Pens clinch home ice advantage with grueling win on Long Island

 

 Well it wasn't easy, even after the game couldn't be decided in regulation, Chris Kunitz found a way to escape from Long Island with a win and home ice advantage against whoever they face in the Playoffs. This was a huge game, and it came up huge. There weren't fireworks right out the gate but they came out after about 8 minutes. Off a beautiful setup from Eric Godard, Rupp comes up with the puck in front of the crease and sends it opposite side of Montoya into the goal. Pens take a big first lead in this game where goals were not coming at a premium. 

Right afterward on the ensuing face-off, Eric Godard and Handlebar mustache got into a fight. It was fairly uneventful but was a way for the Ref's to send a message early. Both players got a match penalty and removed from the remainder of the period. Good thing too because not having to see Gillies the rest of the period was a blessing. 

In the second period Michalek rifles in another beautiful goal to put up his 5th of the year after going almost the entire season without a goal. This one was the insurance goal, or so we thought until shortly after Comeau comes in and scores on a significantly easier shot, but it's the Islanders and they need any break they can get. 2-1.

Going into the third period it seemed like things were still going to be okay for the Penguins and they were going to hold onto the extra goal, but needed another insurance goal to finish it off. This unfortunately didn't happen as Comeau yet again came in and scored on another pretty easy gimmie from Grabner behind the net and the game is now 2-2. 

Not to be outdone, Mark Letestu comes in on a beautiful move and rifles his own goal home giving the Penguins fans another boost of confidence. Unfortunately there was still 8 or so minutes left in the game and there was much left to be decided. Still looking for the insurance goal the opportunities were there but not taken, even an empty net goal near the end of the game was just wide of the goal and would of put this one home. 

Instead, with just under 2 minutes left in the game, the Islanders appear to score again but it gets immediately waived off due to Tavares being in the crease interfering with Fleury, no penalty is called but the goal is wiped away. Unfortunately still with just :35 left in the period, with 6 on 5 off the empty net, the Islanders scored and put the game into a tie, again.

Pascal's cries for help go unanswered.

The game then goes in OT, and for the most part overtime was uneventful unless you count the outstanding hustle of Pascal Dupuis. His theme song if it isn't already should be "Everyday I'm Hustlin" because he is putting out some of the hardest work of anyone on the team half the time chasing down pucks.After getting seemingly done from behind by an Islander in the crease though, he doesn't get the scoring opportunity he hopes for after batting down the puck at the point with his stick, getting it to Tyler "They call me Crosby" Kennedy who does a few sweet dekes but gets rewarded with nothing. In the end the best thing to come out of this OT period was the fact that the Pen's sealed up home ice with this one point. One wasn't good enough, and one man knew this.

His name is Chris Kunitz, and after Letang and Kovy both fail to come in and score on Montoya in the shootout we get this beauty by Kunitz:

Puts the Islanders in their coffins, ruins the night of all 12 Islander fans in the upper deck in attendance and rides his mustache all the way to Georgia to get ready to play against the Thrashers.

In other news Philly ended up losing in OT, this is okay, but today at 7pm, if the Penguins hope to take the division they are going to need the Islanders to not lay an egg and hand Philly a win. The hockey gods will surely need to smile upon the Pens if they hope to capture the division and face Buffalo in the first round. No match-up is ideal in the playoffs, but I'm sure they'd take Buffalo over the Lightning. 

Pens take on the Thrashers tomorrow at 3pm in sunny Georgia, the Masters will not matter.

Pens vs Lightning game recap.

In a must win game, the Penguins were dominating the action but were unfortunately... not able to seal the deal. A painful stat looms over the heads of the Penguins organization today, and that's that the team is 0-19-1 when trailing in the 2nd period. They have not been able to win a game all year when trailing and this simply is unacceptable. A team that can't come back from behind to win is not going to go very far in the Stanley cup finals. To put it in perspective, in 2009 when the Pens won the cup they were 11-21-2, leading the league in comebacks despite the losses in that column. The year before? The Red Wings were leading the league in comebacks and won the cup.

