Neal Scores, Neil Gets Thrown Out, Pens Win

Main Storylines:

• Dylan Reese was sent down to WBS when Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen were activated off of IR
• Eric Tangradi was traded to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick
• Vitale returns to the lineup and Jeffrey sits.  Bortuzzo is a healthy scratch with Letang and Niskanen back
• Brandon Sutter is playing in his 300th career game

Result:

Pens 4  Sens 2

Goals:  Dupuis (5) from Crosby, Kunitz

            Neal (9) (PP) from Crosby, Martin

            Neal (10) from Cooke, Engelland

            Crosby (6) from Martin, Neal

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442662

Stats:

• Sidney Crosby recorded his 400th career assist
• Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the team with 4 shots each; Malkin also had 3 missed shots
• Tanner Glass and Brooks Orpik led with 4 hits each
• Orpik, Sutter, and Matt Cooke each had 3 blocked shots
• Tyler Kennedy played a team low 8:39 (Boychuk at 9:24 and Sutter at 11:30)
• Letang played 27:33 in his return, Niskanen played 21:19
• Joe Vitale was 8 for 10 in faceoffs, Malkin was 2 for 9

The Good:

All business for Neal.

• James Neal:  The real deal put together a nice 3 point night and put on a clinic for how to pass the puck in the offensive zone and slide into open space.  Both of his goals were a product of just occupying areas where the Senators completely ignored.  His assist was beautiful; he was in a great position to shoot but got Anderson moving side to side with a pass.  It was a very smart game for Neal.
• Evgeni Malkin:  Malkin gets no love on the scoresheet but directly impacted every goal except for the first one.  He moved the puck well during powerplays and provided strong puck support on the boards.  My favorite thing about his game: far fewer turnovers than usual.

Noteworthy:

(new section since some players like to be amazingly bad and incredibly good all at the same time)

It certainly wasn't the cleanest game for Fleury or Martin.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Flower demonstrated the full spectrum of his game, giving up an odd goal off of his knee and a weak goal off of his glove, and then stopping multiple one-timers and breakaways.  If the Pens don’t score more than 2, this game is a loss and it’s all on Fleury.  But they did score more than 2, so he gets credit for the big saves he made and keeping the Pens in the game.  The biggest takeaway is that he allowed 2 weak goals quickly, was left in the game, and returned back to form.  That’s a big step in maturity for him.
• Paul Martin:  It’s odd to see the 3rd star of the game have 3 penalties, but it worked out for Martin against Ottawa.  He took two of those penalties to hinder breakaways as he had trouble keeping up with Ottawa’s speed (smart penalties to take at the time).  On the flip side though, his puck movement and overall play was fantastic and he really calms the powerplay down for everyone.  Even if it wasn’t his best defensive game, it was still a solid game.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby continues to shine as he closes in on 1st in the scoring race.  His passing and vision are up to speed but I have a major complaint about his blind/backwards/forced passes.  He made 4 of them last night, passing on 3 open shooting lanes in the process.  It didn’t cost the Penguins at all last night, but that’s the type of turnover that leads to a backbreaking goal.  He needs to corral that a bit.

The Bad:

• Craig Adams:  Adams played a little more than usual (over 13 minutes) and had an underwhelming game (along with the 4th line as a whole).  Though it was the whole 4th line that got trapped in the defensive zone numerous times, Adams struggled the most when it came to clears, passes, and just making the smart play.  He struggled to chip pucks along the boards and frequently passed to no one.  For a player used specifically for his defensive prowess, this was an off game for Adams.
• Kris Letang:  If Letang wasn’t returning from injury, he would have been thrown into the next section easily.  He definitely looked a half step slower than usual (expected in his return) but did not change his game to adjust to it.  He completely missed on at least 3 hits which put him out of position in the defensive zone.  I’m glad he’s back in the lineup, but I wonder if it was a game too soon.

The Ugly:

Can't even imagine what the photographer was thinking.

• Cooke “Incident”:  I’ll keep this short:  a) The whistle should have blown when the puck hit the netting before this even happened, b) Cooke did not look at Karlsson’s legs, c) Players raise their skates when posturing along the boards all the time, d) Cooke did not intentionally step on Karlsson’s ankle, e) Chris Neil punching Cooke repeatedly was absurd, f) Cooke deserved the 10 minute misconduct for trying to throw Neil’s stick into the stands, f) There is no supplemental discipline for Cooke, nor should there be, g) I wish Karlsson a speedy recovery, he really is a lot of fun to watch.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Dupuis): + for Despres (keeps puck in), Kunitz (retrieves puck), Crosby (gets puck from Kunitz, pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (goal)
• 1st GA (Da Costa): - for no one.  Only Fleury at fault for the odd goal off his knee
• 2nd GA (O’Brien): - Dupuis (neutral zone turnover), Engelland (can’t close gap on O’Brien), Fleury with another weak effort
• 2nd GF (Neal): + for Letang (gives Crosby a passing option), Malkin (settles it down), Martin (draws 2 dmen, passes to Crosby), Crosby (feeds Neal), Neal (goal)
• 3rd GF (Neal): + for Cooke (offensive zone steal, deflection, screen), Malkin (pass to Engelland), Engelland (shot), Neal (goal)
• 4th GF (Crosby): + for Malkin (puck retrieval, pass to Neal), Neal (pass to Martin), Martin (pass to Crosby), Crosby (goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Cooke's solid play was overshadowed by a circus.

• 2nd Line Wing:  Bylsma made a very nice (and slightly overdue) line switch after the 1st period to put Matt Cooke on the 2nd line and Zach Boychuk on the 3rd line.  I thought the move immediately paid dividends for both lines as Boychuk’s speed opened things up for the 3rd line and Cooke’s style cleared tight areas for Malkin and Neal.  I had completely forgotten the idea of Cooke on the 2nd line after camp since he has been invisible all season, but it was clear in 2 periods that he was a better option than Tangradi, Jeffrey, or Boychuk.  Hopefully Boychuk's familiarity with Sutter will help out the 3rd line as well.  (coughcough, cya TK, coughcough)
• Tangradi Trade:  Tangradi to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick.  I wish him the best of luck. I really do think he was just bad for this system and will be a serviceable NHLer elsewhere.  Watch him score on Friday night now.  Also, thank Winnipeg for the 7th round pick because that clearly shows Tangradi was going to be put on waivers and Winnipeg was high enough on waivers that they may not have even needed to make a trade for him.
• Bortuzzo Scratched:  If you regularly read this blog or follow me on twitter, you know I didn’t like this move (I owe a 41 tweet rant for it now).  I would much rather have Bortuzzo in the lineup than Engelland.  Bortuzzo has more potential, was playing better over the past couple of weeks, and has more of a future here than Engelland.  He also brings the same (if not more effective) pesky grit that Engelland has.  Hopefully Bortuzzo gets back in the lineup soon.
• Bennett Called Up:  Now that Bennett has finally been called up, it’s time to argue about what line he should be on, etc.  Personally, I reunite Kunitz with Malkin/Neal and give Sid his future career winger in Bennett.  If that doesn’t work out, Kunitz and Bennett can always be switched, but I’m willing to jump start the 2nd line at the possible expense of the first line for a couple games when you know Kunitz can always go back to the top line comfortably.  Sid has shown the capability to make anyone a scorer, literally anyone.  Let him do it with Bennett.

Pens Record: 9-5-0, 18 pts

Next Game:  2/15 @ Wpg, 7pm