LOGIN | REGISTER | RSS FEEDS

The Confluence

Crosby bails out Penguins in 3-2 OT win over Panthers

by Tony on 10/23/09 at 11:34 PM ET
Comments (0)

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.

Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
 Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Comments

Be the first to comment.

Add a Comment

Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.

Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.

Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.

Most Recent Blog Posts

About Kukla’s Korner

Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet.  We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.

The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here.  For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.

Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!

Go Ad Free On KK

Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.