T.K attempts to fight Hedman who injured Crosby on January 5th

This is something that will be widely tossed out in the 2nd period of games if the Pen's are trailing during this playoff run. Something that Sidney Crosby hopefully would have some influence over should he return to action this year. The team is hurting in the playmaker department, the leading scorer since Sidney Crosby got injured is Tyler Kennedy, and he's been doing a great Crosby impression but still missing the net when the time counts. Still though something to be said about Kennedy's performance out there, he's having a career year, and could have his first ever 20 goal season and I'm really hoping he gets it. Looked like it would be last night but he missed the net...


Lots of bad no calls and strange calls starting right out the gate with Paul Martin in this game, which dictated the way the officiating was going to go, which was badly. Kovy took a terrible cross checking penalty he shouldn't have in the final 5 minutes further hindering the Pen's chances at coming back in this game. Still even with the extra adversity the Pens had a couple short handed opportunities that weren't capitalized on, and even afterward continued to pepper Roloson in an attempt to at least tie this game. It unfortunately wouldn't be as Roloson was seeing the puck like a beach ball and making save after save, that Fleury matched on the opposite end with an amazing glove save and tip toe save as time wound down in the third period.



In the end the Penguins could not get to the 100point mark yet this season and continue struggling in the Power Play department. Special teams was touted heavily in this game and while the P.K unit came up huge all game the Power Play lines could not capitalize on anything. They are now 3-62(or 63) on power plays and it doesn't have any signs of getting any better. Another section in the stats that captain Sidney Crosby would of helped propel forward. A team with a lowly 4% Power Play success rate of late, combined with the fact that they can't come back from behind, doesn't sound like a recipe for a cup run. Yet the Penguins are poised to do so, bucking adversity at every corner to persevere and work towards that ultimate goal.

Pittsburgh will face off against Florida on Saturday at 7pm in Florida. There are only 4 remaining games in the Regular season, they are against Florida, New Jersey, New York Islanders and Atlanta. The game against the Islanders will be interesting as the team travels back to Long Island after the debacle that took place in February. Matt Cooke will again miss the festivities on Long Island which is probably for the best.

Desperately holding onto 4th place in the conference and home ice, the Penguins need and should win at least 3 of the 4 games to finish the season at 104points and home ice advantage in the new Consol Energy Center.

Penguins vs Rangers game 72 mini-recap.

Pens played a good 2 and a half periods of hockey against the Rangers yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, like seems to be the theme in Consol against teams in their division, they dropped another game at home against a rival trying to get the Pens home ice playoff spot. The Penguins are now just 1 point ahead of the Lightning who could take home ice advantage from the Pens with a victory tonight and 1 or 0 points form the Penguins. This cannot happen and beating Detroit is essential tonight in "Hockeytown."

With the game tied 1-1 in the third period yesterday afternoon, this happened:


Completely unnecessary penalty, which was being killed off handsomely to the tune of 18,000 people screaming for a huge PK. Well then comes a Matty "Ice" Niskanen high stick and 2 Ranger goals after Chris Kunitz put this beauty in after going out of his mind for a series:

Not only does Kunitz almost get a free breakaway after a neutral zone turnover, he gets the puck anyway after battling hard along the boards and from the face off circle lets that sniper round off through the stick side of Henrik Stunnedqvist. Leaving him... stunned, I'm sure. Kunitz now has 6 points in 3 games (3g 3a).

In the end the Pens got beat up because of a 5 on 3 penalty kill that gave up 2 goals due to just down right bad penalties to take in a playoff caliber game. Did the Cooke hit cost them the game? No, because Kunitz scored the shortie during it, did the Niskanen high stick cost them the game? Yes, because asking your PK unit to kill upwards of 7minutes straight of penalties including nearly 2 minutes of 5 on 3... is well, not a recipe for success.

Pens take on the Flying Tires tonight in Detroit. Some one probably has a squid taped to their leg. Cooke will most likely be suspended through the rest of the Regular season. The hearing is at 1:30 today.

Pens vs Senators Recap Penguins on parade.

Nine different players for the Penguins have scored a goal or more in the past two games. Chris Kunitz specifically has come out of his injury as if he was better than ever, scoring 2 goals in the game against the Oilers and tallying 3 assists last night in Ottawa. Talk about bolstering a floundering offense, yet the damage was done against the worst team in the West, and now the worst team in the East... even still, one can't deny that having most of their forwards back has heavily helped this team.

