PREGAME
-Greetings from a cold, foggy, wet Black Friday. We don't know what to be more disgusted by: the fact that the parking lot at the Kohl's down the hill from us was packed at 3 a.m. or that the Islanders always seem to have a game in the afternoon on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
-Bill Guerin had a funny quote about it after Wednesday's game, "I don't get it but I don't make the schedule."
-Brooks Orpik has a poor reaction to the game time as well:
-Actually, that's Orpik discussing his day with the Cup. If that's him talking about a good memory, we'd hate to bring up anything like the death of a pet or a tax audit.
-We neglected to mention this in our game preview this morning, but the Penguins are wearing their blue throwback jerseys.
-Alex Goligoski is the Penguins' only scratch.
-The Islanders' scratches are Blake Comeau and Rob Schremp.
-Brent Johnson and Dwayne Roloson are your starting goaltenders.
-FSN PIttsburgh offers the line and defensive combinations:
FIRST PERIOD
19:47: Deryk Engelland and Tim Jackman are in a festive holiday mood and drop the gloves. Jackman apparently had some bad cranberries or something. Jackman lands a few lefts. They wrestle around a bit before Jackman lands a few rabbit punches with his left. Engelland eventually gets his left free and lands a few before officials step in. We'll give Jackman the decision there.
18:32: Off a turnover by Chris Bourque, John Tavares drops a pass to Matt Moulson in the left faceoff circle. Moulson rips a wrister far and wide.
17:47: Evgeni Malkin dishes a pass to Pascal Dupuis in the right faceoff circle. Dupuis immediately swats a one-timer on net. Rolson goes to his butterfly and deflects it out of play.
17:05: Andy trips up Malkin behind the Islanders net. Malkin goes to his knees. Officials call Sutton for tripping and Malkin for diving. Not sure about that diving call. Four-on-four.
16:47: Bill Guerin leaves a drop pass for Gonchar in the slot. Gonchar picks up the puck and cranks a slapper. Roloson is able to trap it against his toros and freezes play.
16:25: Orpik drops Richard Park with a check in front of the Islanders' bench.
15:49: Roloson fights off a wrister by Gonchar from the left wing.
15:05: Sutton and Malkin return to the ice.
14:25: Malkin moves up the right wing, pull ups and zips a feed into the slot. Dupuis moves in and stabs at the puck re-directing it and clanging it off the far post.
11:46: Off a turnover by the Islanders, Fedotenko backhands a puck into Roloson. Roloson eats it up and freezes play.
11:23: Malkin and Engelland get sloppy with the puck in their own zone and allow a chance to Nate Thompson. The puck hops near the net. Thompson chops it over the cage. THe Penguins dodged on there.
10:55: The Islanders crash the net and cash in. Mark Streit controls the pukc at the left point, circles and smacks a slapper at the cage. Johnson makes the save. There are about about 239 Islanders in the crease. Josh Bailey sneaks in from the left wing and punches it in to the net by Johnson on the left side. Nice dirty goal. Streit and Meyer each get assists. Islanders 1-0.
10:36: Orpik is nabbed for holding Trent Hunter. Gonchar, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams and Mark eaton take the ice.
10:07: Eaton blocks a shot by Hunter in the right faceoff circle. They battle for the rebound and Eaton trips up Hunter. No call.
8:38: Orpik's penalty is killed. The Penguins allowed very little during that two minutes.
7:58: Malkin moves up the left wing with some nifty moves and centers a pass to Lovejoy trailing in the slot. Lovejoy takes the pass and rips a low wrister. Roloson knocks it dead and covers to freeze play. Coming back from commercial, Maxime Talbot makes fun of Brendan Witt's nose:
-We think.
6:31: Off a turnover by Tavares in the neutral zone, Staal moves up the left wing and behidn the net. Jack Hillen holds him up. That's two minutes. Gonchar, Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Guerin and Eaton take the ice.
6:21: Malkin takes a pass from Gonchar on the left half-wall. Malkin hammers a slapper. Despite a screen by Guerin, Roloson is able to eat up the shot.
