Crosby's 4 Points Lead Pens Past Flyers (5-4)
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Feb 21, 05:10 PM | Hype this story!
|
|
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary |
| With a four-point effort from Sidney Crosby, the
Pittsburgh Penguins walked out of the Wachovia Center with their second
consecutive 5-4 win. After falling behind early, the Penguins rallied with a three-goal third period, but looked shaky in the third, when they gave up three goals. "They were committed to doing it for 60 minutes," said coach Dan Bylsma. He later added: "Getting two points on the road, in a difficult building, nothing wrong with that one." Game notes…
Games to watch, and who the Penguins need to win…
|
| Three Stars | ||||
| # | Player | Team | Pos. | Stats |
| 1 | Crosby | Pit | C | 2 goals, 2 assists |
| 2 | Fedotenko | Pit | LW | 2 goals, 1 assist |
| 3 | Richards | Phi | C | 1 goal, 2 assists |
| Stat Line | |||||||||
| Shots | Faceoffs | Power Plays | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total | Won | Lost | Convert | Total | |
| Penguins | 12 | 8 | 7 | - | 27 | 27 | 26 | 1 | 4 |
| Flyers | 9 | 9 | 9 | - | 27 | 26 | 27 | 0 | 4 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Goal | Assist 1 | Assist 2 |
| 1 | 10:31 | Phi | Lupul, 17 | Hartnell | Carter |
| 2 | 0:21 7:14 12:09 |
Pit Pit Pit |
Crosby, 22 Malkin, 27 (PP) Fedotenko, 12 |
Fedotenko Sykora Dupuis |
Malkin Gonchar Crosby |
| 3 | 3:07 6:37 9:50 14:25 17:15 |
Phi Phi Pit Phi Pit |
Richards, 23 (SH) Coburn, 7 Fedotenko, 13 Knuble, 21 Crosby, 23 |
Carle Crosby Richards Dupuis |
Richards Dupuis Gagne Dupuis |
| OT | - | ||||
| SO | - | ||||
| Penalty Summary | ||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Player | Penalty |
| 1 | 1:09 1:20 2:27 11:48 11:48 |
Phi Phi Pit Phi Pit |
Hartnell Timonen Staal Cote Godard |
Cross checking – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 Fighting – 5:00 Fighting – 5:00 |
| 2 | 5:44 14:19 14:19 |
Phi Pit Pit |
Carter Malkin Malkin |
Cross checking – 2:00 Holding – 2:00 Unsportsmanlike Conduct – 2:00 |
| 3 | 2:14 9:57 15:11 15:11 |
Phi Pit Phi Pit |
Upshall Dupuis Upshall Gonchar |
Tripping – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 Slashing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 |
| OT | - | |||
Comments
Detective Dan
Feb 21, 09:46 PM
You do realize that Todd Richards was the head coach in WBS last year right?
Alex Kirshner
Feb 21, 10:17 PM
I am growing agitated by Letang’s absence in the lineup. I know the team has two wins without him, but they’ve managed to give up eight goals in the two games.
Letang is better both offensively and defensively than Eaton and Gill.
TIM
Feb 21, 10:19 PM
I want Letang in the line-up as well, and am relieved it is not because he is getting traded which is what I had heard. However Tang played against Toronto didn’t he? He played in other games where the Pens gave up a few goals. I am not saying it is all his fault, but maybe Bylsma sees something, and I am for now going to give me some slack.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Feb 21, 11:37 PM
Exactly Tim. Letang is a great player and very young, which just goes to show he will continue to get better. Gogo is in the same boat. He can hold his own in the NHL but could still be a little better. The Pens carried the play in this game and had a few things go against them. On every instance those things resulted in a goal. It happens but it wasn’t for poor play.
Eaton has been a better D-man lately. He is starting to play more like he did before he got hurt both last year and the year before. Gill has also improved in the new aggressive style. Gill is slow but mostly his acceleration is slow. This new style keeps guys skating and Gill doesn’t seem as slow now. This also is a negative for Letang as his speed is mostly through acceleration. Now I’m not trying to down grade Letang but just keep him off the pedistole. Personally I would rather see Letang in the lineup rather than Whitney or Gill. Whitney being the first one I would like to see go. Out of the lineup that is not off the team. I still think he will improve but he seems to be having trouble now.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Feb 21, 11:43 PM
Sorry, I missed the most important thing here.
This game was awesome. It had everything you want to see in a hockey game. Speed, hits, shots, passes, fights and GOALS. Very entertaining game. I would rather lose a thriller than win a defensive battle. Maybe just me but I find this hockey more exiting.
Matt Bodenschatz
Feb 21, 11:59 PM
I think all are in agreement that Letang’s absence from the lineup is a shock based on what we know of his play. With that being said, Dan Bylsma was hired as interim coach to make decisions he feels will benefit the team and, ultimately, put himself in the best position to maintain his spot as head coach beyond this season.
Bylsma is privy to more than we are. He also wants to win so as to keep his job. Letang is doing something that is keeping him out of the lineup. I’m certain he knows what it is. I’m certain he is not sulking. I’m certain he wants back in the lineup. And I’m certain he is happy to see his team winning.
The Penguins are about more than Sidney Crosby. More than Evgeni Malkin. More than Marc-Andre Fleury, Jordan Staal, Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney. And more than Kris Letang. The Penguins are a team and the ultimate goal is to win. They’ve got two in a row — something that has been done just twice since November.
It’s time to look beyond the individual and look at the collective group.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Feb 22, 01:06 AM
Very true Matt and that is why this game was soooooo goooood. The speed on the ice was simply amazing. Richards steal SH was awesome. Sids rifle top self was equally as amazing. But what made this game so good was that everyone was involved. Well except for the backups but they were getting close to getting them in too…LOL.
Harley
Feb 22, 04:22 AM
Matt, what I’d truly like to know is why Bylsma feels that practice effort is more important than actual in-game play at this of the season.
If he wants to deliver that sort of message to a still-effective young player like Letang, it’s something that should be done at the beginning of the season, not when the team’s in the middle of an uphill playoff battle and Whitney’s defensive game has been even more porous than usual.
Brixton Pen
Feb 22, 06:54 AM
All of a sudden, watching this team is fun again.
Moq
Feb 22, 11:13 AM
Harley, accountability should be a guiding principle thoughout the season. Especially when there are important points on the line. Therrien seemed to have forgotten that principle this season. One can argue the case of Letang, but it’s nice to see accountability appear once again.
I think that Letang, like most of the defencemen, has lacked consistancy offensively and defensively. Bylsma is using the most experienced and solid defencemen through this period of important games. You know what to expect from Gill, Eaton and Scuderi – for better or worse. That might not be a completely arbitrary choice.
That being said, the defence and goaltending hasn’t shown considerable signs of improvement. Some of the Philadelphia goals yesterday were fluky and difficult to defend against. But we cannot expect the offense to produce a five goal average down the stretch. however entertaining that notion might be.
Exciting game to watch nonetheless. Let’s hope for a three game winning streak.
Matt Bodenschatz
Feb 22, 11:28 AM
@Harley, as Moq said, accountability doesn’t end when the season begins. Anmd even if it did, Bylsma wasn’t here at the beginning of the season. He’s here now and wants to set a tone now. He’s earned two wins and an OT loss in his first three games. I can’t remember the last three-game point streak this team was on. And, again, Bylsma said it has nothing to do with work ethic and everything to do with needing to improve his defense.
@Moq, I agree that benching Letang is arguable. But as I have said before, the results can’t be argued. The Penguins have won two in a row, something that has been done just two other times since November. We’re seeing results, and that is all that matters to me.
To add, I agree that the defense must improve as the offense won’t continue at this pace. I think that will come. Let’s remember, the Penguins have played a passive style for the past few years. It will take some time for them to perfect that aggressive style they now play. Once they find a balance, i suspect we’ll see more three-goal victories.
DaBich
Feb 22, 01:54 PM
Sorry, I cannot agree that benching Letang is good. Whitney and Gill have both been as bad if not worse. I don’t know the reason, as I can’t see inside Bylsma’s head, but I still don’t agree. I am, however, thrilled with 2 wins. =)
And hey, no love for Dupuis???? He played awesome on Sid’s wing. Monster efforts thurout the game and set up goals that were beautiful passes to see.
bag o' pucks
Feb 22, 02:40 PM
Well, Tom is being a bit dramatic is his portrayal of hypothetical personal agendas and potential locker room destruction. Neither of those are close to being true. However, personally, I would have returned Letang to the lineup and scratched Whitney after the Philly game and that horrific power play turnover.
As it turns out, so far in today’s game, Whit took a terrible penalty that led to Washington’s first goal and caused the turnover that led to the third. I think it would be a good thing to get Whitney out of the lineup.
Harley
Feb 23, 02:20 AM
Matt and MOQ – I don’t deny that players have to be accountable throughout the season, what I have a problem with is Bylsma trying to give life lessons to a young player by benching him in the middle of a playoff hunt while a currently less effective veteran is allowed to make mistake after costly mistake without repercussion.
It came back to bite the Pens today, as Whits was once again the main culprit in taking the wind out of Pittsburgh’s sails.
Under ideal circumstances, I’d be fine with sitting Letang after a sub-par outing. But the margin for error is slim now, and there are others who are more culpable.
Commenting is closed for this article.