The first period was a bit slow as the Penguins were getting into their system but once they got to it, they never left it and kept the pedal to the metal the entire game. Johnson made a couple of spectacular saves in the first to keep things alive, and Tyler Kennedy puts a deflection in off a Paul Martin blue line slapper, off two posts and behind the net to get the first goal of the game, and his ninth goal in 20 games. including 2 game winners.T.K All Day continues to put on a good Crosby impression down in front of the net.

In the wild second period of this game is when it really opened up. In the first 3:05 of the second period there were three goals scored. The first, came off of Jordan Staal's effort to stay with the puck after a few shots rang off of Kunitz's and T.K's sticks, Staal finds the puck in front of the crease and dumps it in 2-0 Pens, 1:21 gone in the 2nd. Not to be outdone the Senators took control of the offensive zone after a Michalek penalty and put one behind Johnson, it was the last goal they'd earn that evening, 2-1 pens after 2:08 was gone in the second. "The Penguins need to answer back and fast." I remember saying to myself, and not within but another minute, at 3:05 in the second, Kunitz along the boards, puts it down low behind the net to Staalsy, he kicks out to Lovejoy in the circles, slapshot, goal 3-1 Penguins. Hell of a 3 minute period, but it wasn't over yet.

Not to be out shown, Cooke added in his own little bit of controversy, with what looks like a kicking motion on this goal:
Matt Cooke in the crease almost "kicks" one in, goes off OTT defender.


It would go to review but ultimately Toronto says: "It's a good goal!" Pens go up 4-1 and the last 12 minutes of the period tick away.

What really impressed me was the team kept the pressure on, they didn't let up, they wouldn't let up. Including Alexei Kovalev, who even despite having boos rained down upon him by Ottawa fans who apparently don't understand Kovy was traded, not asked to be traded, was able to do work on this goal that kept the play alive and got it to the right players to make it all happen. Take a look:

 

Kovalev battles, battles and battles along the corner boards to keep the play alive in the zone, only when the double team comes does he dish the puck out to Jeffrey behind the net, who gets it to Michalek in the circle and blasts one home for his third goal in four games.The true testament to this play was Kovalev's work ethic and his desire to win with this team, to play his role and be a part of something special, he did just that on this play and solidifies why he is still a force in the NHL.

Two points for the Penguins that are much needed, the offense is opening up even if on bad teams, Crosby is skating, and things are turning around injury wise, 3 points outside of Philly and first place, and a tightening playoff race await us.

Lets go Pens!

Pens vs Leafs Game 65 recap. Pens get a point...

Penguins faced off against the Leafs again last night, unfortunately for the Penguins they only came away with a point after allowing the Leafs to tie the game and send it to O.T. Chris Conner was playing out of his mind in short 10-20 second bursts. One such burst resulted in what should of been the go ahead goal in a nice single handed effort.

Niskanen also tallied his first goal of the season last night and first goal as a Penguin, James Neal's scoring drought continues despite several good opportunities last night to score. Coming away with one point in last nights game is honestly a bit upsetting simply because there were several opportunities to put the game away that weren't capitalized on. Missed passes to the slot taken as shots on goal instead, over passing and turning over the puck leading to multiple breakaways, not getting back to the slot on defense, a myriad of things that need to change.

The team is still getting used to each other especially as new bodies get added to the line up, but the Penguins haven't won a game in regulation since February 4th. Tomorrow being March 4th lets hope they can break the almost 30 day snide and put a game away within 60 minutes of hockey.

Fleury made several excellent saves but ultimately wasn't able to keep the tide from turning in the favor of the Leafs. With a slew of tough games coming up this month almost all against playoff contenders or teams playing as though they're in playoff mode, the Pens need to come away with more wins than losses this month.It's looking very ominously like a Pens vs Caps 1st round playoff match up, doing anything possible to avoid this would be ideal. Even if the Capitals can't get past the first round of the playoffs.

Funny face of the night:

Sharks vs Penguins Recap. Tyler Kennedy tries his best Crosby impression.

Tyler Kennedy... He continues to be essentially the biggest threat offensively for the Pens. In the past 10 games, Kennedy has scored 6(14th of the year) goals and 2 assists(17th came in Chicago). In this game against the Sharks he scored not only the opening goal of the period off a nice rebound, he picked up another rebound with only 50seconds left in regulation to tie the game up. The magic after that had faded with the exception of a couple of phenomenal saves by Fleury that unfortunately weren't enough to bring home a win for the Penguins.

