PREGAME
Hey, guess where we are:
Nope:
But EN reader Eric Naughton, who sent some quality pics during Tuesday's game in Anaheim is on the ground in the City of Angels:
-Eric gives you a little bit of Dan Bylsma if you ask us:
-Eric sent in a few pregame photos. Tom Barrasso, Mario Lemieux, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby all have at least one fan in house:
-As does Jaromir Jagr:
Remember this gentleman who had the "jersey foul" with the Tyler Kennedy jersey in Anaheim Tuesday?
-Well Eric ran into him once a again, and he was proud to point out he is not wearing his hood tonight:
-Point of Clarification: We forgot one of our own rules regarding hoods. If the hood is positioned in a what that it is not blocking the name plate or number, it is not a foul. So this Tyler Kennedy fan was in the clear on Tuesday night. Though, we would argue it was far too warm to be wearing a hood in 64 degree weather in Anaheim.
-Let's get this this out of the way. For "Rob Scuderi use to be a Penguin," we'll use a photo of his finest moment as a Penguin:
-For "Dan Bylsma used to be a King:"
-For "Tony Granato used to be a King:"
-And while we don't expect a ton of these, we couldn't resist digging up this image for "Luc Robitaille used to be a Penguin:"
-This might hurt your eyes:
-LetsGoKings.com has a pretty extensive gallery of Sidney Crosby in Kings garb. He participated in the Kings' prospect camp in the summer of 2004.
(Kudos to The Pensblog for the reminder.)
-Crosby and Kings defenseman Jack Johnson are BFFs.
-There's some ugly hunk of metal out front:
-Penguins fans waiting to watch warm ups:
(Sweet Granato jersey. The Kings' jersey from the late 1980s to mid 1990s might be one of the best jerseys ever in any sport.)
-The Kings "Lakers" jerseys before the Gretzky era were pretty sweet too. Luc Robitaille:
-Sidney Crosby practice:
-Maxime Talbot:
-The Kings are pulling off some Capitals-esque urinal hijinks:
-Warm ups:
-Dan Potash attempts to karate chop his evil twin Dan Bylsma:
-Crosby and Malkin have two more fans at least:
(Kids are exempt from jersey fouls.)
-Potash drops a:
-Some surprsing news here. Tyler Kennedy is a scratch. So is Evgeni Malkin. Chris Conner takes Kennedy's place in the lineup.
-Kennedy was one of the Penguins' top players in the Anaheim win.
-Peter Harrold and Randy Joines are the Kings scratches.
-Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick are your starting goaltenders.
-Paul Steigerwald reminds us:
-From Rob King:
FIRST PERIOD
20:00: Before the first faceoff, Steigerwald gets in one last:
19:33: Well that doesn't take long. The Kings strike first. Justin Williams carries the puck up the ice, draws Kris Letang to the slot and dishes a pass to Anze Kopitar flying in on the left wing. Kopitar essentially has a breakaway. He moves in on net, dekes to the backhand undressing Fleury and lifts the puck into the empty cage. What a move by Kopitar. Heck of an effort by Williams to create space for Kopitar. Williams and Ryan Smyth get assists. A hybrid of "I Love L.A./Hey Song" is played. Kings 1-0.
18:51: And we're off and running. Chris Conner carries the puck up ice and leaves a drop pass just insde the goal line. With Jay McKee driving to the net, Staal steps up and hammers a slapper from the left point that clunks off the cross bar and goes just over the goal line. Just as he released that shot, Kings captain Dustin Brown dumped Staal with a nice shoulder check. Replays show McKee might've screened Quick a bit on that shot. Either way, Quick probably needs to make that save. Heck of a response by the Penguins. Nice to see Staal break out of his mini scoring slump. Conner and McKee get assists. Kings 1, Penguins 1.
17:10: Rob Scueri fires a slapper from the left point through traffic. Fleury makes the save. Bob Errey points out that was the first save of the game.
