PREGAME
-Greetings from ugly but mild Pittsburgh. It was cloud all day but warm. A really weird day. If you looked out the window, it was just one of those days where you wanted to pull the covers over your head and wake up whenever summer rolled around ugh.
-This has nothing to do with hockey, but we've had this bookmarked for sometime and just have not found a time to use it. It's a Deathstar pumpkin:
-Things like that are why the Internet exists.
-The Penguins' only scratch is Alex Goligoski.
-The Thrashers' scratches are Boris Valabik, Jim Slater and Anssi Salmela.
-Marc-Andre Fleury and Johan Hedberg are your starters in net.
-Annnnddd.... guess who used to be a Penguin:
-Brooks Orpik drops the crazy eyes on Dan Potash:
-The Consol Energy promo breaks a couple times. Hopefully that's not an omen for the new arena.
-Annnnddd....
FIRST PERIOD
19:50ish: FSN PIttsburgh shows off the Penguins' lines and defensive combinations:
18:40: Pascal Dupuis used to be a Thrasher:
17:26: Evander Kane snaps off a wrister from just inside the Penguins' blue line at the left point. Fleury hangs on for the save and freezes play.
16:46: Randy Cunneyworth used to be a Penguin:
15:56: From a tough angle in the left faceoff circle, a wrister by by Slava Kozlov is fought off by Fleury.
15:34: Bryan Little takes a pass in the slot and snaps off a wrister. Fleury makes the save. Kozlov is there for the rebound. Fleury falls to his right and eats up the chance by Kozlov.
15:15: Dupuis steals a puck in the neutral zone and distributes to Evgeni Malkin on the left wing. Malkin pumps a slapper on net. Hedberg eats it up. "MOOOOOOOSSSSSSEEEEEE!!!!" chants rain down.
14:15: Zach Bogosian is nabbed for inteference against Malkin. Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Mark Eaton, Sidney Crosby
13:52: Gonchar tees up a slapper from the top of the slot. It hits a stick and is cleared away.
13:46: Rich Peverly clears the puck for a change.
13:11: Malkin sends a cross ice pass to Crosby on the right wing. Crosby has a wide open shot but cranks a one-timer no where near the net.
13:01: Armstrong moves up the left wing on a two-on-one against Gonchar. He tries to drag it to the inside but Gonchar is able to slide down and poke it away.
12:22: And the legend of Martin Skoula grows. The "jay-vee" power play is on to finish the power play. Chris Bourque is on the right wing and dishes a pass to Skoula at the right point. Skoula just tosses it at the cage. It hits Ron Hainsey's right knee and is re-directed by Hedberg on the glove side. See what happens when you get it on net. Skoula gets credit for the goal. Bourque and Crosby get assists. Tons of Penguins fans down there are cheering. Either that or everyone in Atlanta hates Swedish goaltenders. Penguins 1-0.
12:02: From the right wing, Matt Cooke chips the puck into the opposite corner. Jordan Staal knocks it down with a high stick and immediately plays it into the crease. As officials blow play dead, Talbot tips the puck by Hedberg. It's not goal as the play was dead when Staal touched it with a high stick.
11:04: Bogosian gets a pass on the right wing and has an open shot but he whips a wrister near and wide.
10:53: Bob Errey compares Zach Bogosian to Cy Young. In addition to being one of the greatest pitches of all time, Young was apparently a solid No. 2 defenseman.
10:45: Bryan Little takes a pass on the left wing and snaps off a wrister to the far side. Fleury gloves it.
9:25: Guerin clunks a backhander from a tough angle on the left wing off the outside of the goal post.
9:17: Gonchar knees Kane in the neutral zone. That's two minutes. Staal, Cooke, Lovejoy and Eaton are on for the kill.
8:05: Cooke chips the puck from his own slot down ice and allows his team a change.
7:37: Talbot moves up ice on the left wing, chris cross with Dupuis and lifts a backhander on cage. Hedberg holds it in his equipment and falls back to prevent a rebound. Nice job by Dupuis to pull the defenders away from Talbot.
7:17: Gonchar's penalty is killed. The Thrashers had very little going on there.
7:07: Little moves behind the net, comes around the left side and whips a backhander into Fleury's legs. Fleury fights it off.
6:43: Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone by Crosby, Skoula snaps off a one-timer that's wide.
5:04: Armstrong appears to get away with a trip on Mike Rupp. No call.
