Main Storylines:
- The Pens enter this game on a 7 game winning streak coming out of the All-Star Break
- Quick recap of injuries: Crosby (head/neck – out indef), Despres (knee – out 1-2 weeks), Staal (knee – out 2-3 weeks), Asham (concussion – out indef)
- Colin McDonald has been called up to be the 12th forward with Tangradi and MacIntyre remaining in the AHL
- There has been a lot of talk about Crosby’s injuries and new information about it. The latest is that it is a soft tissue injury in his neck, and they are hopeful it is not a concussion that is causing his problems, but only the soft tissue injury which he will now receive treatment for.
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| "Despite the rumors, Crosby will NOT report to spring training in 3 weeks." |
- Marc-Andre Fleury is playing in his 23rd game in a row
- The teams will meet again tomorrow night in Toronto
Result:
Pens 5 Leafs 4 (SO)
Goals: Cooke (8) from Martin, Park
Sullivan (10), unassisted
Vitale (3) from Dupuis, Kennedy
Malkin (27) from Neal, Sullivan
SO Winner: Malkin
The Good:
- The Pens won their 8th game in a row against enormous odds. They are only the 2nd team in the NHL this season to come back from a 3 goal deficit to win the game. (Oddly enough, Nashville then became the 3rd team about an hour later) Last year, the Pens had 0 wins when trailing after 2, this game was the 5th come from behind victory in the 3rd period this season for them.
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| The new king of the shootout. |
Marc-Andre Fleury – Despite allowing 4 goals, Fleury was named the #1 star (in a rare event where the media actually watched the game). MAF single-handedly kept the Pens in the game, garnering praise from both teams as the best player on the ice. Fleury survived breakaways and numerous odd man rushes and then stopped all 3 shootout attempts he faced to give the Pens a dramatic win.
Kris Letang – Though Letang was quiet in the offensive zone tonight, he proved to be the only competent person in the defensive end all game. He was matched up against Phil Kessel or Joffrey Lupul most of the game, and both registered 0 points. He won’t get any attention for it, but Letang was outstanding on defense.
Joe Vitale – Vitale came out at full speed on the very first shift of the game and continued to throw the body and get gritty against a speedy Leafs team. His efforts were rewarded with the Pens 3rd goal of the game, which was certainly a spark plug for the end.
Steve Sullivan – Sullivan had a very workman-like effort tonight, skating at full speed and throwing the body a little more than we’re used to seeing. He was also rewarded, as he had a great takeaway in his own zone and took it the other way for a slapshot goal to cut the Leafs lead to 2 goals. Sulli ended up with a +3 tonight as he played strong in both ends.
The Bad:
- Defensive zone coverage by the forwards was pretty much non-existent all game. The top line turned out to be -2’s all around.
- Deryk Engelland left the game late in the 3rd period after falling awkwardly when trying to hit one of the Leafs
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| Engo just couldn't keep up tonight. |
Chris Kunitz – Kunitz was a little on the lazy side in his backchecking tonight. The 2nd Leafs goal wasn’t completely his fault, as Niskanen was out of position, but Kunitz had a chance to at least get a stick on Grabovski had he actually provided any effort. However, replays showed Kunitz was gliding into the zone rather than even taking a stride.
James Neal – Neal also had a very weak backchecking effort, and also took a senseless cross-checking penalty early in the 1st period. The Pens killed the penalty, but the Leafs started to pour it on after that play.
Paul Martin – Martin looked simply awful in his own zone, getting caught flat-footed a few times against the Leafs and turning the puck over in his own zone a few too many times. I will give him credit for having some great shifts in the offensive zone though, where he kept the puck in at the blue line and also took the shot that Cooke deflected for the Pens 1st goal.
The Ugly:
- Defensive zone coverage by the defense was also non-existent. The Pens allowed 39 shots on net, and that doesn’t count the posts (at least 3) and missed shots by the Leafs.
- The refs disallowed the Leafs 1st goal because of goalie interference. Supposedly Lupul pushed Michalek into Fleury. In reality, no. The Pens were lucky on that play and another later on where Fleury was down and the puck was whistled dead despite not being covered. Not the best game by the refs.
Deryk Engelland – Engelland simply did not have the speed to match up with how the Leafs play. I hope he is not injured, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Lovejoy in for him tomorrow night. Engelland got blown past for a breakaway (luckily it hit the post) and also looked noncommittal on the Leafs 3rd goal. Additionally, he was caught way out of position (furthest Penguin up the ice) on the 2nd goal.
Zbynek Michalek – Though Michalek ultimately finished even, he simply should have been better. He had trouble controlling the puck in the offensive zone and looked lost along with Martin at times in the defensive zone. The pairing put together some of their worst shifts of the season, but were quite lucky that they play in front of a red-hot Fleury.
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| The panicked look of Michalek...out of position...again... |
- This game was just a perfect example of haves vs. have-nots. The Pens have been there, they know how to win, they know they can and should win, and they willed it in about 12 minutes of hockey in the 3rd period. The Leafs played fast and furious hockey, but ultimately lacked any type of calming presence down the stretch to keep their heads up. The Leafs reminded me of that 07-08 Pens team that couldn’t hold a 2 goal lead for the life of them in the middle of the season.
- Not that it mattered, but Bylsma went with Pascal Dupuis as one of the 6 on the ice at the end of the 3rd period. It was certainly an interesting choice since Dupuis is in a 13 game goal-scoring drought. Luckily, all’s well that ends well!
- Also late in the 3rd period, it’s interesting to note that neither team had a timeout to use. The Pens had used theirs after going down 2-0, and the Leafs used theirs on an icing call. I wonder how badly Ron Wilson wished he had that back.
- It’s still rather early in the playoff race, but this is yet another shootout win that won’t count towards the tiebreaker in the standings. Hopefully it won’t matter, but with how tight the East is, especially in the Atlantic, that could end up being the difference between 1st and 4th in the end.
- The Leafs are expected to go with their backup, Reimer, in net tomorrow night. Does Bylsma dare actually rest Fleury??
- After a ridiculous game 1 of the home and home series, I can’t even imagine what will happen in the 2nd game tomorrow night.
Pens Record: 29-17-4, 62 pts, 3rd in the Atlantic, 5th in the East
Next Game: 2/1 @ Tor, 7:30pm
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