Malkin, Fleury Lead Penguins To Needed Victory (6-3)

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Dec 18, 10:58 PM | Hype this story!
Pittsburgh Penguins
1 2 3 OT SO Tot.
2 3 1 - - 6
 
Atlanta Thrashers
Tot. 1 2 3 OT SO
3 1 1 1 - -
 
Summary
The Pittsburgh Penguins showed off their fire power, scoring six goals on just 20 shots to earn a much-needed victory, both for standings points and team morale.

Matt Cooke opened the scoring with a nifty short-side goal off a pass from rookie Tim Wallace, who tallied his first NHL point.  Evgeni Malkin added another midway through the first, but Marty Reasoner poked in a deflating goal with 39 second remaining in the period, giving the Penguins something to think about during intermission.

Their thinking worked, as they burst out with a three-goal second period, including two power play goals, one from Jordan Staal and another from  Miroslav Satan.  Bryan Little added his own power play marker for Atlanta, but Philippe Boucher negated it with a slapper 32 seconds later.

Just when it appeared the scoring was over, Colby Armstrong powered one past Marc-Andre Fleury, who looked sharp all night after missing more than a month with what is believed to have been a groin injury.  Malkin closed out the scoring with an empty netter off a selfless pass from Sidney Crosby, who finished the game with two assists.

The Penguins return to Pittsburgh for a Saturday game against the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, and hopefully they’ll be able to carry over some positive elements from this game to begin a new streak.
 
Three Stars
# Player Team Pos. Stats
1 Malkin Pit C 2 goals, 2 assists
2 Fleury Pit G 28 saves, .903 sv%, win
3 Staal Pit C 1 goal, 1 assist
 
Stat Line
  Shots Faceoffs Power Plays
  1 2 3 OT Total Won Lost Convert Total
Penguins 6 9 5 X 20 27 34 2 3
Thrashers 9 10 12 X 31 24 27 1 5
 
Scoring Summary
Per. Time Team Goal Assist 1 Assist 2
1 5:32
9:40
19:21		 Pit
Pit
Atl		 Cooke, 4
Malkin, 13
Reasoner, 6		 Wallace
Sykora
Kovalchuk		 Staal

Thorburn
2 3:30
5:54
7:32
8:04		 Pit
Pit
Atl
Pit		 Staal, 11 (PP)
Satan, 12 (PP)
Little, 12 (PP)
Boucher		 Malkin
Taffe
White
Malkin		 Crosby
Fedotenko
Kozlov
Sykora
3 14:55
19:33		 Atl
Pit		 Armstrong
Malkin, 14 (EN)
Crosby
Scuderi
OT - - - - -
 
Penalty Summary
Per. Time Team Player Penalty
1 15:24
19:21
19:21
19:21		 Pit
Atl
Pit
Pit		 Fedotenko
Valabik
Orpik
Crosby		 Boarding – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
2 2:59
4:27
7:19
10:30
13:28		 Atl
Atl
Pit
Pit
Atl		 Crabb
Armstrong
Eaton
Cooke
Slater		 Holding – 2:00
High sticking – 2:00
Hooking – 2:00
High sticking – 2:00
Tripping – 2:00
3 2:52
2:52
8:17		 Atl
Pit
Pit		 Armstrong
Godard
Malkin		 Misconduct – 10:00
Misconduct – 10:00
Roughing – 2:00
OT - - - -

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Dec 19, 06:18 AM

    I was at the hospital watching this, waiting for my dad to come out of surgery. I’m glad we didn’t get kicked out, as my brothers and I were making quite a racket LOL!
    Now, to build on this and keep it going!

  2. Denny B

    Dec 19, 07:39 AM

    Hope your Dad is doing ok. you guys do a great job!
    Thanks

  3. Shlim

    Dec 19, 08:44 AM

    I wonder how many shots the penguins had when we scored our fifth goal… man we were lighting up the lamp last night.

  4. Groove

    Dec 19, 09:33 AM

    I wonder if anyone can clear this up for me. Did it look to anyone else that Armstrongs goal was offside. Unless I missed something, Letang banked the puck off the boards and out of the zone and Satan brought it back in before being intercepted by Colby. I watched this several times and there was no doubt the puck went out and there were 2 Thrashers still in the zone. Am I missing something?

  5. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 19, 11:26 AM

    Dabich, glad to hear all went well with the surgery! Hopefully he’s home before Christmas!

    Denny, thanks for the compliment!

    Schlim, I believe they scored their fifth goal on their 16th shot.

    Groove, I did not pay close enough attention at that point, as I felt the game was over. But if you watched it several times and believe it was offside, you’re likely right. An inconsequential goal, but one that shouldn’t have been scored if, indeed, it was offside.

Commenting is closed for this article.