The Confluence
Ward, Hurricanes stifle Penguins, 2-1
by Tony on 01/20/09 at 10:38 PM ET
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Sometimes you just have to tip your hat. Tonight, you just gotta do that for Cam Ward.
Ward stoned the Penguins with 32 saves, many of them of the outstanding variety, and the Hurricanes got a much-needed win at the Igloo, 2-1 over the Penguins.
Marc-Andre Fleury was no slouch himself, making 38 saves. He was, however, the recipient of a bad bounce when the Canes’ first goal deflected off the body of the Pens’ Rob Scuderi.
Besides Ward, the game can be narrowed down to two areas: the increased pressure that the Canes put on the Pens in the second period, and, once again, the failure of the Penguins’ powerplay.
[[ By the way, how long am I going to have to keep repeating that ?? ]]
The Canes came out flying in the second period, and the Pens simply did not match it. And while they only scored one goal, that one goal was eventually enough to win the game.
The Penguins’ powerplay went 1 for 6, including a four minute high-sticking penalty with 4:15 remaining in the game, which included the Pens pulling Marc-Andre Fleury with one minute left. However, it was more of the same, Penguins standing around, no one in front of the net, and relying on pretty passes.
Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins the lead early in the game at the 2:33 mark on the powerplay. Sidney Crosby brought the puck around the Canes’ net and fed Philippe Boucher for a one-timer that Ward stopped, however Malkin was there to poke the rebound home on his second attempt to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
The Canes knotted the game up at one at the 14:30 mark when Ray Whitney’s shot from the left point deflected off Scuderi and past Fleury to make it 1-1.
The eventual game-winner started on a 3-on-2 break. Fleury made the initial stop, but the rebound went to the boards where Justin Williams made a nice centering feed to Eric Staal, who deflected it through Fleury’s five hole to give the Canes a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Other notes:
- Tonight was Boucher’s best game as a Penguin. He pinched in for several quality one-timers.
- NHL faceoff leader Rod Brindamour won 16 of 22 faceoffs.
- Paul Bissonnette and Eric Godard each only got 3 minutes of ice time.
- Eric Staal had 9 shots on goal for the Canes.
The Pens are now off for the All-Star break.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
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