5:32: Orpik lobs a wrister on net from the left point. Bourque is in front and knocks the puck down in the crease. Hedberg covers to freeze play. Coming back from commercial:
5:15: Adams steals a pass in the offensive zone and immediately snaps off a wrister at the cage. Hedberg hangs on for the save.
4:32: On a rush into the offensive zone, Malkin carries the puck in on the right wing. He allows Ruslan Fedotenko and Dupuis to drive towards the net. That opens things up for Eaton trailing at the left wing. Eaton takes a pass from Malkin and rips a wrister which Hedberg traps in his left arm.
3:54: Off a faceoff win in the Penguins' zone, Christoph Schubert cranks a big slapper from the left point. Fleury kicks it out.
3:23: Crosby rushes into the offensive zone, undresses Tobias Enstrom with a few slick moves and backhands a puck on net. Hedberg fights it off.
0:00: End of period. The last three minutes of the period were really bland. Penguins 1, Thrashers 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-Nice period for both teams. Each squad attacked the offensize zone and skated pretty well. The Penguins had the bulk of the quality scoring chances, but it was a pretty entertaining period.
-The Penguins have put Hedberg to work. He's seens a good variety of shots from the perimeter and in tight. And a lot of those shots have been tough. But he's responded well.
-Skoula continues to look like the team's best offseason acquisition. We know McKee has been lights out as a shotblocker, but that was expected. His play hasn't been surprising. Skoula's has been a surprise considering he was picked off the scrap heap.
-The new lines seem to have some chemistry.
-Shots are tied, 9-9.
-Gonchar leads the game with 9:14 of ice time.
-Pavel Kubina leads the Thrashers with 7:44.
-Atlanta is up 14-7 in faceoffs (67 percent).
-Todd White is 3 for 4 (75 percent).
-Crosby is 3 for 6 (50 percent).
-No one has more than one blocked shot.
-By way of a reader in the ATL, Armstrong's on the program tonight:
-Are we the only ones a little disturbed by the fact that FSN Pittsburgh has a commercial of Jay Caufield pretending to preform heart surgery with his telestrator all while Stan Savran is just returning from his own health problems related to his heart?
-Bob Errey raves about the size of Martin Skoula's toe.
SECOND PERIOD
19:33: Staal gets a pass on the right wing and cracks a one-timer on net. Hedberg miraculously kicks it out with his left skate. Bourque gets the rebound and has an open net to shoot at but he puts the puck wide.
18:40: Crosby creates a two-on-one with Guerin against Enstrom. From the left wing, Crosby lifts a wrister. Hedberg makes the save. Guerin tries to jam in two backhanded chances but Hedberg denies them each. Nik Antropov comes back and gets the puck out of danger.
18:13: Orpik smothers a puck just outside the crease and freezes play. The NHL should make a play like that a delay of game penalty because that is exactly what Orpik did there.
17:41: Armstron snaps a low wrister to the far side from the left wing. Fleury gloves it.
16:38: Crosby retrieves a dump in the corner by Rupp, turns and distributes to Rupp in the right faceoff circle. Rupp cracks a one-timer that hits Hedberg high and deflects away.
16:00: Rupp gets another chance in the right faceoff circle and sweeps a shot on net. Eric Godard in Hedberg's grill. The puck hits someone and deflects away.
15:28: Malkin comes up the left wing on a two-on-one with Fedotenko against Hainsey. Malkin takes the shot. Hedberg knocks dow the shot. Hainsey clears it out of danger.
15:14: Bogosian comes in deep and tries to make a cross-ice pass. Fleury's able to poke it away with the butt end of his stick.
14:48: Hedberg is earning his pay tonight. Dupuis gets a chance in the slot and immediately swats it on net. Hedberg comes out of his crea
14:20: Enstrom cracks slapper from the left point. Fleury makes the save despite some interference from his own teammate Skoula.
14:00: Hedberg denies Crosby on the left wing.
13:45: Off a turnover in the Penguins' zone by Orpik, Armstrong whips a feed through the crease to no one.
13:03: Todd White gains the offensive zone with speed and cranks a slapper from the left wing. Fleury fights it off.
12:26: Time to stock Dick's with Martin Skoula jerseys! He has his second goal. Cooke loses the puck for a moment on the right wing. He regains it and dishes it to Skoula coming in at the left point. Skoula tees up and cranks a slapper by Hedberg on the stick side. Bad goal for Hedberg to give up. Cooke and Staal get assists. This guy apparently chose not to start Skoula in his fantasy league:
Tons of celebrating again in Philips Arena. Penguins 2-0.
12:03: Adams is nabbed for interference on Kovalchuk. Staal, Cooke, Orpik and Gonchar are on for the kill.
11:33: Staal is able to chip the puck up ice to kill some time.
11:14: After a bit of an adventure with Fleury's stickhandling, Gonchar is able to bank the puck off the boards and out of danger into the Thrashers' zone.
10:25: The Penguins turn away another Thrashers rush into the offensive zone. Skoula clears the puck but it goes into the bench.
10:19: Kubina gets the puck on the left point and cracks a one-timer wide.
10:03: Adams penalty is killed. The Penguins pretty much shut the Thrashers down that two minutes.
9:21: Malkin makes a strong move out of the corner and attacks the crease. He looses control of the puck and it slides into the corner.
8:14: WHat a play by Rupp to set up this goal. Rupp picks up a loose puck from behind his own net and distributes to Malkin on the right wing in the neutral zone. Rupp drives to the net taking Kubina with him. Malkin has Enstrom on his stick, then off Kubina's butt and just kind of chips its on net. Enstrom gets a piece of the puck and it trickles under Hedberg who was totally lost on the shot. Rupp might've screened him there. Rupp gets the only assist. He deserves two. A "LET'S GO PENS!" chant start. Penguins 3-0.
8:07: Bob Errey, an expert on arithmetic involving derrieres, declares, one stick + one butt = one goal. Hard to argue with that math.
6:36: Kovalchuk gets his first good look. He moves up the left wing against Engelland who has lost his stick. Kovalchuk moves to the inside in the right faceoff circle and lifts a wrister on Fleury. Fleury is up to the task and gloves the laser.
5:50: Off a turnover in the Penguins' zone, the Thrashers have a chance to get on the board. Little steals the puck and tries to dish it off to Marty Reasoner coming in on the right wing. Reasoner snaps off a wrister but Lovejoy is able to deflects the shot out of play with his stick. Big play by Lovejoy. Coming back from commercial, we learn Colby Armstrong ended his life got married:
5:47: Off a faceoff win, Bogosian cranks a one-timer from the top of the slot that clunks off the cross bar.
5:22: Kane cranks a slapper from the left wing. Gonchar is right there and blocks the puck. He then plays the rebound up out of the zone.
4:52: Cooke pokes a backhander wide of the net.
4:40: Afinogenov challenges Orpik one-on-one. Opik kind of poke checks him. Afinogenov falls down as if he were hit by a bus. Bourque somehow ends up with the penalty. Staal, Cooke, Lovejoy and Eaton are on for the kill.
4:14: Peverly has a chance in tight but lifts a shot high off the boards.
2:40: Bouque's penalty is killed.
2:27: From the right wing, Bourque pushes a pass on his backhand to Talbot in the slot. Talbot moves in on net, gets tripped up by Kubina and is still able to push a shot on net. Hedberg makes the save as Talbot crashes in on net and dislodges the net. Talbot is awarded a penalty shot. After a bit of delay, he moves in, goes wide to the right wing, then cuts towards the slot. He move sin on net and snaps off a wrister wide. As Errey pointed out, Hedberg really came out far from the net to challenge Talbot.
2:07: Schubert cranks a loose puck on net from the left point. It hits someone in front and deflects out of play.
2:03: A slapper from the left point hits Reasoner on the hand and trickles in on net. Fleury collects it to freeze play.
1:46: Engelland and Kane surprising drop the gloves behind the Penguins' net. Kane tripped up Engelland and falls on top of him. Engelland shoves Kane. They get up and drop the gloves. Engelland lands a few rights before they wrestle and fall to the ice.
1:12: As Guerin crashes into the Atlanta net and disloges it, Afinogenov is off to the races and roars up the right wing. He gains a step on Orpik and lifts a backhander. Fleury is able to gloves as he falls in a fairly flamboyant fashion. Big-time save.
0:30: Staal collects a bouncing puck in the slot, turns and whips it on net. Hedberg falls on his but and makes the save.
0:12: Little cuts through two defenders in the Penguins' zone chasing a loose puck. Before he can shoot it, Fleury is able to poke check it away.
0:05: Malkin sneaks up the right wing and punches a backhander on net. Hedberg fights it off.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Thrashers 0.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-That was a pretty dominant period for the Penguins. The Thrashers are trying to run and gun with the Penguins who are more than willing to play that way.
-What can you say about Skoula? He's showing a pretty solid all-around game.
-Hedberg is playing out of his mind right now. His teammates all owe him a beer after the game.
-Fleury's been strong as well.
-Rupp continues he's not just some big lug. He has a pretty fair amount of ability.
-The Penguins have a 25-17 lead in shots.
-Guerin leads the game with five.
-Kozlov leads the Thrashers with three.
-Gonchar leads the game with 17:56 of ice time.
-Enstrom leads the Thrashers with 16:09.
-The Thrashers actually are dominating the faceoff circle, 28-14 (67 percent).
-Antropov is 7 for 9 (78 percent).
-Guerin is 1 for 2 (50 percent).
-Cooke and Kubina each lead the game with three blocked shots.
-We know we're going to jinx Skoula, but the last Penguins' hat trick by a defenseman:
THIRD PERIOD
19:08: Staal and Kovalchuk exchange their thoughts on chemist Duane Gish. We think.
17:48: Orpik absolutely levels Peverly along the boards.
17:31: Fedotenko whips a wrister on net from a tough angle on the left wing.
17:22: As Fleury covers a puck that slides in on net, Chris Thorburn moves in and makes contact with Fleury. A few Penguins take issue and give Thorburn the business. And Errey reminds us:
15:33: Kubina gets a chance sneaking in from the left point. Fleury comes out and challenges and gets a piece of hte puck.
15:15: Kozlov gets off s aneaky shot from the right wing. Fleury fights that off.
15:02: Little chops a loose puck on net. FLeury makes another save.
14:30: Hedberg gloves a slapper by Eaton.
14:17: From the slot, Kovalchuk sails a wrister wide of the cage. Atlanta has been dominant this period.
14:02: Kubina airmails a slapper form the neutral zone. Fleury fights it off.
13:35: Coming back from commercial, FSN Pittsburgh gets access to the audio of Colby Amstrong who is wearing a microphone for the Thrashers' television broadcaster. Armstrong questions official Dan Marouelli on the penalty shot awarded to Talobt. Maourelli does a marvelous job of explaining the criteria for the shot stating Talbot didn't have a chance to get a quality shot off.
13:08: As Afinogenov forces a turnover by Orpik in the Penguins' zone that Fleury covers, Cooke and Kovalchuk drop the gloves. It's mostly a bunch of wrestling. Officials step in when Kovalchuk's jersey gets pulled up over his head. Kovalchuk goes to the box yelling. Cooke goes to the box with a grin. Replays show Cooke giving a bit of a cheap pot shot to an Atlanta player in front of the bench. Each player gets five minutes for fighting. Kovalchuk gets an additional penaly as well and is sent to the locker room. Errey wonders if Kovalchuk has ever been in a fight. Versus Drew Stafford:
-Versus Bryan McCabe:
-Versus Sean Avery:
-Kovalchuk gets a pair of instigator penalties. One involves him wearing a face shield. He needs to be more composed than that. He's the captain. It's nice to see him defending his team like that, but he needs to be aware of the situation. The Penguins have a four minute power play. Crosby, Guerin, Malkin, Gonchar and Eaton take the ice.
12:06: The Penguins are trying to get Skoula that hat trick. Gonchar slides a puck to him at the left point. Skoula cracks a one-timer. Hedberg eats it up.
11:47: Hedberg eats up a wrister by Bourque from the left faceoff circle.
11:39: Paul Steigerwald mentions Schubert has gone to the locker room.
11:26: And the Bourques are related:
11:09: Crosby tries to hit Eaton on the "Whitney Play" but Armstrong breaks it up.
11:02: Armstrong collects the puck and rushes up the right wing shorthanded. He cranks a slapper. Fleury fights it off.
10:29: Malkin has a chances in tight but his stick is chopped in half by Thorburn on a backcheck. No call.
10:20: The Penguins somehow give up their second two-on-one in the same power play and it bites them. Bogosian coasts up the left wing against Skoula. Bogosian zips the pass to Thorburn on the right wing and Thorburn is able to lift the shot up over Fleury on the glove side. Fleury had no chance there. Thorburn should've been in the box instead he scores the goal. Bogosian and Kubina get assists. Penguins 3-1.
9:36: Skoula rips a shot from the top of the point. Hedberg eats it up. "MOOOOOSSSSEEEEEE!!!!"
9:28: Off a faceoff, Hedberg eats up a blast by Malkin.
9:21: Gonchar cracks a one-timer from the left point. Hedberg kicks it out.
9:08: The Thrashers kill off the penalty. THat was a total waste of four minutes for the Penguins.
7:47: Enstrom rips a slapper from the top of hte slot. Fleury makes the save.
7:02: Little moves up the left wing and gets bodied off the puck by Engelland. Solid check.
6:06: SKoula tries plaster Kane into the boards with a hip check but only get a piece of him.
5:43: Off some tic-tac-toe passing in the offensive zone, Malkin puts a one-timer off the cross bar and into the protective netting.
5:09: Gonchar hammers a one-timer from the right point high and wide.
4:24: Bogosian cracks a slapper from outside the blue line. Fleury steers it away.
3:52: Mark Popovic just tosse the wrister into the slot. Skoula is there and kicks it right to Little in the right faceoff circle. Little "one-times" the puck. Fleury is in perfect position and eats up the shot.
3:37: Gonchar moves in from the slot and pushes a backhander on net. Hedberg fights it off.
3:14: Armstrong is run over by Orpik along the boards.
2:42: Orpik gets dumped in the neutral zone by Reasoner.
2:28: Reasoner just chucks the puck into the crease from the side of the cage. Fleury covers to freeze play. Hedberg is pulled for an extra attacker.
2:10: Afinogenov gets two chances from the left faceoff circle denied. Fleury kicked out one. A Penguins defender blocked the other.
1:37: Bogosian cranks a one-timer from the left point. Fleury eats it up.
1:29: During a stoppage, a Penguins fan rocking a Kevin Stevens jersey in the "Snoop Dogg" style can be seen:
0:29: Bogosian blocks an attempt at the empty cage by Cooke.
0:17: This isn't over yet. Antropov (Who else?) feeds the puck form the right wing into the slot. Afinogenov tips it under Fleury and into the net. Antropov and Peverly get the assists. Penguins 3-2.
0:10: Errey compares Eaton to Troy Polamalu. A Notre Dame guy being compared to a USC guy?
0:00: End of game. Play ends with Staal and Afinogenov wrestling on the ice. Officials break them up. Penguins 3, Thrashers 2.
POSTGAME
-The Penguins dominated that game for about 40 minutes. It was the last 20 minutes that got a little scary. The Thrashers did every thing they could to tie that game and came pretty close. Could you imagine if Kovalchuk hadn't been kicked out?
-If not for Hedberg, the Penguins put this game away earlier. He was sharp tonight.
-Skoula showed his all-around game. He doesn't really excel in any one area, but he's not weak in any particular area either.
-Fleury rebounded from a weak effort in Ottawa and was solid.
-The power play? It continues to be a mess. It only scored when Skoula put a simple shot on net and got a little lucky. The rest of the time, they seem to make it too complicated hoping to set up the perfect play. They have the skill to do things like that but sometimes, you just have to be greedy and put a lower percentage shot on net. Generate second chance scoring opportunites that way.
-Regarding the instigator penalty Kovalchuk got for his fight that involved his face shield, that is a really stupid rule. It's in place to prevent a player hurting his hand in a fight mostly. IT'S A FIGHT!!!! Injuries tend to happen when you swing a closed fist as someone regardless of what they're wearing. It's ridiculous that there is so much more attention paid to the safety of a player in a fight yet the idea of protecting a player from a head shot on the ice is seen as a joke by some.
-If you get a in a fight on the ice and you're injured, tough. You took your safety and the safety of another player in to your own hands. You should deal with the consequences.
-We liked Bogosian. He's really grown since we last saw him last season.
-Afinogenov seems like a different player now that he's in Atlanta.
-The Penguins ended up with a 34-33 edge in shots.
-The Thrashers had a 16-10 lead in shots in the third period.
-Guerin, Bogosian and Afinogenov led the game with five shots each.
-Gonchar led the game with 27:48 of ice time.
-Enstrom led the Thrashers with 26:37.
-The Thrashers controlled faceoffs, 28-26 (59 percent).
-Antropov was 9 for 14 (64 percent).
-Staal was 10 for 19 (53 percent).
-Schubert and Kubina each led the game with four blocked shots.
-Cooke led the Penguins with three.
-Skoula's last two-goal game came as a member of the Avalanche in a 5-4 defeat of the Predators, March 17, 2002.
-Malkin moved past Randy Carlyle for 19th place on the team's all-time scoring list. Each playe rhas 323 points, but Malkin (121) has more goals than Carlyle (66).
-With the win and a regulation loss by the Devils in Dallas, the Penguins move back into first place in the Atlantic Division.
-Game summary.
-Event summary.
-Highlights.
Posted
Nov 21 2009, 06:56 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh