Staal Notches 3 Points As Penguins Defeat Lighting 4-1
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jan 10, 10:37 PM | Hype this story!
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| Summary |
| The streak continues. It wasn’t a dominant performance — or even a great one, for that matter — but the Pittsburgh Penguins plugged away and, as a result, found themselves on the good end of a 4-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After both teams finished the first in scoreless fashion, the Lightning found the back of the net just over four minutes into the second period as Paul Ranger took advantage of a disoriented Ty Conklin. The Penguins didn’t roll over, though, and eight minutes later started a comeback that would see two goals by Jordan Staal in a span of 2:22. That was all the Penguins needed, though the lead appeared to be in jeopardy early in the third when Maxime Talbot was given a four minute double minor penalty for high sticking, despite the fact that his stick never left the ice. The phantom call didn’t result in a goal, though the Lightning did have several opportunities to tie the game. But, with less than three minutes remaining in the game, Ryan Malone put it away with a tap in that followed a flying stick blade. Evgeni Malkin added the empty netter to put a little icing on the cake. Conklin made 35 saves and was named the number one star yet again, while his counterpart Karri Ramo made 25 saves in the losing effort. |
| Three Stars | |||
| 1 | Ty Conklin | Goalie, Penguins | 35 saves, .972 Sv% |
| 2 | Jordan Staal | Center, Penguins | 2 goals, 1 assist |
| 3 | Paul Ranger | Defenseman, Lightning | 1 goal |
| Stat Line | |||||||||
| Team | Shots | Faceoffs | Power Plays | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total | Won | Lost | Converted | Total | |
| Pittsburgh | 8 | 10 | 11 | X | 29 | 23 | 35 | 1 | 2 |
| Florida | 13 | 9 | 14 | X | 36 | 35 | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Goal | Assist | Assist |
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | 4:11 12:11 14:33 |
TB Pit Pit |
Ranger, 8 Staal, 4 (PP) Staal, 5 |
Darche Sykora Sykora |
Richards Letang Malone |
| 3 | 17:21 19:48 |
Pit Pit |
Malone, 10 Malkin, 20 (EN) |
Sykora Gonchar |
Staal |
| Penalty Summary | ||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Player | Penalty |
| 1 | 0:33 6:59 |
TB Pit |
St. Louis Whitney |
Tripping – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 |
| 2 | 11:37 17:19 |
TB Pit |
Ranger Laraque |
Cross checking – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 |
| 3 | 1:28 | Pit | Talbot | High sticking – 2:00 |
Comments
Ashley Gallant
Jan 10, 10:58 PM
Talbot got 4 minutes because his stick never left the ice…Welcome back, Max.
Doc Nagel
Jan 10, 11:43 PM
Staal apparently tried to tell everyone he didn’t touch the puck on the first goal he was credited with. On replays on the TV feed over the internet, it sure looked to me like he tipped it.
I’ve always wanted to have an inside look at the process of reviewing things like that. How does that kind of decision get made (especially so late after the goal was scored and awarded)? Is there any way to track the decision-making process?
DaBich
Jan 11, 05:29 AM
I didn’t see that bad call, I missed it. Figures tho, with Mike McGeough reffing the game. I love watching when they’re playing and winning. Conk kills me tho, his fish flopping style is comical.
DaBich
Jan 11, 06:58 AM
Hopefully, this will turn Stall around, and he can continue scoring.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 11, 09:03 AM
Ashley and Dabich, typical NHL officiating. I watched the game with a DVR and had the opportunity to rewind and watch several times. Talbot literally was stick handling the puck when O’Brien took a stick to the face. Then, Martin St. Louis went over to him with a guilty look. Without a doubt, it was St. Louis’ stick that hit O’Brien. Ridiculous. Just because a player is high sticked doesn’t automatically mean it came from an opponent.
Doc, I really am not sure how the process works. What i do know, however, is if Staal is adamant that he did not touch the puck (and upon several rewinds, I think he did not) the NHL can change the listed goal-scorer — and we may see that today. To be honest, my gut says Sykora will tell him to keep it, as he needs it more.
Staal certainly needs to contribute more offensively, but I’m not too upset with him, as he’s still playing a sound defensive game, despite a bad plus/minus rating. As long as the team continues to get goals from guys like Kennedy, Talbot, Sykora, and others, Staal dropoff isn’t a big deal.
DaBich
Jan 11, 09:16 AM
I was happy with Talbot’s play last night too. Man, it’s nice to have him back!
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