Pens light up Rags - 6-2
Jonathan Farzalo | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jan 28, 11:55 PM | Hype this story!
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| Summary |
| One would have hoped that the Pittsburgh Penguins could
have started their "2nd half" healthy and with a full
lineup, if you thought that was going to happen you were in for a
small let down. While Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby, and Pascal
Dupuis all started the game, Gonchar is still out with his shoulder
injury, Brooks Orpik did not return, and the NHL decided to suspend
Matt Cooke (who has been filling in nicely on the top line) for 2
games due to a hit versus Carolina before the break. Before the
puck even dropped it appeared the Penguins were basically starting
where they left off; something many fans were afraid of. The game opened with a bang, as two heavyweights went at each other at the drop of the puck, Colton Orr and Eric Godard pounded each other mercilessly but in the end Godard landed a punch the sent Orr to the ice. It appeared to be a spark for the team, but only for a moment as a little over 2 minutes later the Rangers struck first when Ryan Whitney fell while trying to turn to defend and Nikolai Zherdev ripped a wrist shot past Marc-Andre Fleury. After the goal the Penguins tightened up their defensive trap and turned their opponents mistakes into offense at every opportunity. They only capitalized once in the 1st period, on a fluky goal that was credited to Petr Sykora, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort, a sign that perhaps this team was really going to put everything into making a playoff push! The 2nd period was a goaltending battle as each team had chances, but Fleury and Henrik Lundqvist made save after save, preserving the 1-1 tie. At the start of the 3rd, if you were a Pens fan you probably had 1 of 2 thoughts. A. The Pens will find a way to wither and die, as they have done countless times this season even after showing great promise at the start of the game. B. The Pens have finally realized their erroneous ways and will pull out a squeaker. Neither of these happened. They fooled us all. The Penguins came into the 3rd period with a ton of life, a ton of fire, and just poured shot after shot at the Rangers net. Their reward? 5 goals. It all started with a weak goal by Jordan Staal that seemed to rattle the Rangers netminder, who then surrendered two tallies to Kris Letang, his 2nd and 3rd of the year, another to Sykora, and a beautiful backhanded turning shot by Sidney Crosby. If this game serves as nothing else it should show the team, its coaches, and the fans just the type of game they are capable of. This Rangers team isn’t a bottom feeder, they are fighting for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and in the Atlantic Division, if Pittsburgh can hang with and/or beat a team in that position, they can surely battle their way into a playoff spot. |
| Three Stars | ||||
| # | Player | Team | Pos. | Stats |
| 1 | Letang | Pit | D | 2 goals |
| 2 | Crosby | Pit | C | 1 Goal, 3 assists |
| 3 | Sykora | Pit | W | 2 Goals |
| Stat Line | |||||||||
| Shots | Faceoffs | Power Plays | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total | Won | Lost | Convert | Total | |
| Penguins | 9 | 8 | 16 | - | 33 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 4 |
| Rangers | 8 | 18 | 8 | - | 34 | 25 | 26 | 0 | 3 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Goal | Assist 1 | Assist 2 |
| 1 | 02:24 06:35 |
NYR PIT |
Zherdev, 13 Sykora, 18 |
Dubinsky Minard |
Voros Staal |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 01:11 06:18 10:01 13:55 16:21 18:20 |
PIT PIT PIT NYR PIT PIT |
Staal, 15 Letang, 2 Sykora, 19 (PP) Staal, 2 Letang, 3 Crosby |
Whitney Crosby Crosby Gomez Dupuis Malkin |
- Eaton Whitney Naslund Crosby Boucher |
| OT | - | - | - | - | - |
| Penalty Summary | ||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Player | Penalty |
| 1 | 0:03 0:03 12:03 |
PIT NYR PIT |
Godard Orr Dupuis |
Fighting – 5:00 Fighting – 5:00 High sticking – 2:00 |
| 2 | 7:40 10:30 |
PIT PIT |
Talbot Talbot |
Charging – 2:00 Delay of Game – 2:00 |
| 3 | 1:25 8:15 9:22 12:38 12:38 17:32 17:32 19:14 19:14 |
NYR NYR NYR PIT NYR NYR PIT NYR NYR |
Staal Redden Kalinin Bissonnette Zherdev Naslund Whitney Voros (Prucha Served) Voros |
Holding – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 Delay of Game – 2:00 Slashing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 High Sticking – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Unsports. Con. – 2:00 Misconduct – 10:00 |
| OT | - | - | - | - |
Comments
DaBich
Jan 29, 06:43 AM
Finally, a game that was so much fun to watch! These guys sure can do it when they want to!
