Main Storylines:
- 8 wins in a row so far, another would set a new season high!
- Evgeni Malkin’s next point will be his 500th in the NHL…he’s been looking for it for 3 games now
- Two droughts to watch: James Neal has gone 9 games without a goal, since the day before he signed his contract extension. Also, the powerplay has not scored a goal since Letang went out a week and a half ago.
- Engelland returns to the lineup as Brian Strait sits. Take note, Despres clearly just jumped Strait on the depth chart after one game. Also, Tangradi is in for Park – I’m guessing for the inevitable physicality that will be on display with the Bruins. Paul Martin remains out.
Result:
Pens 5 Bruins 2
Goals: Asham (4) from Lovejoy, Adams
Niskanen (4) from Malkin, Neal
Neal (31) (PP) from Malkin
Kunitz (20) from Neal, Malkin
Dupuis (18) from staal, Engelland
The Good:
- 9 wins in a row!! A new season high for the Pens!
- Malkin earned his 500th career point on the Niskanen goal and Neal earned his 200th point. Malkin is the 4th fastest active player to reach that mark (behind Crosby, Ovechkin, Selanne)
- Neal and the PP both broke out of their slumps with the 3rd goal of the game, a 5 on 3 PP goal.
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| So much relief, he's the real deal again! |
- Staal’s assist extended his point streak to a career high 8 games. Meanwhile, the PK has now killed 21 PPs in a row.
The First Line – Welcome back boys, after a few quiet nights the first line came out on fire with their physical game and they turned it into scoring. Malkin and Neal put together 3 point nights, catapulting Malkin back ahead of Stamkos in the Art Ross race for the time being. Malkin also went a stellar 15 for 20 on faceoffs today. The Kunitz goal was simply unfair, as Malkin makes a perfect pass while falling to Neal, who threads the needle past 3 Bruins to Kunitz, who finishes it off with an easy one timer. Speaking of Kunitz, his forechecking was simply unreal today. They pretty much told me to go F myself for thinking about breaking them up (and yet, I still want to when Sid comes back).
Marc-Andre Fleury – I should just make a permanent paragraph for this. He stopped 34 of 36 shots, and was vital in killing off a late 3rd period powerplay when the Bruins were trying to make a comeback. He made a glove save on his back that was absolutely the key save of the game. I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t even notice how high the Bruins shot total was getting, and that’s largely because Fleury makes it look easy.
Joe Vitale – Vitale’s energy and effort is simply unbelievable. No points on the day for him, but he did amass a blocked shot, 3 hits, and 2 takeaways, and was very noticeable on most of his shifts today. Vitale is turning into the ultimate checking line player and I have a feeling he will come up big for the Pens at a key moment down the road.
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| Joe Vitale deserves a movie more than Rudy as far as I'm concerned. |
The Bad:
- There were a couple of defensive lapses that led to both Krejci goals. On the first one, Orpik and Lovejoy got a little ahead of themselves in moving up with the rush and both ended up out of position leading to Krejci’s breakaway. The second one was a consequence of Kunitz not lifting Krejci’s stick even though he was in position to do it.
Tyler Kennedy – TK had a very quiet day, only getting one shot on net (with another off the post). He simply was not noticeable on the ice at all. I was rather surprised to see him not get involved physically with his old scrappy play. Bylsma clearly noticed something to, as TK only had 10 minutes of ice time.
The Ugly:
- Malkin’s hit on Boychuk earned him a 2 min minor for boarding, and I’m guessing a phone call with Shanahan tomorrow. There have certainly been worse hits, but my point of contention on this hit was Malkin had the chance to hit Boychuk in the shoulder, but placed his hand in the middle of Boychuk’s back and shoved him from behind instead. I don’t think anyone can argue that it was a poor decision.
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| No injury to Boychuk as he returned later, I'm guessing $2500 fine for Malkin. |
Thoughts:
- I loved the Tangradi for Park lineup change today. That’s a rare move for Bylsma, who doesn’t like to change his lineups at all during win streaks, but it was a smart one. Boston loves to play physical and Tangradi is much better equipped for that. He had a solid game I felt, and has looked very good in the defensive zone when he has played during this call up.
- The Pens came out today like it was a playoff game and ran out to a 3-0 lead and ran Tim Thomas out of the game. Despite that, it was still a close game throughout the afternoon due to sloppy play. It was a good thing that the Pens capitalized on the first period, because the game was pretty much 50/50 the rest of the way.
- Point shots continue to be a big factor for the Pens. The first goal was on account of Lovejoy’s shot from the blue line and the 2nd was Niskanen’s blast from the point. Both goals were off of odd bounces/blocks/tips, but the lesson remains the same – when the defensemen are getting pucks to the net, the Pens are going to do well.
- The Pens are (for now) 2 points behind the Rangers with a game against them on Thursday. The Rangers still play before then, but Thursday’s game will certainly be a massive one, and one where Crosby may come back. It will be the perfect playoff test as MSG will be rocking, especially if Crosby returns.
Pens Record: 42-21-5, 87 pts, 2nd in the Atlantic, 4th in the East
Next Game: 3/15 @ NYR, 7pm
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