In the last two years the Pens have taken on the Sens twenty times, and while the Penguins may have turned their season around against the Senators last season the Sens may have turned their season around against the Pens Saturday afternoon.
The first twenty minutes, were hard hitting, and pretty defensive for both teams as no goals were scored and not a single penalty was called.
That changed early in the second period as Jason Spezza went in on Dany Sabourin. Sabourin who went out to poke-check was out too far and left the net empty for Spezza's first goal of the afternoon. The goal was unassisted and was scored at 4:01.
Spezza scored again this time with a shot from in front of the net at 8:52, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson assisted.
Not much later Eric Godard and Chris Neil dropped the gloves. The fight was pretty even matched and after closed to two minutes both combatants gave up calling it a draw.
Jordan Staal was lucky again as he tipped in his ninth of the year with help from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the power play. Jason Spezza was in the box for hooking when Staal scored at 16:17, brining his team within one.
However the Sens had other plans as Spezza completed his hat-trick with a weird goal from behind the net. His shot bounced off of Kris Letang`s skate and went in between Sabourin's leg and the post. Filip Kuba and Dany Heatley assisted at 19:21.
Malkin brought his team within one and put himself three points of the second place Sidney Crosby in the NHL scoring race. Jordan Staal picked up a loss puck and was off with Malkin into the Sens zone. The short-handed goal was scored at 9:12.
But the Sens managed to hold the Pens off for the rest of the game coming away with two more points.
The three stars were 3. Dany Heatley, 2. Daniel Alfredsson, 1. Jason Spezza.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), Philippe Boucher (undisclosed), Tyler Kennedy (knee), and Mike Zigomanis (undisclosed) all missed the game.
Monday night the Pens are at home to take on the Buffalo Sabers at 7:38.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Two for Two
The Penguins seem to be better on the second night of back-to-back games and proved this against the Canes in Carolina. The battle of the Staals continued Thursday it was Jordan vs. Eric while Wednesday night it had been Jordan vs. Marc. Coming into the game Jordan was just two points and one goal behind his brother Eric who is now playing in this fifth NHL season.
Now using black tape instead of white as a suggestion by Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora notched his sixth of the year from the hash after a beauty of a pass from Sidney Crosby. Alex Goligoski also assisted on the power play goal at 10:53.
Pascal Dupuis who had been a healthy scratch just two games before scored his third of the year less than two minutes after Sykora`s goal. Sidney Crosby helped out at 12:30.
Early in the second period Tuomo Ruutu was called for hi-sticking and this lead to Petr Sykora`s second goal of the game. Both of Sykora`s goals came on the power play, the second was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at 1:53.
Ruutu on his first shift after serving his penalty scored his ninth of the season at 2:12 to get his team on the board.
Miroslav Satan who was having a bit of a goal-less steak notched his tenth of the year with help from Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang at 6:51. The puck went in off of a Canes defenseman, and even though there was a scramble in front of the net neither Sidney Crosby nor Pascal Dupuis touched the puck.
Three-quarters of the way through the period the Canes got themselves on the board again and brought themselves within two goals. Matt Cullen scored on the power play while Eric Godard was in the sin bin for hooking. Ray Whitney and Rob Brind'Amour assisted at 1554.
The Pens however increased their lead to three goals when Ruslan Fedotenko scored his fifth of the year with help from Evgeni Malkin at 18:27.
The score remained the same through the third and the Pens game away with the win. Dany Sabourin who didn`t play his best game against the Rangers the night before stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced.
The three stars were 3. Dany Sabourin, 2. Petr Sykora, 1. Sidney Crosby.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), Philippe Boucher (undisclosed), Tyler Kennedy (undisclosed), and Mike Zigomanis (undisclosed) all missed the game.
Next the Pens finish off their road-trip in Ottawa where they take on the Senators for the first time since Sweden. The opening face-off is set for 2:08.