Andrew Rothey
Jan 29, 09:35 AM
The name of the game is consistency. We saw a lot of reasons for hope last night, but the Pens have to play with this sense of urgency night in and night out.
It’s only one game, but at the very least, maybe this team realizes what is at stake and what kind of effort it will take to make the playoffs.
Jonathan Farzalo
Jan 29, 10:03 AM
That’s kind of how I feel. I am not dumb enough to think that after one game this team has turned it around and will now “take the East”, but I did see some things that were cause for hope. The biggest problem, as you said, consistency. If they can play that way every night, they will contend, if not, it’s a long summer for the Penguins and their fans.
Brandon
Jan 29, 10:03 AM
Great game played by almost everyone. Whitney still is lack luster to say the least, and was it the “bad” foot that caused him to trip over the blueline on the only Rangers goal? He needs to get with it fast, beacause until Gonchar returns he is getting top d man minutes and plays like a 6 or 7th defensemen.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Jan 29, 10:22 AM
Brandon, thats what happens when you don’t play for the first several months and jump into the fire. Just wait, Gonch will have similar problems when he returns, unless of course the team is playing great. Then it will barely be noticed when he has timing issues or makes a mistake.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 29, 10:32 AM
Jonathan, thanks for picking up with the recap! I appreciate that.
Dabich, that was a fun game to watch. They stuck with their system throughout the game, even though it had kept them tied through two periods. Patience was a virtue for them, as they really opened it up in the third, and they never let up. Oh, and that Crosby fella looked alright, too ;)
Andrew, consistency 100% is the key. They are showing they can do it, as they’ve won four of their last six and five of their last nine. They’re turning it around, but they’ll have to continue this for the rest of the season.
Brandon, I tend to be patient with Whitney, realizing that his potential is much greater than what he has done of late. But, at some point, this guy needs to start producing. Speaking of producing, Letang was a monster last night!
Surge, I think Whitney really has just picked up where he left off last season. I see no step back in his play, but I also see no improvement. Gonchar may take a step back for a while, but it’s entirely possible he will be just fine.
Jonathan Farzalo
Jan 29, 10:48 AM
I don’t care if Gonchar plays anything but PP minutes for a week or so after he is ready to return….just his vision on the PP will hopefully help win a few games here and there…
Maybe not in ALL seriousness, but semi.
Brandon
Jan 29, 11:06 AM
Matt I wanted to be patient with Whitney as well and actually looked forward to his return to help the PP. However like you said he has not improved at all from last season and has no injury to justify his lackluster play. I just cant understand why everyone keeps saying give him time he is a franchise d-man. I think that he is nothing more than an average offensive defenseman who can make a nice breakout pass or two, but is absolutly terrible in his own zone and refuses to play a physical game in front of the net. I also dont think its a coincidence that in his 16 games played he is a -8, his play speaks for that statistic outloud. Step it up or trade him while he still has some value.
DaBich
Jan 30, 05:17 PM
Matt, you noticed Letang! I thought no one else did. Seemed like he was everywhere, blocking shots, poking the puck away, and then scoring 2 goals! He is progressing nicely into the d-man the team needs him to be. The offensive part is coming along. I’m glad he isn’t being rushed. Good habits need to be learned.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 30, 05:36 PM
The last part is key, Dabich. He needs to be eased into a prominent role down the line. There is no need to risk stunting his development by expecting him to be the best. He’s got many, many good years ahead of him.
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