The Pens won again in the Peg. These are my thoughts on the game from where I sat....
The Game In Review
After a chippy first, things got incredibly heated in the second. The hits were flying and some of them were booming. Christian Ehrhoff got sent headfirst into the boards on a play that could've been a penalty. Crosby was hit and Kunitz took a run. Before any fisticuffs would occur, Brandon Sutter continued his solid play and put the Pens up when he wristed a semi-breakaway goal past Pavalec. Two minutes later, Mark Scheifele would whack Fleury with the stick, Fleury would retaliate and Simon Despres would drop the gloves with Evander Kane. Both got their shots in, but it appeared to go in the favor of Kane. Both would sit for 5 for fighting and two for removing their helmets. Things would remain chippy the rest of the period when the Pens got a breakaway from Steve Downie at 17:04. Downie would be cross-check by Dustin Byfglien just after scoring resulting in some more extra curricular activities. No fighting majors, but both would head to the box. The Jets would get back within one when Jacob Trouba slapped one past Marc-Andre Fleury at 18:28. Hornqvist had a chance to block it, but Flower had no chance otherwise. The teams went into the intermission with the Pens up by one.
The third period would have the same chippy shenanigans as the first two. Downie and Byfglein would both get misconducts after going after each other to start the period. Kane would tie the game at three early in the period before the physicality took over again. Downie, would take another misconduct midway through the period while in the box and was tossed from the game. Zach Sill would get into a tussle with Jacob Trouba when Sill skated into the Jets netminder and Craig Adams would drop the gloves with Adam Lowry after Adams laid a huge hit on Clitsome. The period would end tied at three and both teams would head to overtime.
The overtime didn't have much in the way of goals, in fact, it had none. The Pens were able to survive a weak penalty call against Simon Despres and kill off their 34th straight penalty to end the overtime and send it to the shootout. In the shootout, Bryan Little would score in the first round against the Flower. The new 23 million dollar man would not allow another. Malkin and Crosby would score back to back in the shootout to win it and the Pens win streak is now to six in a row.
My 3 Stars
2. Simon Despres: I eat crow again when it comes to Despres. He played another solid game tonight. He got his first goal of the season in the first. He had a big hit, a good scrap and three blocked shots on the evening. His minutes were up and that's good to see. He's playing well. I got to give him the credit he deserves.
3. Nick Spaling: He keeps getting more and more comfortable with Sutter and Downie and it's paying off. He assisted on the Downie goal coming out of the kill. He was a +3 and had a block in over 14 minutes of play. He is earning his spot on the third line and seems to finally found chemistry with Sutter and Downie. That's big. That may allow Bennett to slide in alongside Malkin when he returns and keep this line together.
Report Card
Rob Scuderi (B): Scuds was solid. He was a +2 on the night had a block and played a season high 22:51. His play on the penalty kill was sensational. Another solid game by "The Piece."
Paul Martin (B): Martin played pretty well tonight. He was great on the PK, especially in the over time. He had over 23 minutes of play tonight and, despite the -3 rating, was solid.
Pascal Dupuis (B): Created some chances and put up three shots. Just can't seem to get anything going with Geno though. Regardless, a solid game by Duper who was good in all facets and superb on the penalty kill.
Christian Ehrhoff (B-): He seems to be forcing things a little and was caught a couple times pinching and odd-man rushes resulted. He is still getting a feel for his new partner as well. My big plus for him tonight was his shot total. Five for him on the night and I'd like to see that more often.
Nick Spaling (B+): See above.
Chris Kunitz (B): Thought Kunitz played a pretty solid game. He was really physical, which was big in a game like this one. Didn't generate a lot offensively, though most of his shots were blocked by the Jets. A good game, especially away from the puck.
Brandon Sutter (A+): See above
Blake Comeau (B-): Played well. Got a double penalty call that should never have been made. Had a hit and two blocks on the night as well. He was physical all night which was good. Solid game.
Steve Downie (B): This guy was a star for me tonight until he let his emotions get the best of him. He scored a beautiful goal coming out of the box in the second period and assisted on Despres' tally in the first. He was good, but his emotions just cost the team too much. He had 22 penalty minutes tonight, including two misconducts and he got tossed. He needed to keep his cool and he didn't do it. Just can't do that. He may not be an offensive juggernaut, but he is a valuable asset that cannot be, frankly, selfish like he was tonight.
Craig Adams (B-): A good game for Adams. Had an absolutely huge hit in the 3rd period and dropped the gloves as a response. He was great on the kill and was physical. A good game for the veteran who played in his 300th straight game.
Zach Sill (C): A game that went into overtime sees this guy only play 5 minutes... That is ridiculous. He took a dumb penalty in the 3rd, but was able to draw one as a result too. If he played more than 5 minutes, his grade would be higher.
Robert Bortuzzo (B-): Got the assist on the Sutter goal but he got caught pinching far too often in the latter half of the game. I don't like to see guys like Letang get caught, but a defensive defenseman like Bortuzzo has no reason to get caught in that situation once let alone several times in a game. Still working off the rust, but not the smartest.
Simon Despres (A-): See above.
Marcel Goc (B): Was fantastic in the faceoff circle, winning 67% of his draws. He played well throughout the night and was good on the PK.
Kris Letang (B-): Not Tanger's best game but he got the job done. He was relatively solid defensively, but was a -3 on the evening. His 3 blocks were good and his team high 27:52 were big. Not his best, but certainly not his worst.
Evgeni Malkin (B): Thought Malkin played pretty well. He isn't getting a lot generated with Duper or Comeau, but he is creating chances for himself. He was good on the power play, despite not scoring, and was good in the face off circle as well. Broke his point streak, but he was good tonight.
Patric Hornqvist (B-): I wasn't too impressed with him tonight. I don't think it was his worst game but he didn't generate much as the game went on. He was a -2 on the night.
Sidney Crosby (B-): I don't know what the hell was going through his head in the second and third period, especially the third. He made several poor passes that, luckily, didn't cost the Pens. He was very good in the over time and got the game winner in the shootout, but this was far from Sid's best tonight.
My Final Thought
Starting with the player, Downie really had me fired up. He was good in the first half of the game and when he scored. That being said, he got selfish from that point on and hurt this team. His role is vital to the teams success, but he can't be taking stupid retaliatory penalties and getting himself tossed from the game. It's just selfish and stupid. Crosby was the other I was wondering what was going on. He made several stupid passes that almost cost the Penguins dearly. I know they "almost" cost the Pens but that's not an excuse. He is the captain and leader, he cannot make those stupid plays.
The penalty calls in this game were ridiculous. There were several called against the Pens that should never have been called, i.e. the Despres minor in OT. The NHL really needs to look at some of these guys they have reffing. They have no business making some of these calls and frankly, it was a detriment to the game tonight, even with the win.
The penalty kill continues to shine. They are at 34 straight kills which is a franchise record. Like I said Saturday and like I said Tuesday, that is just flat out sexy.
I really liked the play of the Spaling - Sutter - Downie line again tonight. They are really gelling and finding each other chances. I would love to see it stay together and give Bennett a chance with Malkin upon his return. It would give Geno someone to create with with better talent than Comeau and it keeps a solid two-way line together. Time will tell, but I hope it stays this way.
I think we get to see Scott Harrington Saturday. They said they wanted to play him on this trip, so put up or shut up. Put him in over Bortuzzo on Saturday just to let him get his feet wet. He deserves the shot and frankly, the Despres/Scuderi pair is playing too good to sit Despres over Bortuzzo. Sit Borts, play Harrington and let Scuderi and Despres play more minutes.
That will do it for me tonight. I hope you enjoyed the game and my post game thoughts. I will have the Pregame for Saturday, but will have to be determined whether there is a post game that night. Check in on Saturday.
Everyone enjoy their weekend and I'll see yinz on Saturday.
Cheers!