Late Surge Powers Devils Past Penguins

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Feb 4, 10:03 PM | Hype this story!
1 2 3 OT Tot.
0 2 1 0 3
 
Tot. 1 2 3 OT
4 0 1 2 1
 
Summary
First the good news: the Pittsburgh Penguins walked out of New Jersey with a point.

Now the bad news: the New Jersey Devils walked away with two points.

In a game that was dominated almost entirely by the Penguins, the Devils put together a solid stretch of hockey in the third period to tie the game, and carried their intensity into overtime to win the game.

With the conclusion of tonight’s game, there now is a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Division as these two teams now are tied at 63 points with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have two games in hand.

The Penguins seemingly had the game under control until coach Michel Therrien called a timeout in the third period to rest a group of fatigued players.  The stoppage apparently gave the Devils new life, and the black and red never looked back.

Ty Conklin made 21 saves in the losing effort, while Martin Brodeur stopped 31 shots and earned the win.  Petr Sykora also notched his 600th point with his 17th goal of the season.
 
Three Stars
1 Zach Parise Devils left wing 1 goal, 2 assists
2 David Clarkson Devils right wing 1 goal
3 Evgeni Malkin Penguins center 2 assists
 
Stat Line
  Shots Faceoffs Power Plays
  1 2 3 OT Total Won Lost Converted Total
Pittsburgh 10 14 10 0 34 23 39 2 5
New Jersey 6 8 10 1 25 39 23 1 3
 
Scoring Summary
Per. Time Team Goal Assist Assist
1          
2 2:26
11:50
19:18		 Pit
Pit
NJ		 Malone, 15 (PP)
Sykora, 17
Langenbrunner, 9 (PP)		 Malkin
Malkin
Parise		 Sydor
Gonchar
Elias
3 4:30
9:37
11:21		 Pit
NJ
NJ		 Staal, 7 (PP)
Elias, 16
Clarkson, 7		 Talbit
Parise
Oduya		 Letang

Madden
OT 0:37 NJ Parise, 20 Elias Brodeur
 
Penalty Summary
Per. Time Team Player Penalty
1 3:13
8:27
15:41
15:41
17:24		 NJ
NJ
Pit
NJ
Pit		 Mottau
Parise
Malone
Clarkson
Christensen		 High sticking – 2:00
Slashing – 2:00
Fighting – 5:00
Fighting – 5:00
Hooking – 2:00
2 1:07
3:27
17:37		 NJ
NJ
Pit		 Elias
Oduya
Christensen		 Interference – 2:00
Tripping – 2:00
Hooking – 2:00
3 0:30
2:47
11:55
11:55		 Pit
NJ
Pit
NJ		 Malone
Brodeur (Clarkson)
Armstrong
Vishnevski		 Hooking – 2:00
Tripping – 2:00
Unsportmanlike conduct – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
OT        

Comments

  1. KG

    Feb 4, 10:29 PM

    Tough loss obviously. I give the pens credit though. They almost beat the Devils back to back times in their building within several days.

    It was weird, right after the timeout MT used , the Devils picked up their game. It’s a tough loss, but you take the point on the road and move on….

    Malone is playing like a beast….I wish I had a contract year!

  2. Matt Bodenschatz

    Feb 4, 10:37 PM

    Definitely a tough loss. And, to be honest, I attribute the blown lead more to an unbelievable surge from the Devils than to a breakdown by the Penguins. The Devils just hit the switch and there was no stopping them. The game — especially in the third period — had the fingerprints of a playoff game, and I loved it. Who would have thought a Devils game would be exciting to watch?

    It’s a tough one to lose, but a point’s a point, and I’ll take it.

  3. DaBich

    Feb 5, 05:30 AM

    Wow, talk about hitting a switch. I’d like to get that switch from the Devils! Very tough one to lose, broke my heart.

  4. Justin

    Feb 5, 07:44 AM

    I heard on the radio this morning that MT is hanging the entire loss around Whitney’s head. Is this the truth or are there conflicting stories out there about what MT said after the game?

  5. Matt Bodenschatz

    Feb 5, 08:33 AM

    I’d say the Penguins have the same switch, and they turned it on Saturday night with a four-goal third period. Definitely a tough one to lose, though. That game was theirs until Therrien took the timeout, which, by the way, was a smart move. I don’t really think it has anything to do with the timeout — the surge just started right after it.

    Justin, that is correct. Click here to read Therrien’s comments after the game, including this one: “A guy like Ryan Whitney is going to have to be more aggressive around the net. He’s not aggressive at all. It cost [us] the game.”

  6. DaBich

    Feb 5, 09:20 AM

    A funny thing, I had just said to hubby “Therrien should call a time out, get the guys to get it together. It would help.” And he did. And those Devils hit their switch, like you said, Matt, and all hell broke loose. I don’t think the Pens played all that badly. They played well enough to win, until the last half of the third period. In my opinion, their biggest problem lately is…shots on goal. You have to shoot to score.
    As for Whitney, he played no better or no worse than he has all season. I’ve said it before several times, Whitney needs benched a game or three, but the Pens don’t have that luxury NOW. For MT to single Whitney out NOW and blame him for the loss, is totally ridiculous. Letang was in Conklin’s way right in front of the net, and the Devils scored. The stupid penalties by Christensen cost us also. How do you single out one player? MT obviously didn’t choose his words very wisely.

  7. Matt Bodenschatz

    Feb 5, 09:51 AM

    I would agree with your assessment of shots on goal in recent games — but last night that was not the case. They outshout the Devils 34-25, and they scored three goals — a total that 90% of the time will result in a win against the Devils. But, as you said, overall, they didn’t play that bad last night. Even after the Devils turned it on, they still didn’t play poorly — the Devils just played exceptionally well.

    As for Whitney, I agree. He should have been benched at some point in the season — but, as you said, now is not the time. The loss most certainly was not solely his fault, but he certainly didn’t help causes. I think Therrien’s call-out has more to do with trying to motivate Whitney to take his game to last season’s level. Basically, Therrien expects more from Whitney because he knows Whitney can bring more — so he called him on it.

    Letang made a mistake, sure, but overall this season, Letang has been excellent. And, of late, Christensen has elevated his game to new levels. So, again, I think Therrien’s comments on Whitney were more of a culmination of Whitney not playing to expectations all season more than just Therrien citing one game.

    You’ll recall, though, that, in the past, whenever Therrien pulls out something like this, the player in question generally elevates his game to new, never seen levels. It’s a motivator, and Therrien’s a master at motivating.

  8. DaBich

    Feb 5, 10:12 AM

    Yes, Letang and Christensen have been playing exceptionally well. I didn’t mean to say otherwise, just that…it’s not fair to blame one person for a TEAM loss. I’m thrilled to death with the way this team has banded together and motivated each other. The way they have tried harder. It’s wonderful to see.
    I just hope MT’s calling Whitney out works the way he intends, and doesn’t backfire and Whitney withdraws and performs even worse. There I go again, the pessimist coming out. LOL

  9. Ben S

    Feb 5, 10:33 AM

    There was one thing that stood out to me during the game, and I think it is a big indicator of what went wrong.

    When the Pens were up 2-0, and dominating the game, Vs showed a stat of giveaways: 2 from the Pens, 4 for the Devils.
    Around the time the Devils were starting to take over the game, they showed the stat again: 5 giveaways by the Pens to 4 by the Devils.

    The Pens started getting sloppy in the third, and stopped making good passes, and stopped pursuing the puck as well as they had been. It resulted in giveaways and turnovers to the Devils, and completely changed the face of the game.

  10. Matt Bodenschatz

    Feb 5, 10:34 AM

    Yeah, blaming an individual for a team loss is harsh. I can see calling Whitney out saying he needs to make his presence felt in front of the net and that he’s hurting the team — but he wasn’t THE reason the team lost. He was A reason — as you said, Christensen took two dumb penalties that helped, Letang crowded Conklin, Orpik ran around, etc etc.

    I’m confident Therrien’s approach will work. Remember, Whitney is one of the guys he coached in the AHL, so he knows how to push his buttons. These tactics work on young guys and guys who have played for a coach for a long time. I think it will work just fine. Now, if the same was done to, say, Sydor or another player who is new to Therrien, the same might not be true. But, in this case, I’m confident it will spark something in Whitney.

  11. DaBich

    Feb 5, 11:06 AM

    I hope you’re right, Matt. I’m tired of waiting for the REAL Whitney to step up.

    Ben ~ good point!

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