The Penguins came away from this game with just a point, after San Jose scored with 4 seconds remaining in the Overtime period, after those two amazingly show stopping saves Fleury made, sadly the last save he made was a beauty, but it was one that left a rebound, and that rebound was put into the net by the Shark's Marleau, the same Marleau who sent Brooks Orpik to the doctor after a blocked shot in the final 2 minutes of the first period. Brooks as we know now, has a broken finger and will miss 4 weeks.

The first period wasn't bad except for the injury the team took with Orpik. Kennedy scored his first goal of the game in the first which started with a huge shot by Engelland that gets on net to create the rebound opportunity. The rest of the period is essentially uneventful. Neal was beginning to get his wheels moving.

In the second period the Sharks decided that they were hungry and took a huge bite out of the Penguins momentum with a powerplay goal, a rare goal given up by the top PK unit in the league. Most likely has a lot to do with Orpik being gone this period. Admittedly it came off a pretty smooth pass from behind the net for a one timer. Not too long after that Dupuis makes a huge accidental save with the blade of his skate in the crease. Keeps the Penguins 1-1 and Fleury continues to play out of his mind like he has all season.

In the third period the Sharks beat Fleury early after a pass from the side of the net to the slot to Marleau... 2-1 Sharks and Marleau gets his first of two goals in the evening. Not to be out done, Tyler Kennedy decided that he would also put the Penguins nation on his back and attempt yet again to carry the team to victory. After Kris Letang broke his stick on a wild shot from the blueline with an empty net on the opposite end, the Sharks retrieve the puck and dish it towards the empty net but miss just wide. Then with just 50 seconds left Tyler Kennedy finds a way to get the puck into the net in very dramatic fashion. Staal gets a pass from Cooke from behind the net, takes a shot and puts up a rebound, T.K is there to grab it and send it home giving the Pens a point in a tie game and sending it to Overtime.

In overtime Neal really showed his determination and amazing ability even against a team that sees him 6 times a year and knew how to defend him all night. Neal was making plays and creating space for the Pens in the OT period that with more time together will surely result in a lot of productivity. T.K and Pascal Dupuis missed several passes that could of gotten to Neal throughout the game, so it is hopeful with the injuries that are about to come off the list, and one name everyone really hopes to see off it, could result in a lot of offense for the Penguins. Sadly this game went to the Sharks even after a glove save and a hell of a beauty by Fleury. The Shark's Marleau, the nuisance of the night, rings one home after a rebound Fleury left with just 4 seconds left in Overtime.

Pens get a point, but still are on a 3 game losing streak. They'll head to Carolina tomorrow night to face the Hurricanes at RBC Center. This will be the third game of the season that I will thankfully get to be in attendance.

Penguins vs Avalanche Recap. T.K Saves the Day.

 

Well, we finally got to see what a real competitive hockey game looks like again. It felt like it was going to be a long time before that happened. The game started with one of the better periods for the Penguins in recent memory, and the Wilkes-Barre Boys came through again to tip the first goal of the game in for the Pens. Before the Penguins could score though, the Avalanche ran into something I touched on in the gameday post. Saves in the crease, the Av's on a solid scoring chance are denied by a combination of Rupp and Michalek in the crease helping Fleury deny the shot.

Not but a minute later off a long feed by Martin down to Sterling entering the zone, he dishes a pass off to Vitale who's beaten 3 guys in the slot, Vitale rings one home in the top left corner for his first NHL goal of his career.The Avalanche announcers forgot to review their press doc's to see that another forward had a number in the 40's, reads Vitale's goal as a Kennedy goal, little did he know he foreshadowed the future.

The second period didn't go as smoothly for the penguins, 3:24 into the period the Av's score with half the right side of the net wide open after Fleury tries to pokecheck the puck. Not but a minute and a half later Nick Johnson decides to test the Johnson name and gets in a "fight" with Ryan Wilson. Steigerwald goes ballistic. Wilson destroys Johnson in this fight sadly while raining down blows on his head for upwards of a minute before the fight is over. Steigerwald goes into how he feels like Johnson was outright attacked, and basically is still steaming over the fights on Long Island, this had been the first since, and it wasn't necessary, nor a good one to take. Errey somehow calms Steigerwald down, by avoiding the subject entirely and actually talking about hockey, a first for Bob.

Still in the second period, with a little more than 5 minutes to go, the Av's score again off a ridiculous goal that had no business going in, making the lead 2-1 and forcing the broadcasters to mention the fact that the Av's are sick nasty at winning games after leading in a game after the second period, etc... well Staalsy has something to say about that and 30 seconds later lifts Penguins nation on his shoulders and plays NHL 96 with Budaj, skating down the right wing he lets a shot go from the faceoff circle, top left corner into the net. Budaj loses and the game is tied 2-2.

The most notable thing about the third period were Fleury's saves. Here Fleury turns away O'Reilly after he splits the defense in the zone.

Fleury turns aside Yip on a break away to essentially save the game for the Penguins, even so early on in the third.

The rest of the third period sadly only included a noteworthy post shot by Paul Martin that would of changed the outcome a bit, but no we head to Overtime.

The overtime period was slow, and the Avalanche looked to be trying to just get to a shootout where they felt like they could win the game, and without the Penguins dominating shooters it's entirely possible the Av's would of been right. Slow your roll though Avalanche, you can't trip up Zybenek Michalek behind the net like that. 4 on 3 hockey starts now in the final minute and a half of the game. A few seconds later...

Tyler Kennedy saves the day and gets mobbed by his team mates.

Penguins pick up a highly necessary 2 points in a tightening Atlantic division.

A couple Penguins went missing during this game, so if anyone saw Tim Wallace(Re-Assigned to WBS today) or Max Talbot do anything in this one, pat yourself on the back you're probably the only one.

Penguins vs Rangers Game 58 Recap.

I guess you could call that a game... The penguins came out and scored two quick opening goals and things seemed like they were trending in the right direction. Henrik was literally stunnedqvist in the first period and wasn't in shape at all after the two goals. Pens didn't capitalize and keep attacking unfortunately. The Rangers called a timeout and scored 5 unanswered goals until another goal rang through for the Pens during the 3rd period.

Nick Johnson and Brett Sterling tallied goals in this game which is huge for the WBS pens being called up. Penguins need their young guns to come out firing so it was good to see. Deryk "the King of" Engelland scored the first goal for the Penguins in the first period.

There weren't any antics during this game really, not even a fight that I can remember, just a few regular run of the mill penalties. The real controversy from Sunday was Mario Lemieux's statement regarding the state of the NHL after the debacle on Long Island.

"Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn’t hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that.

“The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed.

“We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players.  We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.

" If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it."

This led ESPN and a few other analysts to have a field day over the comments. Saying that Mario is coming on his high horse, and using Matt Cooke as some kind of common denominator for evil in the NHL. First off Matt Cooke is one of the greatest guys in the world, if you don't believe me, check this article out from the Trib:Pen's Cooke gives Unity teen boost in struggle to walk.  That is a good heart warming read. Especially after how badly Cooke has been blasted in the media lately.

December it was all smiles and the entire world was backing the Pens nation. Now it's the Penguins vs the World and preferably, I'll take it this way. It's better being under the radar, especially when your team is absolutely racked with injuries. The greatest thing the team can do this year? Overcome the adversity, the controversy, the spotlight, and come out and win their second Cup in three years.

The Penguins next game will be with the Colorado Avalanche and their re-acquired Peter Forsberg. The game is in Colorado at 9pm on Wednesday.

Penguins vs Islanders... Hate fueled rant? Nah. Game Recap

My God...

346 Penalty minutes, from 14 fighting majors, and 21 game misconducts. What the hell...? I said the Isles were expecting to get physical, but this was an all out brawl Royal Rumble style.

 "The first half of the game, was a hockey game." said Dan Bylsma during the post game press conference, "The second half of the game, was not. I certainly did not anticipate the third period looking like that." When Bylsma was asked if he expected the game in April to be similar, "It's tough to forget a game like that." Hopefully, we don't get another fiasco like the show in Long Island last night when the Penguins go back April 8th, it was a disgrace.

Between Gilles at the end of the game taunting an injured and concussed Tangradi, Martin making a run at Talbot near center ice trying to sucker punch him, the slash on Letangs right knee before the end of the first period, the fact that the Islanders kept taunting Fleury in the 2nd period and coming down and giving him crap, OR the fact that they did run Johnson into the net twice, one time taking out both him and Letang, but this game pissed me off to new heights.


Gilles taunting Tangradi, fan filmed:


Right out the gate in the first period, it looked like we were going to be treated to a long, cold night on Long Island, and that could not have been more true. Speaking of gates, by the end of the game, an iron gate was put up in the runway between locker rooms. The Isles came out tough, as was expected, there was good hitting in the first, but unfortunately for the Penguins, there was a lot of offense... 4 goals by the Isles they slipped passed Johnson in the first. Talk about getting revenge for a fight. Johnson did stop a penalty shot but that's basically about the extent of Johnson's saves.

Sadly that wasn't it. When the second period begins, we're barely three minutes into it before 2 more goals are scored. After an all line scrum, Bylsma decides to put Fleury in, and honestly, I have absolutely no idea why he even bothered to shake Fleury's confidence. As expected, the Isles were not going to let up in this game and they end up dumping 2 more past Fleury himself. The Penguins did get 2 goals off of a 5 minute Power Play after the first all team scrum. Letang and Staal tallied the power play goals.

In the video above you basically get the run down of all the fights, penalties, the cheap run, everything. You also get the Tangradi hit that leads to his concussion symptoms, and the fact that Gilles is a complete and utter asshole. You also see Haley and Johnson fight, as Big Brent Johnson will fight you if you come at him, I can only presume that was the other reason why Disco Dan put BBJ back in the net, the first being to save Fleury from these animals.

After the second all line scrum and another 5 minute power play situation for the Penguins. Tyler Kennedy scores another goal, whoopdedoo it's 8-3. The fighting didn't end after the second all team scrum. Vitale got into it at the end, in what was literally the longest Pens game of the regular season so far, that didn't go into overtime. I blame the ref's and coaches not knowing what to do with who was left.

By the end of this game I think the Penguins had about 2 guys on the bench, 5 guys on the ice, with guys in the box through the whole game basically. Despite all of that, Vitale still threw down, I guess he was feeling left out.

So Thursday Bylsma receives his 100th win as a Penguin's coach. Friday night Bylsma is treated to a $10,000.00 fine and is under review for an automatic Suspension. He watched his team fall into utter disarray until Goddard spared him anymore punishment by leaping off the bench to 'save' Johnson, who doesn't need saving. Goddard gets an automatic 10 game suspension and Bylsma is asked to leave. Not too big of a deal I guess considering Godard hasn't performed well and only basically instigates at this point, we have Engelland for that. Tangradi, as I said above suffered a hit in the final minutes of the third period, and is suffering from concussion type symptoms. This means that the Penguins have lost 2 more forwards and have already made an extra call up from Wilkes-Barre for tomorrow's afternoon game against the Rangers.


The good news? Talbot and crew don't seem to be too dejected from this game, as they were all smiles riding in the Cab's to Central Park to practice on an outdoor rink today. The team dressed at MSG but after their bus encountered an accident had to get off and get the cabs. Hard birthday for Talbot last night but he's a hockey player and he'll get over it.

I leave you with Steigerwalds disgust at this game. One of Steigerwalds finer moments, especially after the first period he said P.A Parentaeu was his friggen boy. Steiggy...

Kings Vs Penguins Recap. Quit Staaling and Score already.

Dan Bylsma. 100 career wins, and it came in overtime off the stick of a persistent Jordan Staal, but this victory like others, has a price. It started however, with a little boost from some new fresh faces. The Penguins had been held to just one goal in the previous 120 minutes of hockey, and the goal didn't come until the third period against Columbus by Tyler Kennedy. This game however, would not have a similar feel to it.

Right out of the gate in the first period the Penguins had a lot of energy, most of which they may have burned out during the course of the period as the action slowed in the late 2nd and 3rd periods. It didn't take long to open up the scoring action, however the Kings were trying to be the first ones on the board. Zybenek Michalek had other plans however and makes not one, but two goal saving stops in the crease for a beaten Fleury.

Not but 30 seconds later on another offensive series, Jeffrey, from a Nick Johnson pass, coming around the back of the net along the corner boards, cuts to the face off circle, dishes the puck off to Sterling who fires it into the back of the net off the top glove corner for a 1-0 Penguin lead after 6:53 had expired in the first. An all Wilkes-Barre Scranton goal for the first of the night, and the crowd loves it.

