Main Storylines:
- Fleury gets the start tonight looking for win #40. He is currently tied with the opposing goalie, Rinne, for the league lead in wins at 39. Other lineup changes: Park comes in, Tangradi goes out.
- The Pens will clinch a playoff spot tonight if they gain any points tonight.
- Crosby continues his goal “slump” on the season, though his play has certainly been nothing to complain about
- From the Predators side, Alexander Radulov makes his controversial return from the KHL tonight, appearing in his first NHL game since 2008.
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| Will he disrupt the locker room or take the Preds to the Cup? |
Result:
Pens 5 Preds 1
Goals: Malkin (44) from Neal, Letang
Dupuis (22) from Letang, Sullivan
Cooke (17) from Neal
Kunitz (22) from Neal, Orpik
Malkin (45) from Neal, Kunitz
Stats/Milestones:
- Things are getting flat out crazy for the Pens in terms of streaks and milestones to the point that it’s time for a new section to cover it!
- Pascal Dupuis scored his career high 22nd goal and extended his point streak to 8 games now.
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| Might he be the best value on a team of superstars? |
- James Neal recorded a career high 4 assist game and tied his career high 4 point night, which was set all of 2 days ago.
- Marc-Andre Fleury became the first goalie in franchise history to win 40 games in multiple seasons. He also took over the NHL lead in wins with 40.
- The Pens as a team lead the league in scoring with 244 goals and in goal differential with a +59. They also won their 9th straight game at Consol, extending the record streak.
The Good:
- In a game hyped up as a potential Stanley Cup Finals preview, the Pens demonstrated that they might be in a league of their own at this point. Mind you, Nashville lost to Edmonton in their previous game, so they aren’t playing at their best, but it was still a very impressive win for the Pens.
- Not that anyone expected anything else, but the Pens officially clinched a playoff spot with the win.
James Neal – For all of the impressive goals he has scored, did anyone know Neal could display the patience and passing abilities that he did tonight? He put up 4 primary assists and was a +4 tonight, highlighted by a beautiful takeaway in the offensive zone as he baited Rinne until setting up Cooke with an easy tip in goal at the last second. Even Cooke stated he expected Neal to shoot. Neal leapt up to 5th in the scoring with his performance.
Marc-Andre Fleury - It's crazy how quietly he goes about his work nowadays. Another great performance with 29 saves on 30 shots; he just looks so calm and poised in net at this point. Fleury is entering the prime of his career on fire and the crazy part is he could still get better. Now if only he'd learn how to play the puck a little better...
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| A rare moment where Fleury could actually thank Martin. |
Paul Martin – Gotta give credit where it’s due, Martin played a very solid game tonight. Beyond his +3 (overrated stat, right?), his positioning was much better than it was in the Jets game. There were a couple of times where Letang got caught pinching, but Martin was there to handle the odd man rush. He also added 3 blocked shots to his stat line.
Evgeni Malkin – One might argue that Rinne let up some soft goals on Malkin tonight, but hey, when Geno shoots the puck at you 10 times, you’re going to let a couple in. Despite not even reaching the 20 minute mark in ice time, Malkin accounted for 43% of the Pens shots tonight and scored the first and last goals of the game. For everyone worried that Crosby would take away from Malkin – it looks like the whole first line has been reenergized/motivated by Sid’s return.
The Bad:
- Matt Niskanen went out half way through the 2nd period with an upper body injury. He is day to day but will likely miss the games over the weekend.
- Kris Letang left the ice hunched over early in the 2nd period and went straight to the locker room. He ended up returning just a few shifts later, but any potentially injury to Letang should cause concern for Pens fans.
Sidney Crosby – Forget the lack of points, that’s not why I’m listing him here. Crosby looked a little sluggish and tired in this game. His patented speed burst wasn’t there and Nashville seemed to have little trouble neutralizing him. Looks like Sid still has a little bit to go before he’s back into full form.
The Ugly:
- From the Preds side, Pekka Rinne looked less than spectacular after getting pulled in the game before this one. Not to take away anything from the Pens, but Rinne was not in his usual Vezina form. Shea Weber also looked off tonight, so I guess I am discounting the win a little bit compared to a usual victory over the Predators.
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| Weber did more for the Pens than the Preds tonight. |
Thoughts:
- The Predators put a lot of work in on the crease and appeared to focus their offense in tight on Fleury. Radulov got their only goal from a rebound while he was standing on the crease. The tactic obviously didn’t work, but it’s the type of playing style that could lead to a Pens loss via bad bounces. The D, especially Orpik and Engelland, will have to be on the watch for that as teams try to figure out the Pens.
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| Fleury had a lot of company around his blue paint. |
- I was very impressed with the healthy ringing of Boos that rained down on Radulov when his goal was announced. I have complained about the crowd at Consol frequently, but as we get closer to the playoffs, it appears more and more of the regular fans are coming out to actually cheer on the team rather than sit there silently.
- I loved the move of playing Park instead of Tangradi in this game. It appears Bylsma may be trying to match them up against playing styles for opponents. I hope Jeffrey enters this rotation as well, but I guess time will tell.
- After being stuck in the 4/5 slot for months, start rooting for who you want in as the 8th seed as the Pens continue to pressure the Rangers for first!
Pens Record: 46-21-6, 98 pts, 2nd in the Atlantic, 4th in the East
Next Game: 3/24 @ Ott, 7pm
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