Now using black tape instead of white as a suggestion by Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora notched his sixth of the year from the hash after a beauty of a pass from Sidney Crosby. Alex Goligoski also assisted on the power play goal at 10:53.
Pascal Dupuis who had been a healthy scratch just two games before scored his third of the year less than two minutes after Sykora`s goal. Sidney Crosby helped out at 12:30.
Early in the second period Tuomo Ruutu was called for hi-sticking and this lead to Petr Sykora`s second goal of the game. Both of Sykora`s goals came on the power play, the second was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at 1:53.
Ruutu on his first shift after serving his penalty scored his ninth of the season at 2:12 to get his team on the board.
Miroslav Satan who was having a bit of a goal-less steak notched his tenth of the year with help from Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang at 6:51. The puck went in off of a Canes defenseman, and even though there was a scramble in front of the net neither Sidney Crosby nor Pascal Dupuis touched the puck.
Three-quarters of the way through the period the Canes got themselves on the board again and brought themselves within two goals. Matt Cullen scored on the power play while Eric Godard was in the sin bin for hooking. Ray Whitney and Rob Brind'Amour assisted at 1554.
The Pens however increased their lead to three goals when Ruslan Fedotenko scored his fifth of the year with help from Evgeni Malkin at 18:27.
The score remained the same through the third and the Pens game away with the win. Dany Sabourin who didn`t play his best game against the Rangers the night before stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced.
The three stars were 3. Dany Sabourin, 2. Petr Sykora, 1. Sidney Crosby.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), Philippe Boucher (undisclosed), Tyler Kennedy (undisclosed), and Mike Zigomanis (undisclosed) all missed the game.
Next the Pens finish off their road-trip in Ottawa where they take on the Senators for the first time since Sweden. The opening face-off is set for 2:08.
Not what they were looking for.
A loss was most probably what the Pens wanted to start of the month of December with, but that`s what happened. The New York Rangers took a two more point from the Pens and for the second time this season the win came in a shoot-out.
Early in the first period Eric Godard dropped the gloves with Colton Orr. But that didn`t stop Orr from later messing with Sidney Crosby and causing Brooks Orpik to take two penalties at 12:23 of the first. Less than a minute later however the Rangers were called for two many men even up the "playing field."
On the 4-on-4 Crosby was alone in the Rangers end and took the puck around the net to set up the play. The "trailer" Mark Eaton was in front of the net when Crosby dished the puck out and scored his first goal in a Penguin uniform. Eaton was playing in his 400th NHL game and scored his first goal in 91 games with the help of Sidney Crosby at 13:56.
Mid-way through the second period Jordan Staal got lucky as a Rob Scuderi point shot grazed his stick before going in past Henrik Lundqvist at 9:35. Matt Cooke also assisted on Staal`s eighth of the year.
But just as the first meeting between the two teams the Rangers came back from a two goal deficit Nikolai Zherdev notched his ninth of the year at 10:56 and Petr Prucha who had been scratched for the previous ten games scored at 14:30.
At the end of regulation the game was tied at two and remained the same at the end of the extra five minutes.
Dany Sabourin who was been good in shoot-outs this season seemed to be a completely different person Wednesday night. He let Naslund, Zherdev, and Sjostrom's shot go past him as the Rangers took the win. Kris Letang who had been scoreless in shoot-outs this season blasted a beauty past Lundqvist though it did not matter because Miroslav Satan failed to capitalize on his shot.
The three stars were 3. Petr Prucha, 2. Henrik Lundqvist, 1. Nikolai Zherdev.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), and Philippe Boucher (undisclosed) all missed the game. Tyler Kennedy and Mike Zigomanis left the game with undisclosed injuries and did not return.
The Pens take on the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night at 7:08 as the Battle of the Staals continues.
Early in the first period Eric Godard dropped the gloves with Colton Orr. But that didn`t stop Orr from later messing with Sidney Crosby and causing Brooks Orpik to take two penalties at 12:23 of the first. Less than a minute later however the Rangers were called for two many men even up the "playing field."
On the 4-on-4 Crosby was alone in the Rangers end and took the puck around the net to set up the play. The "trailer" Mark Eaton was in front of the net when Crosby dished the puck out and scored his first goal in a Penguin uniform. Eaton was playing in his 400th NHL game and scored his first goal in 91 games with the help of Sidney Crosby at 13:56.
Mid-way through the second period Jordan Staal got lucky as a Rob Scuderi point shot grazed his stick before going in past Henrik Lundqvist at 9:35. Matt Cooke also assisted on Staal`s eighth of the year.
But just as the first meeting between the two teams the Rangers came back from a two goal deficit Nikolai Zherdev notched his ninth of the year at 10:56 and Petr Prucha who had been scratched for the previous ten games scored at 14:30.
At the end of regulation the game was tied at two and remained the same at the end of the extra five minutes.
Dany Sabourin who was been good in shoot-outs this season seemed to be a completely different person Wednesday night. He let Naslund, Zherdev, and Sjostrom's shot go past him as the Rangers took the win. Kris Letang who had been scoreless in shoot-outs this season blasted a beauty past Lundqvist though it did not matter because Miroslav Satan failed to capitalize on his shot.
The three stars were 3. Petr Prucha, 2. Henrik Lundqvist, 1. Nikolai Zherdev.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), and Philippe Boucher (undisclosed) all missed the game. Tyler Kennedy and Mike Zigomanis left the game with undisclosed injuries and did not return.
The Pens take on the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night at 7:08 as the Battle of the Staals continues.
Sidney Crosby "Tricks" Devils.
Just one day after a loss to the Buffalo Sabers the Pens were at home to take on rival New Jersey Devils for the second time this year.
Early in the first period Sidney Crosby was off on a break-away into the Devils zone. His "re-bound", back-hand shot beat Clemmensen at 1:21. Miroslav Satan and Hal assisted.
The first period ended with the Pens leading 1-0 and out-shooting the Devils 16-12.
Petr Sykora who was standing on the door step tip his fifth of the year past Clemmensen at 7:26 to give his team a 2-0 lead. The power play goal was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy.
Crosby however wanted another goal of his own and a diving play by Malkin helped him to get one. Crosby's second of the game and twelfth of the year game at 11:29 of the second period.
The Pens took a 3-0 lead to the second intermission but the Devils got themselves on the board early in the third period. Mike Rupp scored his second of the year at 1:54 with help from Patrick Elias and Brian Gionta.
Not much later Sidney Crosby and Mike Rupp "mixed it up" along the boards and were sent to the penalty box for roughing.
Though it wasn`t pure, or natural, it was still a hat-trick when Sidney Crosby netted his third of the night. Clemmensen had gone to the bench for the extra attacker leaving Crosby with an empty net to shoot on. Though he was tripped up on the way to the net he still managed to get his stick on the puck and knock it into the empty net. Evgeni Malkin and Mike Zigomanis assisted on the goal at 17:59.
The three stars were 3. Petr Sykora, 2. Evgeni Malkin, 1. Sidney Crosby.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), and Philippe Boucher (undisclosed) all missed the game along with healthy scratch Pascal Dupuis.
The Pens next take on the New York Rangers Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The opening face-off is set for 7:08
Early in the first period Sidney Crosby was off on a break-away into the Devils zone. His "re-bound", back-hand shot beat Clemmensen at 1:21. Miroslav Satan and Hal assisted.
The first period ended with the Pens leading 1-0 and out-shooting the Devils 16-12.
Petr Sykora who was standing on the door step tip his fifth of the year past Clemmensen at 7:26 to give his team a 2-0 lead. The power play goal was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy.
Crosby however wanted another goal of his own and a diving play by Malkin helped him to get one. Crosby's second of the game and twelfth of the year game at 11:29 of the second period.
