Young Guns Fly Past Philly....
The Pittsburgh Penguins were mired in a 5 game winless streak but the NHL schedule maker provided the elixir to cure all that ailed them: the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are off to one of the worst starts in their history and after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Penguins last night, have lost 3 in a row to their cross-state rival. Something that is very rare with these two teams.
The Penguins didn't play a great game, but they did what was needed to win. Sidney Crosby, who has recently begun shooting the puck after a severe case of passitis, scored the teams first goal. The play was vintage Crosby and had to look like a nightmare scene in Antero Niittymaki's head. Crosby came through the neutral zone with speed and set up a 2 on 1 with Chris Thorburn, he decided to take it himself and fired a shot over Niittymaki's right shoulder. Mike Rathje's turnover back in the Penguins zone turned into a goal for the Penguins.
Crosby wasn't the only young Penguin superstar to get in the mix. Jordan Staal, who was dropped off of the second line and had gone 5 games without a point, wasted no time in reminding everyone that he was still a major contributor on the team. He and Michel Ouellet came into the flyer zone on a 2 on 1, Ouellet fed a perfect pass right into Staal's wheelhouse and he got all of it. His one timer found the twine and Staal was credited with his 6th goal of the year.
The Penguins were leading 2-1 heading into the third period, but Geoff Sanderson knotted the contest early in the period. The teams exchanged chances, but the score remained tied as the period began to wane. Michel Therrien knowing that his team had the better of the opportunities throughout the second period, had his team playing a fairly conservative game in the final frame, but he decided to go for the win and put Crosby and Evgeni Malkin back together. The two wasted no time in generating some quality chances. Malkin hadn't done much up to that point, but was now all over the place. You had a feeling that "Geno" was going to get one, and he did just that late in the period. Crosby broke into the zone and was stood up in the face off circle, sending the puck into the left wing corner. Mark Recchi was the first to get to it; Malkin saw the play developing and quickly got into shooting position and was cocked and loaded. Recchi made a perfect pass and Malkin made no mistake in burying the shot. Chock 2 points up for the Penguins.
The game got very chippy late and penalties were handed out like parting gifts to all participants. Ryan Whitney may have earned himself a suspension and a fine for his coach after being assessed an instigating penalty in the final 5 minutes of the game. Whitney racked up 17 penalty minutes at the 19:17 mark of the third for a scuffle with Derrian Hatcher.
The Penguins played a solid game and once again got strong goaltending, especially late in the contest. The timely goal scoring and commitment to playing their system resulted in a victory, but the road gets no easier as they head north to face the 15-1-1 Buffalo Sabres Friday night.
The Penguins didn't play a great game, but they did what was needed to win. Sidney Crosby, who has recently begun shooting the puck after a severe case of passitis, scored the teams first goal. The play was vintage Crosby and had to look like a nightmare scene in Antero Niittymaki's head. Crosby came through the neutral zone with speed and set up a 2 on 1 with Chris Thorburn, he decided to take it himself and fired a shot over Niittymaki's right shoulder. Mike Rathje's turnover back in the Penguins zone turned into a goal for the Penguins.
Crosby wasn't the only young Penguin superstar to get in the mix. Jordan Staal, who was dropped off of the second line and had gone 5 games without a point, wasted no time in reminding everyone that he was still a major contributor on the team. He and Michel Ouellet came into the flyer zone on a 2 on 1, Ouellet fed a perfect pass right into Staal's wheelhouse and he got all of it. His one timer found the twine and Staal was credited with his 6th goal of the year.
The Penguins were leading 2-1 heading into the third period, but Geoff Sanderson knotted the contest early in the period. The teams exchanged chances, but the score remained tied as the period began to wane. Michel Therrien knowing that his team had the better of the opportunities throughout the second period, had his team playing a fairly conservative game in the final frame, but he decided to go for the win and put Crosby and Evgeni Malkin back together. The two wasted no time in generating some quality chances. Malkin hadn't done much up to that point, but was now all over the place. You had a feeling that "Geno" was going to get one, and he did just that late in the period. Crosby broke into the zone and was stood up in the face off circle, sending the puck into the left wing corner. Mark Recchi was the first to get to it; Malkin saw the play developing and quickly got into shooting position and was cocked and loaded. Recchi made a perfect pass and Malkin made no mistake in burying the shot. Chock 2 points up for the Penguins.
The game got very chippy late and penalties were handed out like parting gifts to all participants. Ryan Whitney may have earned himself a suspension and a fine for his coach after being assessed an instigating penalty in the final 5 minutes of the game. Whitney racked up 17 penalty minutes at the 19:17 mark of the third for a scuffle with Derrian Hatcher.
The Penguins played a solid game and once again got strong goaltending, especially late in the contest. The timely goal scoring and commitment to playing their system resulted in a victory, but the road gets no easier as they head north to face the 15-1-1 Buffalo Sabres Friday night.
posted by Bmetzer66 at 12:45 PM
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