5:53: Thompson moves the puck up the ice shorthanded and leaves a drop pass for Okposo in the left faceoff circle. Okposo grips and rips a wrister which Johnson fights off
5:17: The Penguins turnover the puck deep. Freddy Meyer picks it up and golfs it down ice.
4:31: The Islanders kill off Hillen's penalty. Very little going on there for the Penguins.
3:45: Hunter cranks a slapper from the top of the slot. Orpik blocks it out of play.
3:13: Park moves in from the left wing and rips a wrister off the near post.
2:38: Eric Godard gets the puck into the offensive zone. Malkin flies in on the left wing, gets by Bailey, picks up the pucks and rips a ridiculous backhander that gets through a tight, tight hole between Roloson's glove hand and the post. Wow! There was no room for error on that shot. Godard and Lovejoy get the assists. It's Godard's first point of the season. Islanders 1, Penguins 1.
0:51: As Orpik and Sean Bergenheim wrestle and fall to the ice, Sutton cranks a slapper on net from the left point. Johnson punches it away with his blocker.
0:00: End of period. Islanders 1, Penguins 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-That was kind of a bleh period for each team. Both squads were sloppy at times. Neither really maintained pressure all that much. That wasn't exactly the best period of hockey.
-Malkin was rather active, particularly in the offensive zone.
-Malkin admitted his goal was lucky during the intermission.
-The Islanders have a 9-7 lead in shots.
-Gonchar, Malkin, and Opkopos each lead the game with two shots.
-Gonchar leads the game with 8:44 of ice time.
-Streit leads the Islanders with 8:31.
-The Penguins have a 13-5 lead in faceoffs (72 percent).
-Crosby was 6 for 8 (75 percent).
-Park was 4 for 9 (44 percent).
-Streit and Hillen each lead the game with two blocked shots.
-The Engelland-Jackman fight is already YouTubed:
SECOND PERIOD
19:19: Off a faceoff win by Malkin, Gonchar rips a slapper that's going wide. Roloson gloves it. Bob Errey mentions Bill Guerin has gone to the locker room with equipment guy Dana Heinze.
18:04: John Tavares moves up the right wing, undresses the not-so-great Martin Skoula with a sick move along the goal line and has a clean shot at the cage He snaps a wrister high but Johnson is able to juuuust get a piece of it with his glove. What a move he put on Skoula.
16:38: Hillen drives slapper at the cage from the left point. Johnson gloves it. A scrum ensues with Jon Sim at the middle of it. Adams takes a pot shot at Sim. That sends Adams to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Crosby, Talbot, Orpik and and Gonchar are on for the kill.
16:32: The Islanders' power play lasts all of six seconds as Hunter hooks up Gonchar and sends him crashing into the boards. Four-on-four for 1:54.
15:10: Crosby whips a loose puck on net with a backhander. Roloson makes the save despite a screen by Guerin.
14:38: Adam's penalty expires.
14:32: Hunter's penalty expires.
13:53: Heineken is awful, but this commercial is money:
-Coming back from commercial, Dan Potash mentions Chris Stewart is working his 1,000th career game. Is it us, or does Stewart look like Marian Hossa:
13:40: Johnson covers up a long distance shot by Jackman.
12:48: Matt Cooke crashes the net and gets a goal. Staal takes a pass on the right wing. He pull up, draws Bruno Gervais towards him and snaps off a wrister on net. Roloson makes the save but gives up a rebound. Cooke flies in and punches it by Roloson on the stick side. Nice dirty goal. As Errey points out, Staal probably intended to set up Cooke with that that shot hoping for the rebound. Staal and Gonchar get assists. Penguins 2-1.
9:50: Bergenheim whips a wrister on net from the right wing. Johnson kicks it aside.
9:15: Bergenheim cranks a wrister from the righ faceoff circle. Johnson knocks it down and covers to freeze play. Coming back from commercial, we get a look at Orpik's crazy black eyes:
-Actually, it looks more evil than crazy there.
8:30: Moulson snaps off a wrister from the slot. Johnson kicks it out.