That facial expression? The feeling of being the greatest man alive.

Los Angeles would not be stifled however, as they charged again and again. Michalek had to make yet another crease stop, his second of the period to keep the game at 1-0. However with 17:17 expired off the clock the Kings were able to get one past Fleury finally off of J. Stoll's stick. It begs to question, how many people thought Stoll was Stall all night long during officiating. End of the first.

The second period was pretty much just about uneventful except for a couple of good scraps. Deryk Engelland decided to show Los Angeles who the real King was by knocking off the crown of Kevin Westgarth. Reclaiming his seat upon the throne as the King of Engelland. These two tussle for a while and Engelland takes a series of body blows to the pads, no big deal, and delivers quite a few blasts to the face.

Ryan Craig, not to be out shone in the spotlight decided he was going to man up and try to beat someones ass. That someone was Wayne Simmonds. The two got into a pretty good scrap after some pre-bout stretches. Craig throws a series of good blows but only connects a few, over all though Craig is pretty much the winner in this bout.


You could call that the end of the 2nd period.

The third period for all intents and purposes didn't exist, with the exception of Dustin Jeffrey experiencing an injury that he left the game for, and also will not play on Long Island tonight, and for the final 2 seconds where Jordan begins his persistent rush to finish out this game. With time ticking away, wrapping around behind the goal Staal tries to slide one in at the feet of Quick against the post, he gets denied, we go to Overtime.

4 on 4 hockey for 5 minutes and we're going to decide a winner and who gets their 2 points without losing a point in the conference. Tick tick, tick tick, tick tick, thats the sound of time running out as the Penguins fail to capitalize on several chances, mostly generated by Jordan Staal. However on what seems like his 1000th charge to the net this overtime period, Staal finally gets one home after he takes the puck away in the neutral zone.

The goal was so devastating that Quick dies on impact.

Game over, and like always Dupuis celebrates like he won the lottery when all he did was assist the goal. Still love Dupuis for his hustle.

Great way to earn 2 points, great way to break in the Baby Penguins, great way to break the curse of the 2011 winter classic jersey's as well as a 2 game losing streak, and a great 100th victory for Dan Bylsma.

Pens face the Isles tonight on Long Island at 7pm on FSN.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins Recap Game 55. Ugh.

Well.

Where to start. Cooke hit that guy up there, then gets 5 minutes in the box for Cooking. Basically checking from behind, boarding, left his feet, it was bad play central. Story of the night for the Penguins. Series after series turnovers, not developing the plays or missed opportunities. The ones that did come weren't capitalized on, leaving many to question where the offense has gone. Part of that could of been the absence of Chris Kunitz who is now day to day with a lower body injury and did not start in this game. There is no word yet as to the extent of the injury to Kunitz.

It's hard to lose a game, but it's especially hard to lose a game against a team you've recently beaten 7-2, and resides in Columbus, Ohio, however if you don't capitalize on the opportunities you will not win the games. The plays were there but they just weren't making them and it doesn't look good for where the Penguins are headed.

Though all they have to do is play .500 hockey or better at this point to get into the playoffs, so what does a playoff team do to get ready for the playoffs? Well first and foremost the team needs to get healthy and the clouds surrounding Sidney Crosby need to dissipate. The team needs the spotlight lifted off of them and their roster for a little while too but until after the trade deadline and Crosby gets back it's unlikely that will change.

Columbus came out like they said they would, out for blood. Bit into the Penguins jugular and were it not for Tyler Kennedy's life-support goal in the 3rd period, the Penguins would of been left reeling after being shutout in back to back games.

Lovejoy fought early on in the game, if you could really call it a win for him, and took it down with a jersey pull. He took a lot of punches just standing there before he actually got to the pull down.

Eric Goddard fought in the third period and you can really get a look at his fist getting ready to impact face.

Still though, the energy wasn't there tonight. The crowd wasn't energetic from the start like in Columbus, and you could tell there is still a lot of gloom hanging over the heads of people in the Burgh', not to mention all across the globe if you're a fan of any shade of the black and gold.Fans need to keep their heads up though as the team is not out of the Cup chase and the season is not over.

Next game is against the Kings at home on Thursday. Bounce back and avoid that 3rd straight L.