26 games…when he last played the Kings.

- Robert Bortuzzo made his NHL debut and wore #41

- Alexandre Picard made his Penguins debut and wore #54, the first Penguin to ever wear that number.

- Letang played 32:33 tonight and led the team with 7 hits.

Random Thoughts:

- It’s still amazing to me that the Pens can put together these performances with that injury list

- I know it’s only November, but shootout wins don’t count in the tie-breaker for the playoffs and the Pens already have 3.  Not the ideal way to win…

- Just think about how Fleury was playing a year ago at this time…

- I realize that NHL refs put the whistle in their pockets late in games and in overtime…but c’mon, Neal could have been stabbed at center ice and they weren’t going to call anything in OT.  Ridiculous.

- Now starts 5 straight days of "IsSidneyCrosbyComingBackIsSidneyCrosbyComingBackIsSidneyCrosbyComingBack???"

Takeaways:

1)  Special Teams.  When we hit the playoff race in March, it will be interesting to see how many points the Pens earned early in the season completely because of their powerplay and penalty kill.  Another game, another powerplay goal, another perfect penalty kill.  That has been the recipe for success in most of the team’s 9 wins thus far and has been the main reason for success through all of the injuries.  1 for 6 on the powerplay tonight was a little frustrating, but that 1 is a goal the Pens couldn’t find for the life of them last year.  Meanwhile, 4 for 4 on the PK speaks for itself.

2)  New Faces.  Alexandre Picard and Robert Bortuzzo made their Penguins debuts tonight with Lovejoy and Niskanen out of the lineup.  I can honestly say I didn’t notice them much throughout the game, which is fantastic because that is what you want out of non-flashy defensemen (read: anyone except for Letang and Orpik on this team).  Bortuzzo already knows Bylsma’s system, so I don’t expect him to have a tough transition.  I was much more impressed by Picard, who is learning a new system this year with the Baby Pens and looked pretty solid for a newcomer.  The Kings have a big and forceful offense, so if the new guys can handle that, they should be fine moving forward.

Not all new faces look good...end Movember for Bortuzzo!

3)  Goodbye West Coast.  The Pens finished their 2^nd West Coast trip and their 3^rd long distance trip (if you include Wpg/Min) all within the first month of the season.  I’m sure you all can agree that it will be nice to get rid of these 10:30pm starts and get to a “normal” schedule.  With all of the injuries and all of the travel, it’s outstanding that the Pens managed to finish with 21 points in 15 games in 31 days.  The schedule only gets easier from here, which is very exciting for a team that is already 9-3-3…at least minus the fact that we don’t play for the next 5 days.

Pens Record: 9-3-3, 21 pts.

Goals For: 45

Goals Against: 34

PP %:  22% (13 for 60)

PK %:  93% (41 for 44)

Next Game:  Will it be Crosby's return??  (My guess is no, but what do I know.)  11/11 vs Dal, 7pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!