The Massacre At Mellon Arena, Pens Win Big (9-2)
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Dec 11, 10:21 PM | Hype this story!
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| Summary |
| It’s been three games since the Pittsburgh Penguins
added two standings points, but if there was any question as to whether
this team was capable of putting a halt to a slump, their effort against
the New York Islanders certainly provided an answer. An early Pascal Dupuis goal initially looked to be a fluke that might be the only tally of the first period, but a series of Islander penalties put the Penguins in prime position to score…and score they did. Miroslav Satan notched his 11 of the season on a nifty play just seconds after muffing a Sidney Crosby pass. Then, when Mark Steit tallied one of his own, Petr Sykora responded with his eighth a mere 11 seconds later. Phillippe Boucher capped off the first period scoring with a booming slapper, for his first of the season. Quite simply, the Penguins dominated the first period with 19 shots — a number they often barely surpass in an entire game. But they didn’t quit, as they have been known to do this season. Instead, they packed on another four in the second period and refrained from allowing the Islanders to match their first period total. Second period scoring started early, with a Evgeni Malkin goal, and five minutes later, Sykora grabbed his second of the night. The first hat trick of his lengthy career alluded him minutes later on an early whistle, despite the puck clearly crossing the goal line. But, with just under five minutes left in the second, Sykora — who has had 44 two-goal games — potted a beauty off a Sidney Crosby pass, sending his teammates and the 16,972 fans in attendance into a frenzy. Dupuis added his second of the night with 31 seconds remaining in the second period. And he wasn’t finished! A relatively quiet third period — aside from some physical shenanigans — gave way to some scoring, as Andy Sutton scored his first of the season for the Islanders. Dupuis, not to be overshadowed by Sykora, buried his his third of the game for the first hat trick of his career, as well. Needless to say, few fans in attendance at Mellon Arena walked away with a hat on their head. In the end, all but five Penguins skaters tallied a point. Nine players had a multi-point game, and of those, Sykora had four points, three players had three points, and five players had two points. Not bad for a team that lost its previous three and seemed to be sinking. At the quiet end of the ice, rookie John Curry stopped 24 of 26 shots, while his counterparts, Joey MacDonald and Yan Danis combined for 29 saves on 38 shots. Next up: the Philadelphia Flyers, who rallied with four third period goals to eventually win in a shootout over the Carolina Hurricanes. |
| Three Stars | ||||
| # | Player | Team | Pos. | Stats |
| 1 | Sykora | Pit | RW | 3 goals, 1 assist |
| 2 | Dupuis | Pit | LW | 3 goals |
| 3 | Satan | Pit | RW | 1 goal, 2 assists |
| Stat Line | |||||||||
| Shots | Faceoffs | Power Plays | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total | Won | Lost | Convert | Total | |
| Penguins | 19 | 14 | 5 | X | 38 | 35 | 32 | 3 | 11 |
| Islanders | 5 | 10 | 11 | X | 26 | 32 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Goal | Assist 1 | Assist 2 |
| 1 | 6:25 13:39 17:29 17:40 18:19 |
Pit Pit NYI Pit Pit |
Dupuis, 4 Satan, 11 (PP) Streit, 7 (PP) Sykora, 8 Boucher, 1 |
Satan Cooke Weight Malkin Crosby |
Scuderi Crosby Hunter Fedotenko Satan |
| 2 | 2:12 7:53 15:42 19:29 |
Pit Pit Pit Pit |
Malkin, 12 Sykora, 9 (PP) Sykora, 10 (PP) Dupuis, 5 |
Goligoski Goligoski Crosby Staal |
Sykora Talbot Staal Scuderi |
| 3 | 13:06 16:48 |
NYI Pit |
Sutton, 1 Dupuis, 6 |
Bailey Cooke |
Park Orpik |
| OT | - | - | - | - | - |
| Penalty Summary | ||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Player | Penalty |
| 1 | 6:57 11:13 12:06 13:01 16:54 |
NYI NYI NYI NYI Pit |
Weight Meyer Thompson Witt Cooke |
Interference – 2:00 Holding – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 Slashing – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 |
| 2 | 3:41 5:43 7:07 15:21 16:56 |
NYI Pit NYI NYI NYI |
Bailer Bench minor (Sykora) Guerin Jackman Sutton |
Holding – 2:00 Too many men on ice – 2:00 Slashing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 |
| 3 | Pit NYI Pit Pit NYI NYI Pit NYI NYI |
2:06 11:33 11:33 11:33 12:55 14:49 15:21 18:59 18:59 |
Boucher Hilbert Malkin Fedotenko Weight Jackman Goligoski Guerin (Comeau) Guerin |
Hooking – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 Unsportsmanlike conduct – 2:00 Misconduct – 10:00 |
| OT | - | - | - | - |
Comments
TIM
Dec 11, 11:54 PM
When they come. they come in droves. You have to feel good for Sykora. He looked so happy getting that third one. Great pass from Sid. Staal had a nice pass on Dupui’s second goal. Nice to see both those guys get first carrer hat tricks.
Mike Wilson
Dec 12, 12:49 AM
Not to take all the credit for Sykora’s HT but…I do recall saying something in the HH Report a few weeks ago along the lines of Sykora’s “can’t score three goals syndrome” (better known as CSTGS) would soon come to an end.
...but I think it was mostly him who was responsible.
Seriously though, this was one of the best passing games I have seen the Penguins play in a long while. Now they just need to do it against teams who are actually competitive. (sorry Islanders…)
DaBich
Dec 12, 06:07 AM
You’re right Mike, the Pens need to do this agaisnt more competitive teams. Let’s hope this is the boost they need!
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