Malkin, Conklin Tricky In Penguins 6-2 Victory

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Jan 3, 11:41 PM | Hype this story!
1 2 3 Tot.
1 0 1 2
 
1 2 3 Tot.
0 2 4 6
 
Summary
If it was unclear whether the Pittsburgh Penguins had arrived, tonight’s 6-2 stomping of the Toronto Maple Leafs surely is confirmation.

Evgeni Malkin notched the first hat trick of his young career, Ty Conklin secured his sixth consecutive victory to stay undefeated as a Penguin, and Jarkko Ruutu landed 4,000 punches on Darcy Tucker during their second period fight in what surely can be labeled as the Black and Gold’s best game of the 2007-08 season.

The final score indicates a dominant performance, and it was just that — except during the first period, when the Penguins were outshot 11-4 and found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoresheet.  But that soon changed as Erik Christensen buried a beautiful wrap-around goal to tie the game.

Several minutes later, Ruutu fought Tucker in retaliation to an earlier incident involving Christensen.  In one of the best Penguin fights in recent memory, Ruutu landed 25 punches on Tucker and sparked the team to score another second period goal.

With a 2-1 lead entering the second intermission, the Penguins were far from done.  Tyler Kennedy started the third period lambasting with a beautiful individual effort to get his own rebound, Malkin added another goal 37 seconds later, and Petr Sykora notched his 12th of the season 11 seconds after that.  In just 48 seconds, the Penguins elevated their 2-1 lead to a 5-1 lead and, essentially, ended the game.

But Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell wouldn’t roll over, as he tried to spark his team with a fight against Ryan Malone.  The maneuver rallied the troops, as Jason Blake eventually tallied the team’s second goal of the night, which was counter by Malkin’s third goal of the evening and second of the period.

"It feels great," Malkin said in a post-game interview without the help of a translator.  "I’m happy.  It’s unbelievable."

Conklin stopped 33 shots and was named the game’s second star, while his counterpart, Scott Clemmensen, made 18 saves.

The Penguins’ next game is Saturday against the Florida Panthers at 3:00.
 
Three Stars
1 Evgeni Malkin Penguins forward 3 goals
2 Ty Conklin Penguins goalie 33 saves, .943 save percentage
3 Jarkko Ruutu Penguins forward 2 assists, 1 fight
 
Stat Line
Team Shots Faceoffs Power Plays
  1 2 3 OT Total Won Lost Converted Total
Pittsburgh 4 11 9 X 24 38 26 1 4
Toronto 11 9 15 X 35 26 38 1 5
 
Scoring Summary
Per. Time Team Goal Assist Assist
1 10:34 Tot Blake Sundin Steen
2 1:24
14:22		 Pit
Pit		 Christensen
Malkin		 Sykora
Crosby		 Ruutu
Armstrong
3 3:00
3:37
3:48
12:53
15:28		 Pit
Pit
Pit
Tor
Pit		 Kennedy
Malkin
Sykora
Blake
Malkin		 Staal
Crosby
Ruutu
Kubina
Whitney		 Gonchar
Letang
Orpik
Sundin
Gonchar
 
Penalty Summary
Per. Time Team Player Penalty
1 7:51
11:21
16:41
16:41
16:41		 Pit
Pit
Tor
Tor
Pit		 Kennedy
Sykora
Kubina
Bell
Armstrong		 Slashing – 2:00
Hooking – 2:00
Tripping – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
Roughing – 2:00
2 6:33
9:33
9:33
18:53		 Tor
Pit
Tor
Pit		 Stajan
Ruutu
Tucker
Sydor		 Hooking – 2:00
Fighting – 5:00
Fighting – 5:00
High sticking – 2:00
3 5:09
5:42
5:42
12:18
14:05
16:38		 Pit
Tor
Pit
Pit
Tor
Tor		 Staal
Bell
Malone
Gonchar
Kaberle
Wozniewski		 High sticking – 2:00
Fighting – 5:00
Fighting – 5:00
Hooking – 2:00
Interference – 2:00
 - 4:00

Comments

  1. Hacker

    Jan 3, 11:56 PM

    Awesome awesome game. One of the highlights of the season definitly. We´re starting to get into a growe :) Let´s Go Pens!

  2. Matt Bodenschatz

    Jan 4, 12:05 AM

    Spectacular game that showcased the team’s offensive skills, defensive skills, penalty killing skills, goaltending skills, fighting skills, and even powerplay skills.

    They really looked like a dominant hockey team once the second period began.

    Glad to see you checking FF so soon after the games, Hacker! Please keep the comments coming!

  3. Luke

    Jan 4, 01:21 AM

    anyone have a video link for the ruutu fight i heard it was amazing?

  4. DaBich

    Jan 4, 06:18 AM

    Ah Luke, you missed a live one. It WAS awesome.
    What a game! Those guys surely showed up for this one.

  5. Ashley Gallant

    Jan 4, 07:48 AM

    Hey Luke, check this out:

    Ruutu/Tucker Fight

  6. DaBich

    Jan 4, 08:03 AM

    Lil Darcy can dish it out, but he can’t take it!

  7. Denie

    Jan 4, 10:13 AM

    I can’t believe the best game of the season, and I missed it.

  8. Matt Bodenschatz

    Jan 4, 10:34 AM

    What a fight it was! What a game it was!

    Denie, if I were you, I’d look to find a rebroadcast or a download on the internet. This one is worth watching from the second period onward!

  9. ryan boyle

    Jan 4, 10:46 AM

    glad to see you all enjoyed the game, i haven’t seen my leafs play that bad since… 2 games ago.
    it was a great fight though. i especially enjoyed when they wanted Tucker to go off because he was bleeding and he clearly says, it’s a scratch and stays in the box.

  10. Luke

    Jan 5, 01:44 AM

    thank you ashley and yes that was one hell of a fight

  11. Matt Bodenschatz

    Jan 5, 01:26 PM

    It also was reported today that Mark Bell’s orbital bone was broken during his fight against Malone in the third period. Apparently he will not have surgery until the severe swelling subsides.

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