The Confluence
Next entry: Crosby changing for the better
Previous entry: Kunitz’ hat trick fuels Penguins to 6-4 win over Bruins
Malkin’s 5 points lead Penguins over Thrashers, 6-2
by Tony on 03/17/09 at 09:50 PM ET
Comments (2)
The one aspect of the Penguins’ play since the coaching change to Dan Bylsma that had not improved continued to be their terribly disappointing powerplay.
Over the last couple of games, they finally started to make a tweak or two, and tonight at the Igloo they broke out for three powerplay goals in a 6-2 thrashing of the Atlanta Thrashers. Evgeni Malkin had five points, including two goals, for the Pens, while Sergei Gonchar added four.
The Penguins win, combined with the Flyers’ 3-2 loss to Detroit tonight, gives them 84 points and a tie with Philly for 4th place in the Eastern Conference, although the Flyers still have three games in hand.
The Pens improved to 11-1-3 under IHCDB.
The Pens’ powerplay went 3-for-7. Malkin moved back to the right boards from the left, where he was way out of position, even for a player of his stature. Right-handed defenseman Kris Letang was moved to the 1st unit on the left point for his one-timer capability. But the biggest improvement has been the placement of Chris Kunitz in the middle, where he can not only bang in rebounds but provide a decent screen in front of the goaltender.
That said, the previously red-hot Thrashers, winners of six in a row coming into tonight, jumped on the Pens on the 1st shift and got a good bounce of the puck to take a quick lead. Hal Gill made a poor outlet pass that was intercepted by Todd White. White made a centering pass to Bryan Little, who fired a wrister that Marc-Andre Fleury stopped. Little battled for the rebound and was able to get a stick on the puck and into the net to give the Thrashers a 1-0 lead.
It remained that way until midway through the quarter when on a Pens’ powerplay Gonchar fired a slapper from the center point that Thrashers’ goalie (and former Pen) Johan “Moose” Hedberg didn’t see until it was too late, because of a perfect screen by Kunitz, to the tie game at one.
Back on the powerplay late in the quarter, Sidney Crosby fired a wrister from the right slot that Hedberg stopped, but Kunitz was there to bang the rebound home to give the Pens a 2-1 lead.
Early in the second period, the third line chipped in as Tyler Kennedy made a nice centering pass to Jordan Staal in the slot for a one-timer past Hedberg to make it 3-1 Penguins.
Malkin contributed next after a faceoff. Gonchar gathered the puck and fired a slapper from the left point that Hedberg stopped, but Malkin kicked the puck with his skate to his backhand and banged it into the net to make it 4-1 at the 12:25 mark.
Only 43 seconds later, back on the powerplay, Malkin fired a one-timer from the right boards that deflected off the stick of Garnet Exelby and past Hedberg to give the Pens a 5-1 lead.
The Thrashers chipped a little into the lead 45 seconds later when an errant pass deflected off the helmet of Pens’ defenseman Mark Eaton and into the Pens’ net to cut the Pens’ lead to 5-2.
The scoring was closed out at 7:47 lead of the third quarter when Malkin made a great pass to Gonchar for a 2-on-1 break along with Eaton. Gonchar fed Eaton for the tap-in goal for the 6-2 final.
Other notes:
- In addition to the three powerplay goals, the Pens’ penalty kill went 7-for-7.
- OK, who besides me was sick of Steigy constantly calling Victor Kozlov “Kozzy” ??
- The official scorer must’ve loved the Thrashers, giving them 40 hits to the Penguins’ 16.
- 7 for 10 on faceoffs for Max Talbot.
The Penguins are now off until Friday, when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Igloo.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
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.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Turn Out The Lights, The Party’s Over: I’m Stepping Down
Bill Cowher’s Daughter to Marry Kevin Westgarth
Penguins Sign Forward Steve MacIntyre
Penguins Re-Sign Forward Dustin Jeffrey to Two-Year Deal
Crosby Donation Leads To Renovation at Children’s Hospital
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!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
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.
Do you mean Slava Kozlov…viktor kozlov is with the caps if I recall correctly.
Posted by thestoneman from Vegas on 03/18/09 at 03:09 AM ET