6:58: Orpik drop Hunter with a check just outside the Penguins' blue lin.
6:42: Hillen is nabbed for holding up Crosby at the Islanders' blue line. Crosby, Malkin, Guerin, Eaton and Gonchar take the ice.
6:02: Park coasts up the left wing against Eaton and snaps off a wrister far and wide.
5:36: As Fedotenko goes in offsides, Malkin is high sticked by Sutton. It's a "four-minuter" as Malkin has a little knick on his chin. The Penguins will have a two-man advantage for 55 seconds. Bruno Gervais is heads up and tells the Officials need to take Malkin of hte ice to get his chin repaired. Very heads up move by the islanders. Staal, Gonchar, Crosby, Fedotenko and Staal take the ice. A goal is must here.
5:01: Gonchar moves a pass to Crosby at the left point. Crosby cracks a one-timer which Roloson fights off.
4:44: Just as Hillen's penalty is killed, Gonchar cranks a slapper wide of the cage.
4:31: The islanders get the puck up ice. Hillen comes out of the box. Gonchar doesn't seem to realize it and HIllen is off on a breakaway. He moves in on net from the left wing and cuts towards the center. Johnson is able to come out and poke check it away. Frans Nielsen follows up on the puck and has Johnson dead to rights. But Nielsen rips a wrister wide of the cage.
4:00: Errey mentions Malkin has return to the ice.
3:21: Crosby sneaks in from the left wing and snaps off a wrister from in tight. Roloson kicks it out.
2:25: Eaton smacks a slapper from the right faceoff circle. Roloson fights it off.
1:44: Gonchar tries sneaking a half slapper in on net from the left wing. It goes wide.
1:35: Sutton's penalty is killed. What a pathetic effort by the Penguins.
1:32: Coming back from commercial, Bob Errey refers to Brent Johnson as a cobra. Unavailable for comment:
0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Islanders 1.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-Even despite the power-play troubles, the Penguins were a little better that period. They maintain possession a lot more and kept it in the Islanders end quite a bit.
-At this point, we just want refuse acknowledging the power play. It's just too frustrating. And how many times can you say it stinks?
-We don't know its because it's an afternoon game or what, but this is just a very blah game.
-The Islanders have a 20-16 lead in shots.
-Okposo leads the game with four shots.
-Malkin leads the Penguins with three.
-Gonchar leads his game with 17:51 of ice time.
-Gervais leads the Islanders with 15:37.
-The Penguins lead in faceoffs, 24-15 (62 percent).
-Crosby is 11 for 17 (65 percent).
-Park is 6 for 13 (46 percent).
-Engelland leads the game with four blocked shots.
-Hillen leads the game with three blocked shots.
THIRD PERIOD
18:36: And just like that, the game is tied. Nielsen dishes a pass to Bergenheim on the left wing. The puck is hopping around a bit but Bergenheim is able to settle it down and rips a wrister to the far side that beats Johnson over the glove side. The puck clunks off the cross bar and goes in. Great shot by Bergenheim, especially considering he had trouble settling it down. Nielsen and Hunter get assists. Islanders 2, Penguins 2.
18:10: Staal moves in in on et with the puck but gets tripped up by Meyer. They both go crashing into net and into Roloson. The cage comes dislodged and play is halted.
17:50: Thompson slams Skoula from behind into the boards behind the Penguins' net. Officials immediately call a penalty on Thompson. What a stupuid play. Staal jumps right on Thompson and drops the gloves with him. Thompson's a tough guy so this is a gusty move by Staal. They wrestle around a bit before Staal gets in a few rabbit punches with his right. Thompson just kind of holds him off before he gets his right free and lands a few rights of his own. They move behind the net and fall to the ice. GIve the advantage to Thompson in that bout. Give Staal credit for having guts, but he ends up hurting his team as he gets two minutes for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct. Thompson gets two minutes for boarding.
15:14: Roloson fights off a wrister by Malkin from in tight.
14:42: Malkin blocks a wrister by Gervais from the top of the slot.
