The Confluence
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Crosby bails out Penguins in 3-2 OT win over Panthers
by Tony on 10/23/09 at 10:34 PM ET
Comments (9)
Over the course of an 82 game schedule, you take the wins anyway you can get ‘em, I imagine.
Like tonight, where the Penguins mailed it in for the first two periods, before waking up with two third period goals to tie the game, and eventually winning 3-2 in a shootout over the Florida Panthers.
Sidney Crosby did the damage for the Penguins with two regulation goals, including the first short-handed goal in his NHL career, along with the only shootout goal.
The Penguins have now started the season with a 9-1 record, whose 18 points ties the record for most points after 10 games for a defending Stanley Cup champion with the ‘84-85 Oilers and the ‘92-‘93 Penguins.
Give the Panthers a load of props, they played an outstanding road game tonight. They completely outworked the Penguins, especially in the first two periods. They were getting to loose pucks first, getting open looks, and were getting the bounces. Combine that with Tomas Vokoun making several outstanding saves, and the Panthers were well on their way to their biggest win of the season.
The Panthers got on the board first on a powerplay after an Alex Goligoski cross-checking penalty when Steven Reinprecht took control of a loose puck in front of Pens’ goalie Brent Johnson and quickly wristed it into the net for a 1-0 Panthers lead at 12:39.
They doubled their lead a few minutes later off a faceoff win, which led to Nathan Horton’s hard wrister that Johnson stopped, but trickled behind him, where Reinprecht easily tapped it in to make it 2-0.
Conversely, the Penguins looked eerily similar to how they looked vs. Phoenix, that is, outhustled, outworked, disinterested, yadda, yadda.
The Penguins finally got on the scoreboard early in the third period on the powerplay, when Goligoski made a cross-ice pass to Crosby for a one-timer that barely eluded Vokoun to cut the Panthers’ lead to 2-1 at the 2:14
It remained that way until the final minutes of regulation, when HCDB put both Evgeni Malkin and Crosby on the penalty kill. Malkin brought the puck into the Panthers’ zone, around the goal, and fed Crosby for the one-timer that deflected off a Panthers’ body and into the net to tie the game at two.
After overtime didn’t solve anything, so in the shootout Crosby ended up being the only shooter to beat the goalie with a nice backhand/forehand move to slide the puck past Vokoun.
Notes:
- Game #1 without Sergei Gonchar. Martin Skoula was a solid replacement.
- Skoula and Goligoski both led the Penguins with four blocked shots.
- Matt Cooke led the Pens with five hits.
The Penguins turn right around and face the Devils tomorrow night at the Igloo.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
That’s correct. Though I’d say they phoned it in (weren’t even there to mail it). Johnson made some insane saves once again and let’s in some semi-soft goals (kind of like fleury). I still feel like Curry was slighted a bit, but Johnson IS a good fit for a backup goaltender…and he has an amazing glove hand.
You only make excuses when you lose, however, the panthers were playing the stick interference game all night. Skoula played both well and cruddy hockey. I’m not sure if it’s “rust” or maybe his game is to stand there on a 3 on 1 and let the lead guy shoot without trying to anything. He CAN make amazing lead passes however. From this game (alone): better passer than boucher without the booming slap shot; not physical, and not a positional defenseman. We’ll have to give him 5 games before passing judgment, but it seemed like Bylsma was giving him big minutes (didn’t check).
That booth “shot put” was hilarious! Vokoun was amazing as well, but he really didn’t need to be all the shots came from outside the circles. +1 for kunitz fighting, +2 for him winning it.
Posted by stoneman from vegas on 10/23/09 at 11:55 PM ET
I haven’t seen the game yet, only the highlights and stats, opting for a good night’s sleep instead. Skoula is the primary defensive replacement and needs as many minutes as he can get after months without a regular game. Florida was a perfect opportunity even though it was a closer contest than I expected. Perhaps the focus was drifting towards the game against New Jersey tonight. Then again, we need Crosby and Malkin to turn it up offensively during Gonchar’s injury period regardless of defensive replacement. Not the Lemieux five goals in five different ways, but Crosby’s three goal subset was enough.
I’m glad that Brent Johnson got his win in the end, because he’s a fantastic backup for this team. An marked improvement compared to last season. The team just needs to be reminded that the opponent isn’t a walkover when he’s in goal. All in all, two points, now the tricky one.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 10/24/09 at 05:35 AM ET
you cant really belive that kunitz won that fight,cmon
Posted by Edillac from jesenice,europe on 10/24/09 at 06:57 AM ET
It’s a weekend game and Sid comes up big again. I’m tellin’ ya, his numbers on the weekend are way better than during the week. I don’t get it either?
I agree with cs6687, I thought they played a good secong period too. I know the first wasn’t good but I thought they carried the play for the most part in the second.
Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 10/24/09 at 09:28 AM ET
Oh Yeah, I knew the fans weren’t going to throw their hats on the ice when Sid scored the shootout goal. It’s not a hat trick.
They know the deal, not like the fans in Washington.
Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 10/24/09 at 09:53 AM ET
After several months, the fans in Washington have learned the number eight and the colour red. The rest is still an uphill battle. On the plus side, they may have passed Philadelphia in some categories, eg. knowing that the most goals - not the most penalties - wins the game.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 10/24/09 at 10:31 AM ET
How about Malkin’s effort on both of those goals? Crosby only had to finish.
Looking at the boxscore, it seems he is shooting a LOT more than he used to. The two games I’ve been able to see the Pens play this year, he made some beautiful passes than no one converted…maybe he’s decided shooting more is better…it works for Ovechkin and Carter.
Posted by dip on 10/24/09 at 01:26 PM ET
@dip - True, great effort on both of those. But I felt, other than those two plays, he had an “off” night…. Maybe it was just one of those nights when the puck just jumps off your stick all night long, but he had several occasions when I thought they were gonna be scoring chances and he’s lose possession of the puck….
Now that I think of it, lots of players had the puck jump off their stick last night, oh well….
Posted by Tony from Virginia Beach, VA on 10/24/09 at 02:05 PM ET
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Ugly first period for the Penguins tonight. But they dominated from the second period on. Johnson was terrific. Vokoun kept the Panthers from being routed. The power play didn’t look too bad. They just need to finish. On some nights, Sid and Geno are there to save the day. Tonight was one of those nights.
Posted by cs6687 on 10/23/09 at 10:57 PM ET