14:09: We missed the last three minutes of action looking up the Kings' goal horn. It doesn't seem like anything happened. Matt Greene is nabbed for hooking Pascal Dupuis. Crosby, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz take the ice.
13:49: Alex Goligoski whips a wrister on net from the left point. Quick hangs on for the save.
13:40: Crosby dishes a pass to Kunitz down low to the left of the net. Kunitz turns and tries to jam the puck in. Quick holds his ground.
12:29: Guerin gloves a deflected puck in the air, puts it down on the ice, spins and whips a wrister far and wide of the cage.
12:14: From the right wing, Crosby snaps of a pass to Guerin in the slot. Guerin smacks it on net. Quick is able to slid over and deny Guerin with his right leg. Heck of a save by Quick. Errey says, "It was a quick pass but a quicker Quick!"
12:09: Greene's penalty is killed. The Penguins actually generated a few nice chances there.
11:44: Fleury fights off a shot by Brown.
11:32: Browns snaps off a low shot from the right wing. Fleury kicks it out.
9:20: After Martin Skoula turns the puck over at his own blue line, Kopitar snaps off a low wrister at the cage. Fleury eats it up.
8:50ish: Coming back from commercial, Potash surprises us with a "Bob Berry used to coach the Penguins." We're totally unprepared and all we can find is this:
7:17: Jonathan Quick eats up a deflected shot by McKee.
5:20: Steigerwald kind of compares Skoula to Larry Murphy in terms of skating styles.
4:05: Kunitz forces a turnover deep in the Kings' zone. He drops a pass to Crosby. Crosby steps up and smacks a shot over the Kings' cage.
3:20: Coming back from commercial
-Errey also drops a less than subtle "Look at how big his arms are" for one of his bosses, Penguins investor Ron Burkle.
2:41: The Penguins have Jordan Staal, Mike Rupp and Matt Cooke on a line.
1:48: Play is stopped as a big chunk of glass breaks in the corner in the Kings zone:
-The glass was broken when Craig Adams hit Greene into the boards.
-During the stoppage, FSN Pittsburgh drops a nice stat:
(Bylsma is apparently bashful of his accomplishment.)
-And Errey offers the first:
0:00: End of period. Kings 1, Penguins 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-That was a really odd period. Each team came out flying and got goals on their first shots. Then neither team could hit the net. There were a lot of missed or blocked shots. The first two minutes were exciting. The final 18 were kind of clunky.
-The Penguins' power play looked better during it's one chance. It got a few shots on net, including a few down low.
-The Kings have a 7-6 edge in shots.
-Scuderi leads the game with 8:41 of ice time.
-FIre Ray Shero.
-Kris Letang leads the Penguins with 7:57.
-The Kings control faceoffs, 12-7 (63 percent).
-Jarret Stoll is 4 for 5 (80 percent).
-Crosby is 5 for 9 (56 percent).
-No one has more than one blocked shot.
-The Bob Errey "stick management" segment was funny on many levels. Hopefully someone YouTubed that.
-Eric sends in another jersey. We'll going to assume this gentleman is a fan of non-contact jerseys:
-Dear lord. FSN Pittsburgh shows clips from Fleury's NHL debut in the 2003-04 season opener at Mellon Arena. Kelly Buchberger is shown. Our eyes begin to bleed like Buchberger:
SECOND PERIOD
19:10: Scott Parse smacks a loose puck on net. Fleury steers it into the corner.
18:45: Parse and company try to jam a puck in by Fleury down low. Fleury hold them off. Someon in a black jersey gets hauled down. Cooke is sent off for hooking. The Kings' dangerous power play takes the ice. Adams, Pascal Dupuis, Mark Eaton and McKee take the ice.
17:31: Staal moves up the right wing on a two-on-one with Dupuis against Drew Doughty. Staal elects to shoot a wrister. Quick fights it off.
17:18: Drew Doughty hammers a slapper on net from the top of the slot. Fleury makes the save despite MIchal Handzus' screen. Handzus backhands the rebound. Fleury fights that off.
16:45: Cooke's penalty is killed. Solid effort by the Penguins.
16:20: From the right wing, Crosby zips a cross ice pass to Guerin who rips a wrister to the far side. Quick gloves it. Officials escort Crosby off the ice to clean up a little blood off his face.
16:03: Kopitar snaps off a wrister from the right wing. Fleury kicks it out at the last second.
14:48: Alexander Frolov cracks a slapper from the left point wide.
14:19: With the Penguins running a little ragged in their own end, Brown turns and whips a one-timer on net from the left faceoff cricle. Fleury eats it up.
14:06: Jack Johnson fires a slapper on net from the left point. Fleury makes the save. The Kings have dominated play for the past minute or so.
12:46: Guerin jumps on a loose puck in the Kings' zone and swats it on net. Quick kicks it out.
12:01: Eric Godard gets a shift with Crosby and Kunitz for some reason. Crosby dishes a pass to Godard. Godard can't find it and gets flattened by Johnson for his trouble.
11:29: McKee blocks a wrister by Johnson from the right point.
10:29: Off some furious forechecking by Conner, Staal is able to hack a shot on net from in tight. Quick gloves it. Conner's had a few nice shifts with Staal.
10:03: Goligoski takes out Brad Richards with a solid hip check inside the Penguins' blue line.
9:09: Dear Dan Focht!?!?! Brooks Oprik might've scored!?!?! Actually, Kunitz re-directed it. Orpik tosses a puck at the net from the right point. Kunitz is at front and re-directs it down with the shaft of his stck. by the stick side of Quick. See what happens when you just put a puck on net and crash the crease? That's a classic Kunitz goal. Officials briefly review the goal to make sure Kunitz didn't get it with a high stick. The goal is confirmed. Orpik and Guerin get assists. Penguins 2-1.
8:25: Teddy Purcell snaps off a wrister from the right wing. Fleury kicks it out with his right foot. Eaton pulls out his nine iron and smacks the rebound into the 200 level. That's two minutes for delay of game. Bad penalty for Eaton to take. Letang, Orpik, Staal and Cooke are on for the kill.
7:40: Letang apparently slashed Dustin Brown in the leg. No call.
6:43: Cooke backhand "Murphy Dumps" the puck down ice.
6:25: Staal clears the puck. Cooke chases it down and eats up the rest of the clock on Eaton's penalty. Nice effort by the Penguins.
5:02: Play is stopped in the Penguins' zone. Bailey, the Kings' mascot stands up and slams the glass from the stands.
4:07: Scuderi takes a feed at the left point and drives a slapper at the cage. It hits a cluster of bodies in front and is cleared away.
3:20: Staal picks up a loose puck in the slot. He, has a two-on-one and dishes a pass to Conner on the righ wing. He distributed to Conner. Conner smacks the puck on net. Quick is able to slide ot his left and simply robs Conner. What a save. Staal and Conner have created a few chances.
2:05: Orpik makes a brutal turnover in his own zone on a delayed penalty. Handzus comes in and steals the puck off a terrible pass in Penguins' zone. Play is blown dead as soon as Handzus touches it. He rips a wrister after the whistle beating Fleury. THat's a no-no in the unwritten rules of hockey. Kunitz jumps Handzus. A scrum develops. Orpik and Smyth appear to have a nice conversation about High Forest Township, Olmsted County in Minnesota. We think. Williams is nabbed for high sticking Letang. Kunitz and Handzus each get roughing minors. The Penguins and Kunitz are lucky Kunitz didn't just get the penalty there. As it is, the Penguins have a five-on-four power play.
1:29: Staal gets a puck into the crease. Guerin jumps on the puck and tries to punch it in. Quick is able to hold it out with another amazing save with his right toe. The puck kicks up and bounces off the post. So close.
0:40: Guerin smacks a slapper from the right wing. Quicks makes the save. Staal is in front for the rebound but can't get a stick on it.