The Pens took a 3-0 lead to the second intermission but the Devils got themselves on the board early in the third period. Mike Rupp scored his second of the year at 1:54 with help from Patrick Elias and Brian Gionta.
Not much later Sidney Crosby and Mike Rupp "mixed it up" along the boards and were sent to the penalty box for roughing.
Though it wasn`t pure, or natural, it was still a hat-trick when Sidney Crosby netted his third of the night. Clemmensen had gone to the bench for the extra attacker leaving Crosby with an empty net to shoot on. Though he was tripped up on the way to the net he still managed to get his stick on the puck and knock it into the empty net. Evgeni Malkin and Mike Zigomanis assisted on the goal at 17:59.
The three stars were 3. Petr Sykora, 2. Evgeni Malkin, 1. Sidney Crosby.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed), and Philippe Boucher (undisclosed) all missed the game along with healthy scratch Pascal Dupuis.
The Pens next take on the New York Rangers Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The opening face-off is set for 7:08
Penguins' Leads not Always Safe
This is true of not only this season, but of last as well. This may because the players get "too comfortable" and start to "slack off". And although it would seem odd, the Pens are very good and coming back from even three goal deficits. However in Friday's game against the Sabers this wasn`t the case, the Pens scored first, but couldn`t hold onto their lead.
Mid-way through the first period Tyler Kennedy fed the puck behind the net to line-mate Matt Cooke, Cooke put it out front where Kennedy put it in for his sixth of the year. Rob Scuderi also assisted on the goal at 10:29.
However less than a minute later the Sabers got themselves on the board, Drew Stafford scored his third of the year at 11:25.
Mid-way through the second period Brooks Orpik was called for interference and with just seconds remaining on his penalty the Sabers notched their second goal of the game to take the lead. Paul Gaustad netted his first of the year at 12:21.
The Pens who don`t like to be trailing, really who does, tied the game just 34 seconds later. A Malkin blast from the point was tipped in by Sidney Crosby for his ninth of the year at 12:55.
And with less than one minute remaining in the period the Pens took the lead with yet another Sidney Crosby goal, again Evgeni Malkin assisted at 19:04.
But the third period was not very kind to the Pens. The Sabers scored two unanswered goals to take the win. Thomas Vanek scored his sixteenth of the year at 3:11, and Paul Gaustad scored his second of the game and of the season at 16:36.
The three stars were 3. Sidney Crosby, 2. Drew Stafford, 1. Paul Gaustad.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Marc-Andre Fleury all missed the game along with healthy scratches Mark Eaton and Ruslan Fedotenko. Philippe Boucher left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury.
Next the Pens come home to take on the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night at 7:38.
Mid-way through the first period Tyler Kennedy fed the puck behind the net to line-mate Matt Cooke, Cooke put it out front where Kennedy put it in for his sixth of the year. Rob Scuderi also assisted on the goal at 10:29.
However less than a minute later the Sabers got themselves on the board, Drew Stafford scored his third of the year at 11:25.
Mid-way through the second period Brooks Orpik was called for interference and with just seconds remaining on his penalty the Sabers notched their second goal of the game to take the lead. Paul Gaustad netted his first of the year at 12:21.
The Pens who don`t like to be trailing, really who does, tied the game just 34 seconds later. A Malkin blast from the point was tipped in by Sidney Crosby for his ninth of the year at 12:55.
And with less than one minute remaining in the period the Pens took the lead with yet another Sidney Crosby goal, again Evgeni Malkin assisted at 19:04.
But the third period was not very kind to the Pens. The Sabers scored two unanswered goals to take the win. Thomas Vanek scored his sixteenth of the year at 3:11, and Paul Gaustad scored his second of the game and of the season at 16:36.
The three stars were 3. Sidney Crosby, 2. Drew Stafford, 1. Paul Gaustad.
Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Marc-Andre Fleury all missed the game along with healthy scratches Mark Eaton and Ruslan Fedotenko. Philippe Boucher left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury.
Next the Pens come home to take on the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night at 7:38.
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