Pens Win: Merci Sidney, Merci Jordan

No offense, no problem. Crosby gets his first win in net as the Penguins get back to their winning ways with a 4-3 win over in Anaheim. Despite having a very productive offensive night getting much more ice time with Kennedy and Cooke, Jordan Staal too showed his defensive side with a tremendous "save" on Bobby Ryan. This win makes the Penguins tied for an NHL record start of 7-0 on the road.

Merci Sidney                                         

Perhaps the greatest aspect of this win is the testament to the Penguins depth. When you can pull out a road win where you start off 0-4 on the powerplay with 2 of your top 4 scorers and the other two don't put one in the back of the net, that says something.

A game that started off very slow for the Penguins turned out to be a game worth staying up and watching. The Ducks started off as they normally do by playing very physical with their big bodies. Unfortunately that cost them 4 trips to the sin bin during the first period. However the upside to that was the Penguins couldn't seem get anything together on the powerplay and as a result squandered all four chances. This clearly showed how badly missed Gonch and Geno are. Give the Ducks their due, they played well defensively keeping Pens out of their zone. Though ultimately the Pens made them look good.

The Ducks did get on the board in the first period with a "soff" goal from Corey Perry that slid past Fleury., [0-1]. Angry at himself Fleury spoke French the rest of the game. So did I. Pas beaucoup plus à parler de la suite. Nevermind.

The Ladies were graced with a hat-shrouded #letangsexhair Potash interview. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Period was entirely different for the Penguins. They played a very strong forecheck and really did a good job on the boards getting to loose pucks. Their energy along was enough to make you sit up. They didn't have any powerplay chances and that's actually probably the reason they got two on the board. Mike Rupp snagged his 4th of the season after a heavy shot past Hiller knotting the game up at one (1) just 2:39 into the period, [1-1].

After some high energy back and forth for both teams including some decent scoring chances the Pens register another one to take the lead. Kris Letang gets his first of the year after a delayed penalty sent Fleury to the net bringing Crosby out for reinforcements, [2-1].

Here's Staal getting his stick on Bobby Ryan's just in time to save Fleury.

 

Merci Joran.

Despite Staal's defensive efforts, just past the 15 minute mark the Ducks came back alive. They went back to their bread-n-bitter, heavy forecheck and solid board play. They were rewarded with another Corey Perry goal off a rebound from Getzlaf, [2-2]. They actually continued the pressure until the sound of the buzzer getting a few more scoring chances on Fleury. Fortunate for the Penguins they were able to get out of the period with the scored tied.

This period was the cream de la cream. If the first period was all defense, this was the parallel opposite. The Pens were the ones who struck first with an Alex Goligoski slapper from the point off a nice effort from Kennedy, [3-2].

Oh la la.

However just before you could leave to relieve yourself the Duck strike back with a little something of their own. Nineteen seconds later Saku Koivu walks one past Fleury to tie things up, [3-3]. At this point I was sure I'd be up all night.

That was until 59 seconds later Pascal Dupuis (yes, that's right) takes a slapper nearly identical to Gogo's from the right side of the point past Hiller to put the last goal up on the boards, [4-3].

DUPUIS!

Fleury later redeems himself and made the save of his night.

 Je ne le pense pas!

It was all defense after this. During this stretch Crosby made that save you see up top and everyone on the ice for the Pens stepped up. There was a ton of pressure from the Ducks in the last 8 minutes trying to tie the game. However we once again witnessed a very determined Penguins team come together and win another on the road.

• TK made a world of difference. Particularly on Staal's line.
  
• 7-0 on the road. Pens won all three Cups on the road. Hmmm.
• Skoula continues to impress us. Mark Eaton might be getting scared.
• Goligoski is looking more like Gonchar every game. 
• All business was All business.
  

Posted in: Ducks,Penguins,post game analysis