0:05: The Kings' power play ends. The Penguins generated some more decent chances.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Kings 1.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-The Penguins are lucky to escape with a lead that period. The Kings controlled a lot of that period. And the Penguins got away with a lot of mistakes.
-We're not saying the Penguins totally stunk it up that period, but the Kings had the bulk of the momentum.
-We're liking Conner and Staal. They have something going.
-Quick is tough.
-The Kings have a 20-13 lead in shots.
-In the second period, the Kings had a 13-7 lead in shots.
-Guerin and Kunitz each lead the game with four shots.
-Brown and Kopitar each lead the Kings with three.
-Doughty leads the game with 17:52 of ice time.
-Letang leads the Penguins with 17:33.
-The Kings have a 19-14 lead in faceoffs (58 percent).
-Stoll is 5 for 6 (81 percent).
-Rupp is 3 for 4 (75 percent).
-Who else but McKee would lead the game in blocked shots? He has three.
-During a solid piece on Kings' old Triple Crown Line, Potash gives us:
-The Triple Crown line was no joke:
-Speaking of Buchberger:
Before the period:
THIRD PERIOD
19:05: Smyth hammer Letang to the ice just inside the Kings' blue line.
18:59: Off a rush to the net, Kopitar hammers a slapper on net from the left point. Fleury eats it up.
17:15ish: Fleury denies Simmonds in tight.
17:08: Fleury pushes away a shot by Handzus from th eright wing.
16:45: Fleury's doing every thing. With his blocker, he punches away a chance by Smyth in the slot.
16:37: McKee blocks a shot from tight by Kopitar. It hops up and clunks off the cross bar. Yeesh. The Kings are dominating this period so far.
14:49: Sean O'Donnell snaps off a wrister from the left point. Smyth is right there in front and deflects the puck down and wide. He's might be the best player in the NHL near the net.
14:17: Off some fantastic work behind the net, Frolov sweeps a wrap around into the slot. Handzus stabs at the puck but can't get it by Fleury.
14:10: Off a faceoff, Frolov gets a shot on net. Fleury makes another save.
13:51: Simmond snaps off a wrister from the right wing that appears to go wide. Fleury still gloves it. The Kings have 239 shots on net this period. Or something like that.
13:43: You knew the Kigns were going to score eventually. They were in total control of this period. Kopitar dishes a pass to Williams in the left faceoff circle. Williams snaps off a wrister that goes wide. Kopitar is able to collect the rebound and sneaks it in by Fleury on the stick side on a wraparound attempt. The Kings have totally outworked the Penguins this period. They earned that goal. Williams and Doughty get assists. Kings 2, Penguins 2.
12:52: McKee gets the Penguins first shot on net in about 32 minutes. Quick makes the save.
11:51: Kopitar carries the puck up to the neutral zone. He distributes to Smyth. Smyth leaves a one-touch pass for Kopitar who picks the puck and blows by Letang on the left wing. He drives to the net and tries to go backhand. Just as Fleury denies Kopitar, he gets blasted on a shoulder check by Orpik on a backcheck. Kopitar crashes into the boards and the net is dislodged. What speed on Kopitar. Letang is a very good skater and he looked like Hal Gill on that play.
11:27: Crosby gets a chances on the left wing and he snaps off a wrister. Quick makes the easy save.
10:10: Greene is called for holding on Staal. Crosby, Kuntiz, Guerin, Letang and Goligoski are on for the power play.
9:35: Doughty clears the puck down ice.
8:45: Off a turnover by Crosby, Doughty clears the puck again. Errey calls out the Penguins' power play for being too stationary.
8:10: Greene's penalty is killed
7:51: And the Kings get the lead back. They continue to dominate this period. The puck gets dumped down deep. Fleury makes a poor play with the puck and essentially turns it over to Brown. He picks up the puck, circles out of hte corner and distributes to Stoll on the righ wingt wing. Stoll has an open lane to shoot and rips a wrister by Fleury. Brown gets the only assist. Fleury should get one. Kings 3-2.
7:10: This is so one-sided. Frolov swings around the net and dishes a pass into the crease. It hits off a few skates before Handzus is able to fight off the check of Orpik and smacks the puck into the cage. Total domination. Frolov and Simmonds get assists. Kings 4-2.
7:10: This is about over. Crosby is called for tripping Williams. Staal, Cooke, McKee and Eaton are on for a vital penalty kill.
5:17: Shorthanded, Dupuis distributes a pass to Eaton jumping in on the left wing. Eaton's shot appears to get deflected high and wide.
5:10: The Penguins kill the penalty. They needed that if they have any hope of coming back in this.
4:42: Kunitz tosses a shot on net from the left wing. Quick kicks it out.
3:54: Quick covers a puck shot in on net.
3:24: More sloppy play by the Penguins creates a breakaway chance for Williams. Smyth backhands the puck up ice to Williams who si behind Letang. Letang makes up the difference and distracts Williams enought that he can't get a clean shot off. Fleury is able to make the save.
2:31: This is brutal. Off a delayed penalty, the Kings move the puck with a ton of precision and take a three-goal lead. Stoll get the puck from Johnson in the slot. Stoll then dishes it to Brown on the left wing. From a tough angle, Stoll lifts the shot over Fleury on the stick side and into the twine. Fleury had no chance on that one. The Penguins' defense has been horrible this period. Stoll and Johnson get assists. Kings 5-2.
0:44: Skoula snaps off a wrister from the slot. Quick punches it away.
0:38: Ruslan Fedotenko decides to make an appearance and puts a shot on net from in tight. Quick makes the save.
0:14: Eaton is denied from the right wing by Quick's glove.
0:00: End of game. Kings 5, Penguins 2.
POSTGAME
-That was about as one-side of a period for the Penguins we've seen this season. The Kings completely dominated that final 20 minutes. They got to loose pucks. They attacked the offensive zone. The outskated the Penguins. They went to the net. They played like the Penguins.
-The Kings earned that win.
-The Penguins earned that loss.
-Fleury was okay. He was probably the Penguins' best player. He had a hand in this loss, but he had very little help.
-This is a very talented Kings team. They have found a lot of chemistry with their line combinations by the looks of things.
-It might be time to consider breaking up the Crosby-Kunitz-Guerin line until Malkin returns. Tonight's goal aside, that unit has struggled a bit. With Malkin out, opposing teams have been able to focus on that trio defensively. It might be wise to spread the wealth a bit.
-Has anyone seen Ruslan Fedotenko as of late? We know he had the goal that keyed the comeback in Columbus, but he has been mostly invisible with out Malkin.
-Bill Guerin has looked rather ordinary for more than a few games.
-The Penguins' defense was completely brutal tonight. They looked very flat-footed against the Kings' speed.
-A power-play goal would've been huge, especially with that one chance the Penguins had in the third. If they score, this game is probably over. Instead, the Kings killed that two minutes and gained a lot of momentum. We know Malkin and Gonchar are injured, but that's no excuse for this kind of futility.
-We're not saying he a huge difference maker, but Kennedy's energy would've helped the Penguins. They were very flat most of the game.
-The Kings ended up with a 32-23 lead in shots.
-Who else but Kopitar would lead the game with seven shots?
-Kunitz led the Penguins with six.
-Doughty led the game with 25:20 of ice time.
-Letang led the Penguins with 24:49.
-The Kings dominated faceoffs, 35-23 (60 percent).
-Stoll was 10 for 12 (83 percent).
-Crosby was 12 for 23 (52 percent).
-McKee led the game with four blocked shots.
-Scuderi and Doughty led the Kings with two.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Conner's assist was his first point as a Penguin.
-Unofficially:
x 30
x12
x 2
x8,232
-Game summary.
-Event summary.
-Highlights.
Posted
Nov 05 2009, 08:56 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh