Penguins 4, Lightning 1 - Final - 10-17-09

PREGAME

-Greetings from what is simply a cruddy, miserable day in Pittsburgh. Low 40s, drizzle. It just one of those days where the word "hibernation" comes to mind.

-We didn't walk up from downtown. Too cruddy.

-This is a left over from last week's game. A Georges Laraque jersey:

-This is from this morning. The Lightning had some memorabilia set aside for the entire team to sign:

-Apparently photos of Yorkshire puppies are popular with the Lightning fan base.

-Consol Energy Center:

-Kevin Stevens and Alex Kovalev have autographed oars in the Steelhead Brasserie and Wine Bar:

-Kovalev shortened his name from Alexei to Alex a few years ago.

-Downtown:

-Mellon Arena:

-The ice:

-We're hardly experts on ice and we'd be lying if we ever said we studied the ice here all that much, but you can see several "patches" on it up close:

-Lightning coach and former Penguin Rick Tocchet called out slumping fowards Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay.

-Some sights around the arena. A Jaromir Jagr jersey:

-We apparently took that photo in the basement of this dank arena.

-Rick Tocchet:

-This is the best jersey of the nigh. A Ryan Malone St. Cloud State jersey:

-Paul Coffey with a minor jersey foul:

-Vincent Lecavalier:

-Ken Wregget:

-Alex Goligoski pre Bill Guerin:

-Gilles Meloche:

-John Cullen:

-Warm ups:

-The Penguins' scratches are Chris Bourque and Martin Skoula.

-Lukas Krajicek, Todd Fedoruk and Matt Smaby are Tampa Bay's scratches.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and Antero Niittymaki are your starting goaltenders.

-It got dark and kind of blue in here:

-That really sweet intro made specifically for the blue jersey set to "Baba O'Riley" by The Who has apparently been abondoned. Hey, we guess it had a losing record too.

-Sidney Crosby presented a Stanley Cup ring to Phil Pritchard AKA "The Keeper of the Cup."

-Big, big let down. Jeff Jimerson is announced as the national anthem singer. But... Sarah Marince is actually here. Ouch. To borrow a Pensblogism, Mellon Arena = Stunned.

FIRST PERIOD

19:45: "LET'S GO PENS!" LET'S GO PENS!"

19:30: Chris Kunitz gets a shift with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

18:36: Bill Guerin is on with Craig Adams and Ruslan Fedotenko.

17:50: Malkin hustles up the left wing, enters the offensive zone and leaves a drop pass for Mike Rupp. Rupp steps up and cranks a slapper wide of the net.

17:06: Matt Cooke gives his former Canucks teammate Mattias Ohlund a stiff check into the boards.

17:02: Brooks Oprik cranks Steve Downie with a big hit just outside the Penguins' blue line. He caught Downie with a shoulder to the head by the looks of things. Orpik seems a bit dazed after the hit. Replays show it seemed to be problem with a contact lense.

16:42: Kennedy fires a slap/pass towards the slot. Jordan Staal re-directs it on net.

16:20: Drew Miller is nabbed for high sticking Tyler Kennedy. Crosby, Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Guerin and Alex Goligoski are on for the power play.

16:02: Crosby dishes a quick feed to Guerin in the slot. Guerin gets off a quick shot. Niittymaki covers it to freeze play.

15:55: Goligoski snaps off  a wrister from the left point. Niittymaki fights it off.

15:03: The Penguins get their power play going with a garbage goal. Malkin takes a pass on the right wing, fakes a slapper and cuts to the slot. He rips a wrister. Niittymaki makes the save but gives up a big rebound to his right. Bill Guerin is right there and punches it into a wide open net. Malkin and Goligoski get assists. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 1-0.

14:26: Lecavalier flicks a wrister on net from the left wing. Fleury makes the easy save.

14:20: Goligoski is called for tripping Stephane Veilleux. Staal, Cooke, Orpik and Mark Eaton are on for the penalty kill.

12:20: The Penguins kill off the penalty. Not a lot going on there for Tampa Bay.

10:50: Rusland Fedotenko gets James Wright with a solid check along the boards just inside the Tampa Bay blue line.

8:48: From the right wing, Letang snaps off a wrister. It hits the side of the cage and deflects out of play.

7:55: Malone digs the puck out from behind the Penguins' net and tries to jam one in by Fleury on the stick side. Fleury holds it out. Malone takes a few stabs at it. Oprik gives Malone a shove. Nothing comes of it. During a stoppage for television, a short tribute to Rick Tocchet is played. His two-goal game against the Blackhawks in 1992 with a broken jaw is noted. Tocchet gives the crowd a brief wave as they give him a fairly enthusiastic applause.

7:23: St. Louis tosses a wrister on net with Malone running a moving screen. FLeury makes the save. Malone seems to take a playful jab at his former teammate's glove well after the play. Fleury seemed like he laughed it off.

4:30: Very little of note has really taken place for the last three minutes or so. This period has really slowed down since the Guerin goal.

3:56: Fedotenko snaps off a shot from the slot that goes wide.

3:06: Staal gets dumped awkwardly at the Tampa Bay blue line by Andrej Meszaros.

2:56: Staal skates a bit out of his way behind the Tampa Bay net and dumps Meszaros.

2:50: Just as former Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop is shown in the crowd, the Penguins score. From the left point, Orpik slides a pass to Gonchar along the blue line. Gonchar drops the hammer and cranks a one-timer that beats Niittymaki on the stick side. Not a good goal for Nittymaki. He didn't appear to be screened. Orpik and Crosby get assists. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 2-0.

1:25: Eaton gets off a quick wrister from the slot. Niittymaker fights it off.

1:03: Kennedy tries to feed a puck into the slot for a re-direct with Staal. They juuuuust miss. They had the goal too. Niittymaki was really out of place. Staal lifts his head in anger.

0:08: Malkin moves into the offensive zone and snaps off a wrister from the right wing. Niittymaki punches it away.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Lightning 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a fairly dominant period of hockey. It was pretty evident which team had a lottery pick in the draft and which team spent the summer celebrating a championship.

-The Penguins just controlled play for the most part.

-Dan Bylsma continues to mix and match his lines. You don't really see them sticking with one combination all that long.

-Oddly enough, the pairings on defense (Gonchar-Orpik, Letang-Eaton, McKee-Goligoski) seem to be set in stone.

-The Penguins have an 11-5 lead in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with four.

-None of the Lightning have more than one.

-Gonchar leads the game with 8:15.

-Alex Tanguay leads the Lightning with 7:23.

-The Lightning have an 11-8 lead in faceoffs (58 percent).

-Zenon Konopka is 3 for 4 (75 percent).

-Crosby is 4 for 7 (57 percent).

-Jay McKee (Who else?) leads the game with two blocked shots.

-Cotton candy heeeee!!!! Cotton candy heeee!!!

SECOND PERIOD

19:34: Letang cranks a one-timer from the right point. Niittymaki deflects it away with his blocker.

19:10: Crosby is nabbed for holding the stick. Gonchar, Orpik, Cooke and Staal are on for the kill.

18:26: Cooke blocks a slapper attempt by Meszaros at the top of the slot. Cooke then backhands the puck out of the zone.

17:15: McKee blocks a half-slapper by Ohlund from the top of the slot.

17:09: Just as Crosby's penalty expires, Fleury snags a shot by Ohlund from the left point with his glove hand.

16:24: A wrister by Lecavalier is deflected out of play by Gonchar.

15:46: Tanguay gets a pass on the left wing and appears to have a step on the outside against Letang. Letang makes up the difference and just bodies Tanguay off the puck and prevents any sort of shot. Heck of a play. Letang's physical play is very underrated.

15:38: Kennedy puts a slapper on net from the right wing. Niittymaki absorbs it. Kennedy's showing a lot of confidence in his shot these days.

14:30: The Penguins go back on the penalty kill. Dupuis is nabbed for slashing Malone. Orpik, Cooke, Staal and Gonchar are on for the kill.

14:02: Cooke hounds Victor Hedman at the left point. Hedman makes a rookie mistake and forces it into the Cooke's skates. Cooke says "Thank you" and pushes the puck up ice.

13:42: Tampa Bay finally gets on the board. Martin St. Louis unleases a heavy slapper from the left wing. Fleury makes the save with his glove side eblow but gives up a bad rebound. Eaton is there but can't clear it. Stamkos jumps on it and jabs it into the empty cage. Solid dirty goal. St. Louis and Lecavalier get assists. Penguins 2-1.

12:38: Attendance is announces as 17,132. That is the team's 121st consecutive sellout.

12:30: Dupuis is back on al ine with Malkin and Fedotenko.

11:45: Fedotenko emerges from the corner and zips a pass to Gonchar at the right point. Gonchar tosses the puck at the cage. Malkin puts a moving screen on Nittymaki. It appears to work as the puck gets by him. Niittymaki kind of puts his hands up as if to signal "What the #$@!" Officials review the goal briefly. It's confirmed. Fedotenko and Malkin get assists. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 3-1.

9:59: We know we're going to jinx Gonchar, but the last hat trick by a Penguins defenseman was a looong time ago. Paul Coffey had three in an 8-3 drubbing of the Blackhawks, Jan. 20, 1988.

7:59: As Fleury stops a shot from the left wing, Malkin is nabbed for hooking Lecavalier. Eaton, McKee, Staal and Cooke on on for the kill.

7:40: St. Louis snaps off another heavy shot from the right wing. Fleury makes the save. The rebound kicks out to the right wing. Meszaros moves up and rips a shot wide.

6:05: Dupuis smacks a loose puck down ice to essentially kill off the rest of Malkin's penalty.

5:34: Fedotenko tes a feed in the left faceoff circle and puts the puck on net. Niittymaki fights it off.

5:27: Old nemesis Jeff Halpern is nabbed for holding the stick. Crosby, Guerin, Malkin, Goligoski and Gonchar are on for the power play.

4:04: "LET'S GO PENS! LET'S GO PENS!"

3:57: Fedotenko puts a shot over the cage from the left faceoff circle.

3:27: Halpern's penalty is killed without much issue. That was a kind of flat two minutes for the Penguins.

2:39: Jay McKee sneaks in and gets off a wrister from the right faceoff circle. Niittymaki fights it off.

2:27: Fleury eats up a wrister by Stamkos from the right wing.

2:16: Konopka is nabbed for slashing.  Gonchar, Goligoski, Guerin, Crosby and Malkin are on for the power play.

2:04: The Penguins try to run the "Whitney Play" with Goligoski. It works but Niittymaki is able to make a fantastic save with his right leg.

2:06: Matt Walker is called for slashing Malkin in the corner. Rough time for the Lightning. The Penguins will have a two-man advantage for 1:50. Malkin, Gonchar, Guerin, Kunitz and Crosby are on the ice. Malkin is on the point with

1:19: This just keeps getting worse for Tampa Bay. Paul Rangers is sent off for delay of game as he whipped the puck out of play. Basically, the Penguins have a two-man advantage for 402 years.

0:40: Gonchar hammers a slapper from the slot. Niittymaki fights it off.

0:24: Niittymaki robs Crosby is a fantastic leg save. Crosby had a seemingly automatic goal from the left faceoff circle but Niittymaki was able stretch out and kick it out.

0:17: Guerin bats a puck in mid-air on net. Niittymaki gloves it.

0:06: Walker's penalty is killed and the two-man advantage comes to an end.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Lightning 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was a fairly even period. Each team had its chances. Each team had power play time. Each team got a goal.

-Just when you think the Penguins have their power play solved, they go back into a funk. They failed once again to get anything with the two-man advantage.

-After a shaky first period, Niittymaki has gotten his game together. He's the main reason this is only a two goal lead for the Penguins.

-The Stamkos-St. Louis-Malone line is clearly the only line the Penguins need to be worried about right now. None of the other three have generated much.

-The Penguins have a 24-13 lead in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with five.

-Stamkos leads the Lightning with three.

-Gonchar leads the game with 17:16 of ice time.

-Ohlund leads the Lightning with 15:48.

-The Lightning have a 22-17 lead in faceoffs (56 percent).

-Konopka is 4 for 5 (80 percent).

-Crosby is 9 for 9 (50 percent).

-McKee leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Ohlund and Walker have two each.

-The Penguins have 1:43 of power play time left.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: Malkin, Crosby, Gonchar, Goligoski and Guerin are on for the power play.

18:59: Gonchar tees up a slapper from the left point and it's blocked by... Sidney Crosby.

18:16: Ranger's penalty is killed. The power play struggles continue. That at was a complete failure by the Penguins.

17:59: Staal gets away with a trip on St. Louis.

17:31: Kennedy takes a pass in the slot, turns and whips a wrister on net. Niittymaki punches it away with his blocker.

16:51: Orpik drops his friend Downie with a check in the corner.

15:12: Malkin moves towards the net from the left wing but before he can get a shot off, Ranger slides down and knocks the puck off Malkin's stick.

14:43: See. We jinxed him!!!! The Penguins' third goal was awarded to Dupuis. Gonchar and Fedotenko get the assists. Paul Coffey's legend lives another day.

14:30: Wright is called for hooking. Crosby, Malkin, Fedotenko, Gonchar and Goligoski are on to waste two minutes for the power play.

13:52: Goligoski races down the left wing and puts a quick shot on net. Niittymaki eats it up.

13:15: Kunitz shoots from the slot. Hedman slides down to block it.

12:45: Gonchar slides a pass through traffic through the slot. Malkin takes it and puts a shot off the post.

12:42: Another penalty for Tampa Bay. Geez. Hedman is nabbed for holding. Five-on-three for 12 seconds. Goligoski,, Guerin, Crosby, Fedotenko and Letang are on the ice.

12:30: Wright's penalty is killed. The Penguins still have 1:48 of power play time.

10:56: Gonchar controls the puck at the top of the slot and fires a wrister that goes just wide. There was a Penguin in front looking for a re-direct.

10:42: Hedman's penalty is killed. Not a lot going on for the Penguins once again.

9:46: Jay Mckee air mails a shot from outside the blue line well over the cage.

9:38: Kennedy play a puck from behind the net to Cooke in the right faceoff circle. Cooke puts a shot to the far side. It clunks off the post.

9:10: David Hale makes a pretty stupid pass attempt through the slot. Sidney Crosby is there, steals it and moves in. He tries to lift a backhander on Niittymaki's glove side but Niittymaki comes up with a huge save. Hale owes Niittymaki a beer.

8:39: Mike Rupp continues to show he's not some big lug taking space out there. He gets a shift with Crosby and it pays dividends. With two defenders  hounding him, Crosby backhands a pass to Rupp in the left faceoff circle. Rupp takes the pass, picks his spot and rips a sweet wrister to the far side over Niittymaki's stick side shoulder. Wow. Two pretty goals in as many games. Crosby gets the only assist. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 4-1.

8:00: Fedotenko is sent off for slashing. Staal, Cooke, Gonchar and Orpik are on for the kill.

7:38: Stamkos has a wrister blocked by Orpik.

7:22: St. Louis hammers a slapper from the right wing. Fleury kicks it out with a "thud."

6:18: McKee blocks yet another shot. A one-timer by St. Louis from the right wing meets McKee's foot.

6:00: Fedotenko's penalty is killed. Another solid effort by the Penguins.

5:41: Yet another penalty for the Penguins. Too many men on the ice. Guerin will serve the two minutes. Staal, Cooke, Eaton and McKee are on for the kill. "Cotton-Eye Joe" is busted out for the first time this season by our count:

5:20: Lecavalier tries to play a puck from behind the net to the crease. Fleury lunges out to cover it with his glove.

5:08: Unimpressed with McKee, Eaton takes a deflected shot in the face and goes down immediately. Officials halt play, but Eaton is fairly quick to recover. He's smarting, but he's fine.

3:41: As the bench minor expires, McKee says "Take that!" to Eaton and blocks yet another shot from the right wing by St. Louis. This man is a puck magnet.

2:45: Lots of folks are hitting the exits here. Really lame.

2:27: Why the heck not. Eaton is called for tripping. Gonchar, Orpik, Cooke and Staal are on for the kill.

2:15: The Lightning pull Niittmaki for an extra attacker.

1:46: From the left wing, Ohlund lifts a wrister high and wide.

1:15: Cooke backhands a puck down ice to kill time. It rolls wide of the cage.

0:41: Crosby backhands the puck down ice.

0:32: Meszaros snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Fleury fights it off.

0:29: Malone gives McKee a ride into the boards from behind.

0:18: Fleury covers the puck in the slot after a bit of a scramble. St. Louis is sitting on his but in the crease.

0:15: Eaton's penalty is killed.

0:01: Fleury covers the puck once again near his cage.

0:00: End of game. The "Woo-Hoo" song is played. Penguins 4, Lightning 1.

POSTGAME

-It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty lopsided. The Penguins hardly played to the best of their ablilites but they still dominated an inferior team.

-How scary will this team be once they have their power play in order? It's still stuck in neutral, but they're still winning games with ease despite the lack of scoring from their special teams.

-Sergei Gonchar continues to show what the team was missing last season for the first three quarters of the season. He provide a threat from the blue line offensively that not too many defensemen can offer. He gets shots through traffic and on net with such regularity. They might not go in all the time, but they more often than not create an opportunity for a teammate.

-Jay McKee. What more can you say about this guy? He blocks shots like he's breathing oxygen. He's been as advertised.

-Dan Bylsma sought out McKee in the locker room after the game to give him a fist bump and offer praise.

-Lots of people think Mike Rupp's just this big, lumbering slug on the ice. But that's hardly the case. He's a fairly versatile player.  We're not saying he's Pavel Datsyuk by any means. He's probably no better than a third liner, especially on this team. But he offers quite a bit. First and foremost, he can be physical. In front of the net or along the boards. He will fight with anyone in the league. He can skate a little for a big guy and bust out the occasional pretty goal. Lots of eyebrows were raised when Rupp was signed. He's answering a lot of questions right now.

-On the flip side of the power play woes is the penalty kill. It was stellar once again. As Bylsma pointed out after the game, it's been a total team effort. He lauded his players, particularly McKee and Mark Eaton, for blocking shots with a three-goal lead late in the game.

-Fleury's effort shouldn't be discounted. The cliche about penalty killing is that the goaltender needs to be the best penalty killer. Fleury was in many ways tonight.

-The discipline still appears to be a bit of an issue. The Penguins gave the Lightning seven power plays.

-Tampa Bay is a long way away from being a playoff contender. Other than the Malone-Stamkos-St. Louis line, there is very little to fear on this team.

-Rick Tocchet was very critical of his team afterwards.

-"Well Pittsburgh, if you watch them, they blocked a ton of shots and we didn't block any. We seemed light on our sticks. You know, that's a championship team and you can tell that's why they are. They come up with loose pucks. There are certain guys the last three or four games that are losing battles and are light on their sticks. We're going to have to get back to basics here quickly."

"I'm sure management is going to make necessary changes. If they have to do it, they'll do it. I'm sure there will be. It's best to have something hanging over their heads. I think there is going to be some changes and Brian (Lawton) will do it."

-We guess it wasn't the blue jerseys afterall.

-The Penguins led in shots, 33-23.

-Malkin led the game with six.

-Ohlund, Malone and Stakos led the Lightning with four.

-Gonchar led the game with 25:28.

-Hedman led the Lightning with 23:15.

-Tampa Bay led in faceoffs 36-25 (59 percent).

-Konopka was 6 for 7 (86 percent).

-Who would ever think Malkin would lead the Penguins in faceoffs? He was 3 for 6 (50 percent).

-McKee led the game with seven blocked shots. Geez.

-Ohlund and Walker each had two.

-Crosby moved ahead of Ron Schock for 10th place on the franchise scoring list. Each player has 404 points but Crosby (136) has more goals than Schock (124).

-Fleury has tied a career high with his seventh consecutive win.

-How cruddy would it have been if Gonchar got his "hat trick" during the two-man advantage but only to have Dupuis get credit for the third Penguins goal? Total buzz kill.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.