14:34: Johnson kicks out another wrister by Gervais from the slot.
14:11: The Penguins get nabbed for too many men on the ice.This is crucial since Staal in ins the box. Adams, Cooke, Gonchar and Orpik take the ice.
13:50: After a bit of a scramble near the Penguins' net, Hillen gets away with interference on Johnson.
13:17: Dupuis dumps the puck down ice for a change.
12:41: Johnson denies Okposo in tight. Sim gets a chance with the rebound but no dice.
12:37: The puck gets distributed to Streit at the left point. Streit hammers a one-timer. Johnson makes a nice glove save. Moulson is right in his grill. Lovejoy gives Moulson the business.
12:18: Cooke backhand whips the puck down ice to kill off the rest of the Penguins' penalty.
12:05: Johnson gloves a wrister by Bergenheim on the left wing.
11:23: Sim chops a puck on net from in tight. Johnson gloves it.
10:22: Mike Rupp rattles Bergenheim with a shoulder check into the boards.
9:26: Engelland blocks a wrister by Tavares.
8:32: Down low along the goal line, Malkin lifts a wrister from the right wing. Roloson snags that.
6:29: Gonchar air mails a slapper from the neutral zone. Roloson knocks it down.
6:12: Meyer gets the puck at the left point. He tosses a wrister at the cage. Moulson is in front with a nice screen. Despite that, Johnson is able to hop up and fight off the puck. The rebound kicks to his left. Tavares sneaks in from the left wing and punches it by Johnson on the glove side. Another nice dirty goal. Johnson gave up a tough rebound there, but he was just hoping to make any save off of Meyer's initial shot. Meyer and Okposo get assists. Islanders 3-2.
5:57: Thompson puts a wrister on net from the left wing. Johnson gloves it.
4:03: Johnson gets caught out of the net but is able to make two saves on Sim.
3:01: Bergenheim gets a chance in the slot and rips a wrister. Johnson kicks it out with his left leg.
2:53: Johnson knocks down a shot by Hunter and covers to freeze play.
1:15: Johnson is pulled for an extra attacker.
0:46: Guerin tees up a slapper from the left wing. Roloson makes the save. Talbot is there for the rebound but can't control it.
0:23: Bergenheim clears the puck down ice and takes an icing call. Bad play. The Islanders call a time out to get a rest.
0:18: Malkin snaps off a wrister at the left point. It sails wide and far.
0:01: Bergenheim turns and whips the puck down ice to kill off the clock.
0:00: End of game. Islanders 3, Penguins 2.
POSTGAME
-That was just rough. The Penguins looked flat for the most part and were just outworked in the third period. The Islanders are a young team and they have a lot of guys fighting to keep their NHL paychecks. Their effort won this game.
-That penalty Staal took off the the hit by Thompson was pretty critical. We know the Penguins' power play isn't great right now, but getting two minutes with the man advantage would've been a lot better than losing one of their top players for 17 minutes. The Penguins will think twice before dropping the gloves in that situation.
-There's something about afternoon games that just throws the Penguins off it seems like. Their routines are thrown off and they always seem in a funk.
-Crosby, who had a very quiet game, has stated a dislike for afternoon games.
-The Penguins' failed power play in the second was obviously critical.
-We guess the blue jerseys are cursed again.
-Has anyone seen Ruslan Fedotenko?
-The Islanders ended up with a 37-21 lead in shots.
-In the third period alone, the Islanders had an 18-5 lead in shots.
-Malkin and Okposo each led the game with five shots.
-Jeff Tambellini and Brendan Witt were the only Islanders skaters who failed to record a shot.
-Gonchar led the game with 26:04.
-Streit led the Islanders with 24:44.
-The Penguins ended up with a 32-28 lead in faceoffs (53 percent).
-Crosby was 14-for-23 (61 percent).
-Park was 9 for 9 (50 percent).
-Engelland led the game with five blocked shots.
-Hillen and Thomas led the Islanders with three.
-Game summary.
-Event summary.
Posted
Nov 27 2009, 01:53 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh