PREGAME
Greetings to all of you. You are reading live from our office and sadly not Stockholm. This is the first live blog of the regular season. The last time we did this for a game of consequence, we were all gasping at Marian Hossa's latch-ditch effort in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final.
(Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
It's been four months since that moment. But it seems like last week to us. We're ready to go are you?
-Petr Sykora isn't. He'll sit out today with a groin injury. He is not expected to play tomorrow.
-According to FSN Pittsburgh, your line combinations will look like this:
-The absence of Alex Goligoski's name might be surprising, but if there's one thing we all know about Michel Therrien, if he doesn't trust you to be responsible in your own end as a defenseman, he won't play you regardles of what you can do on offense. We're not saying Goligoski is sloppy on defense, he's just inexperienced.
-If you want to e-mail us, hit us up at srorabaugh@post-gazette.com. You can feel free to comment down below as well.
-For Ottawa, Mike Fisher is already listed as a scratch on the game roster. He's been dealing with a groin injury.
-We are unofficially putting the over/under on Bob Errey putting Swedish Meatball reference in with the Subway Sandwich of the Game at 13:43 of the second period.
-Apparently FSN Pittsburgh could only afford to send one microphone to Sweden. Paul Steigerwald has to keep offering his to Bob Errey in the pregame show.
If you couldn't see the pciture we posted earlier the Penguins line combinations are:
Forwards
Fedotenko-Crosby-Satan
Staal-Malkin-Kennedy
Dupuis-Talbot-Cooke
Bissonnette-Taffe-Godard
Defensemen
Gill-Scuderi
Orpik-Letang
Sydor-Eaton
-Bill Thomas, Goligoski and Sykora are the official scratches.
-Errey gets his "Hal Gill is tall" reference out of the way before the season even start.
-Ottawa's lines are:
Forwards
Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson
Winchester-Vermette-Kelly
Neil-Foligno-Ruutu
Schubert-McAmmond-Donovan
Defensemen
Kuba-Smith
Phillips-Volchenkov
Picard-Lee
-Ottawa scratched Cody Bass, Luke Richardson and Fisher.
Martin Gerber starts in net for Ottawa. Marc-Andre Fleury starts for the Penguins.
They actually annouced the national anthems of the United States, Canada and Sweden in English. Kind of weird.
-You've got to love it when they switch between French and English during "O Canada."
-Sweden has a very short national anthem.
-Ruutu looking calm:
-Former Maple Leafs captain drops the ceremonial first puck between Sidney Crosby and Daniel Alfreddson. Sundin gets a long ovation.
FIRST PERIOD
19:22: That didn't take long. Jordan Staal dishes the puck to Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy takes the puck behind the net, spins and fires a wrister on net that sneaks under Gerber's elbow on the stick side. Print up the Stanley Cup shirts! Nifty goal. Penguins 1-0.
18:54: Crosby gets a shot on net. Gerber fights it off.
18:11: Dupuis throws a shot on net from the boards. Gerber blocks it away easily.
17:51: Mark Eaton dumps the puck back into the offensive end. He's wearing No. 7 this season. We still see Michel Ouellet in that jersey.
17:08: Dean McAmmond is sent off holding Eric Godard. Seriously. You held Eric bleeping Godard? Letang, Malkin, Satan, Crosby and Staal take to the ice.
16:23: Staal gets a low shot on net. Gerber eats it up.
15:59: Ottawa is using Ruutu on the penalty kill. We always felt he could've done well in that role with the Penguins.
15:49: Chris Phillips shoots the puck out of play. Two minutes. Steigerwald mentions that the glass in this arena is shorter compared to most NHL arenas. Five-on-three for 41 seconds. A goal is a must here. Crosby and Malkin on the points.
15:02: Malkin bombs a one-timer from the point that goes wide.
13:50: Phillips' penalty expires. The Penguins got a lot of shots near the net but failed to score. Anytime you have five-on-three for any significant length of time, you should get at least one goal.
12:18: Ruutu runs over Fedotenko along the boards. You're probably not chanting "Ruuuuuu!" anymore.
10:55: The Senators outwork the Penguins in their end of the ice and it pays off. McAmmond controls the puck along the boards, turns and fires a shot on net. Former Penguin Shean Donovan appears to redirect it on net. Fire Craig Patrick. Penguins 1, Senators 1.
9:22: Rob Scuderi throws a puck on net from the point. Gerber fights it off but gives up a bad rebound. Crosby tries to punch it in but launches it out of play. Chris Kelly is called for holding. He wrestled Fedotenko to the ice.
9:17: As Steigerwald makes a Dick Tarnstrom reference, we get a delay as the officials repair the ice. What's up with that dude in the blue helmet?
8:15: Alfredsson comes up ice on a two-on-one with Ruutu. Alfredsson elects to shoot high. Fleury fights it off.
8:01: Malkin fires a one-timer. Ruutu blocks it. That takes some guts to block.
7:24: Orpik gets run into the boards from behind by Dany Heatley. No call.
7:10: Heatley fires a shot on net. Fleury makes the save.
6:57: Jason Spezza is nailed for holding. The Penguins better score here because you know there's an even-up call coming soon.
4:58: Darryl Sydor loses the puck at the blue line. Heatley takes it and brings it up ice. he fires a shot that Fleury kicks out. The penalty expires
4:45: Spezza fires a rising shot. Fleury makes the save.
3:55: Chris Neil runs Letang into the boards from behind. Wow is that dirty. Neil gets two minutes for board. The Senators might have two of the dirtiest players in the league between Neil and Ruutu. Crosby's "Is this the year" commercial is played.
The Penguins need to get a goal here eventually. Make Neil pay for being a cement head. He gave you the opportunity. Take it.
2:40: The Penguins finally pay the piper as Jeff Taffe loses control of the puck and interferes with Chris Kelly. Four-on-four for 40 seconds. The Penguins' power play looks weak so far. Michel Therrien gives an official a lecture.
2:22: McAmmond glides into the offensive zone and sails a shot just wide of the net.
1:27: Dupuis blocks a shot by Filip Kuba, collects the puck and clears it.
0:42: Gill clears the puck and essentially kills the penalty.
0:30: Hal Gill is tall.
0:20: Fleury misplays the puck. Anton Volchenkov collects it and gets a shot on net. Fleury recovers to make the save.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Senators 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-The Penguins' power play has looked very weak so far. Someone get Ric Jackman's agent on the phone.
-The Penguins have a 7-5 lead in shots.
-The Senators have a 6-4 advantage in faceoffs.
-Gill lead the game with two blocked shots.
-Kris Letang leads the game with 8:48 of ice time. That's a Goncharian total.
-Dan Potash rocking the flared collar. Tight.
-As you can tell, the Post-Gazette has spared no expense on the technology we use here.
-We're already sick of these Subway commercials. It's going to be a long season.
-Potash interviews Donovan. is it us or does it seem like Donovan's head is too big for his helmet?
SECOND PERIOD
19:44: The bench areas for each team are gigantic. You could let livestock graze in them.
18:26: Kuba fires a shot from the point. Miroslav Satan blocks the shot.
17:36: Maxime Talbot controls the puck behind the Ottawa net. He brings it forward and tries to jam it in. Gerber holds it out.
???: Brooks Orpik is called for something. FSN Pittsburgh can't be bothered to show the penalty or time because it has to get that Columbia Gas advertisment in.
???: Malkin steals a loose puck at the Penguins blue line. He charges up ice with Christoph Schubert trailing. He moves on net, falls on his butt an still manages to beat Gerber on under his right leg. Penguins 2-1.
15:31: Letang clears the puck.
14:10: Malkin charges up ice, goes wide around Brian Lee and controls it behind the Ottawa net. He dishes it out front to Eric Godard who can't get a clean shot on net. We can't say we ever expected Malkin and Godard to ever be a dynamic duo.
13:52: Schubert fires a puck on net. Fleury snags it out of the air with a nifty glove save. Donovan and Bissonnette get into a heated exchange over Margaret Thatcher. We think.
13:07: Jesse Winchester throws a puck on net. Fleury makes the easy save.
12:44: Talbot bumps Neil to the ice with a check from behind. The hitting has picked up the last minute or so.
12:17: Staal comes up the right win around Alex Picard and fires a shot from in tight. Gerber kicks it out.
11:17: Gill controls the puck at the left point and throws a wrister toward the the net. it hits a body and play is blown dead. Heatley is sent off for holding.
9:17: Another power play expires without much an attack from the Penguins. They had controlled the puck well in the offensive zone but didn't do much with it.
8:33: We get our first notable skimmish as Ruutu and Talbot tangle with one another. That's very weird to see.
8:30: Before a faceoff, Eric Godard appears to invite Chris Neil to drop the gloves. Neil doesn't take him up on it.
8:23: Godard is called for hooking Neil.
8:01: Malkin and Staal on the penalty kill. Interesting.
7:54: Alfredsson launches a slapper. Fleury knocks it away with a blocker.
7:49: You never want Dany Heatley to get the puck in the slot with space to shoot. He's a pure goal scorer. Spezza dishes it from behind the net to Heatley. Heatley collects it and rips a wrister by Malkin and Fleury. Very nice goal. Glen Frey's "The Heat is On" is played. Penguins 2, Senators 2.
5:32: Steigerwald and Errey mention that Fedotenko is dinged up.
4:05: Talbot gets a shot on net. Gerber scoops it up. We get another delay for ice repair. We get some GNR during the delay.
3:55: Phillips is called for slashing Tyler Kennedy. Seems like a pretty weak call to us.
2:30: Malkin dishes the puck out from behind the net to Satan. Satan lunges down to get a shot off. Gerber says no.
2:05: Wow what a shot. Malkin pinches in from the point. Spezza comes up ice with the puck on a three-on-two. He keeps it and fires a wicked rising wrister on Fleury on the glove side and burns him. Terrible goal to give up but fantastic shot. Senators 3-2.
0:36: Eaton hooks Donovan. Two minutes. Bad time to take a penalty. Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" is played.
0:06: Gill throws it out of play. The short glass strikes again. Two minutes. 1:30 of five-on-three hockey. If the NHL can reconfigure the rink there to meet NHL standards, why can't they adjust the boards and glass?
0:00: End of period. Senators 3, Penguins 2.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-Well that period ended rather poorly for the Penguins.
-Is Henrik Zetterberg still killing penalties against the Penguins? Their power play is terrible. 0-for-6 so far.
-Shots are tied, 22-22.
-Alfredsson leads the game with six shots.
-The Penguins have a 22-21 lead in faceoffs.
-Gill and Malkin each have two blocked shots.
-Ruutu leads the game with three blocked shots.
-Letang leads the game with 16:50 of ice time.
-We're already sick of Consol Energy's commercials. Why do they need to advertise during a Penguins game anyway? Can you go to the Consol store and get a bag of coal or something?
-Ottawa will get 1:25 of five-on-three power-play time on clean ice. Yeesh.
THIRD PERIOD
19:32: Talbot kills some time as he pokes the puck away from Alfredsson and forces it up ice.
19:02: Crosby charges the net with the puck. Gerber sweeps it away.
18:05: The Penguins kill Gill's penalty. Huge penalty kill.
17:33: Kennedy pounds Winchester into the boards with an nice check.
17:29: Ruutu ropes a wrister on net from the high slot. Fleury scoops it up.
16:27: Cooke is on a line with Crosby and Satan.
16:04: Rob Scuderi??!!? Dear Dan Focht! Rob Scuderi scored!?!?! Crosby comes up ice. He dishes it to the point to Scuderi who fires a wrister on net. It clips Gerber's arm and trickles into the net. Weak goal by Gerber to give up. Scuderi begins the season on an 82-goal pace. Penguins 3, Senators 3.
15:45: Fleury mishandles a puck in the crease and simply covers it up before anything can happen.
13:22: Talbot dishes a nice pass across the slot to Cooke. Cooke tries to make a play on it but can't handle it cleanly.
10:14: Ken Schinkel reference. Solid.
9:31: Fedotenko is apparently healthy enough to play. He gets a shot on net. Gerber kicks itout.
9:05: Heatley bombs a shot. Fleury makes the save.
8:12: Nick Foligno charges at the net. Letang tries to fight him off but takes Foligno down. Letang gets two minutes for holding. Replays appear to show Letang getting a piece of the puck. The Penguins aren't going to get any breaks the rest of the way.
7:00: Staal steals the puck along the boards and clears it down ice.
6:10: The Penguins come up with a big penalty kill.
5:34: Letang gets smashed inthe corner again. This time by Antoine Vermette.
4:58: A puck gets dumped in on net. Fleury traps it. Heatley crashes the crease to follow up on any potential rebound. Gill gives Heatley the business hoping to goad him into a penalty. Heatley doesn't bite.
3:16: Replays show Pascal Dupuis dumping Ruutu. Ruutu can be seen on the bench getting medical attention to his hand.
2:19: It's 5:12 p.m. in Blawnox. It's 11:12 p.m. in Stockholm.
0:46: Orpik fires a quick shot from the point on net. Gerber locates it in traffic an eats it up.
0:24: That was weird. Winchester hacks at the puck from the side of the net. It sails high. Fleury throws his hand up to get he puck but deflects it back into the crease. Letang clears it before any damage can be done.
0:02: Neil runs over Cooke at the red line.
0:00: End of period. Free hockey. Penguins 3, Senators 3.
-Overtime already in the first game of the season? This is going to be a long season.
-Steigerwald mentions seven of the past eight Senators-Penguins regular season games have gone to overtime.
OVERTIME
5:00: After watching tons of five-on-five overtime in the playoffs last season, it's weird seeing four-on-four regular season overtime.
4:09: Spezza winds up and fires a shot. Malkin get a piece of it.
3:39: Orpik tees one up. His shot gets deflected out of play.
3:18: Picard jumps in from the point and fires a rising shot. Fleury makes the save.
2:40: Crosby chops at a shot. Kuba gets a piece of it and deflects the puck out of play.
1:41: Cooke seperates Kelly from the puck with a nice check at the red line.
1:22: Staal comes up the right wing, uses Phillips as a screen and fires a low shot. Gerber hangs on for the save.
0:34: Malkin appears go get away with a trip on Kubba.
0:23: Tyler Kennedy wow. He steals the puck off Spezza at the blue line, comes up ice and comes into the offensive zone on the left wing. He uses Jason Smith as a screen and beats Gerber on the stick side. What a play. End of game. Penguins 4, Senators 3.
POSTGAME
-Tyler Kennedy is on pace for a 164-goal season.
-Is the "nostriled" one making a case to be a full-time first- or second- liner?
-What an entertaining game. We have missed hockey.
-The Penguins' power play was a joke. 0-for-7. Maybe they'll give Goligoski a chance tomorrow.
-Ottawa led the game with 35 shots. The Penguins had 30.
-The Senators led in faceoffs, 32-28.
-Daniel Alfredsson was a minus -3. That has to be disappointing considering he was playing in front of his fellow Swedes.
-Alfredsson led the game with 25:33 of ice time.
-Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with 24:53.
-Jason Smith led the game with four blocked shots.
-Hal Gill led the Penguins with three blocked shots.
-Marc-Andre Fleury played above average. Nothing spectacular.
-Martin Gerber looked pretty weak. We bet Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray scoots over to Russia overnight and looks for Ray Emery.
-Of all the new offseason additions for the Penguins, Eric Godard was probably the most noticable. And that was because he took that stupid penalty against Chris Neil.
-The last goal Rob Scuderi scored was in a 5-4 win at New Jersey, Feb. 16, 2007. Sidney Crosby and Josef Melichar had the assists. The 79th Academy Awards were held nine days later. "The Departed" won best picture.
-Kennedy (two goals), Spezza (one goal, one assist) and Kuba (two assists) now lead the league in scoring with two points each. Kennedy technically is in the lead by himself since the league gives more weight to goals in instances of ties. Should he maintain his lead, he will join Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Crosby as the only Penguins to win Art Ross Trophy.
-Game Summary.
-Event Summary.
-Highlights.
Posted
Oct 04 2008, 02:06 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh
Filed under: Jarkko Ruutu, Brooks Orpik, Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Mark Eaton, Jaromir Jagr, Eric Godard, Mats Sundin, Marian Hossa, Josef Melichar, Ottawa Senators, Shean Donovan, Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan, Matt Cooke, Jason Smith, Bill Thomas, Michel Therrien, Paul Bissonnette, Jeff Taffe, Mario Lemieux, Alex Picard, Filip Kuba, Maxime Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Hal Gill, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Rob Scuderi, Darryl Sydor, Daniel Alfredsson, Christoph Schubert, Michel Ouellet, FSN Pittsburgh, Ruslan Fedotenko, Petr Sykora, Mike Fisher, Chris Phillips, Dany Heatley, Chris Osgood, Paul Steigerwald, Bob Errey, Jason Spezza, Chris Neil, Dean McAmmond, Antoine Vermette, Chris Kelly, Nick Foligno, Jesse Wincester, Anton Volchenkov, Luke Richardson, Brian Lee, Cody Bass, Dick Tarnstrom, Ken Schinkel, Dan Focht, Dan Potash