Let me set the stage for tonight's confrontation with the Bruins a little bit. The Penguins had just lost another OT game last night, and were reeling with a record of 3-6-4 in their past 13 games. The hated Washington Capitals had closed to within 2 points of the Penguins for 4th place, and the Montreal Canadiens, in 6th place were within 5 points suddenly. After playing the surging Devils 19-2-2 in their past 23 games to a tie in regulation before losing in OT, the Penguins were rewarded with a trip to Boston to play the Bruins, winners of their past 7 games, outscoring their opponents 22-10 in during that stretch. A beauty unfolded tonight. The Bruins were as advertised, fast and tough with great goaltending. After a physical and entertaining first period ended in a scoreless tie, the Bruins struck early in period two, and the Penguins appeared to be reeling. However, Staal scored his 7th of the season after a beautiful passing play with Cooke and Kennedy to tie the game. Kennedy has been red hot over the past 15 games or so. A few moments later, Dustin Jeffrey put the Penguins ahead 2-1! The Penguins managed to hang on to the lead, and with under a minute left in the game, it appeared that the Penguins would actually win their first game in regulation since February 4th. With 33 seconds left Krejci tied it with a heart breaking goal after a defensive breakdown by the Penguins. That left a familiar, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, as it sure did appear that this game was headed for a similar ending as many of the past 13 games had. But at 1:52 of the overtime period, Dustin Jeffrey picked off a Dennis Seidenburg pass, blew by the flat footed defenseman, and buried a wicked wrist shot behind Tim Thomas to give the Penguins the much need victory. The win puts the Penguins back in a tie for the second most points in the Eastern Conference with 84, only two behind Philadelphia with 86. The Flyers have 3 games in hand, so catching them will still be a tall order, but the win gives the Penguins a much need lift in the standings, and to their psyche. Without Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Orpik, and last night Letang, the reeling Penguins managed to take 3 of 4 points on back to back nights from two of the hottest teams in the NHL, on the road. That is nothing to sneeze at! They also took 6 of 10 possible points on a pivotal road trip. Not bad. Now back to tonight. This game was a gem, and it made me think ahead to what a series it would be if these two teams met in the playoffs. All four games between the two teams have been up and down, exciting games with the road teams winning all four games. Tonights game was up and down, and brutally physical along the wall. Clean, fast, hard hitting, brutal hockey by two proud teams, projected over 7 games would be exciting to watch. Some other notes from tonight. First, many of the people I "called out" last night delivered the goods tonight. First, Jordan Staal delivered a huge goal to answer the opening tally by the Bruins to right the ship for the Penguins. In a game that felt like a playoff game, that was a huge goal! Minutes later, Dustin Jeffrey tied it with a great goal, and he was assisted by another call out from last night in Max Talbot. James Neal did not score again tonight, but he was a physical force all over the ice, his big hit on Chara seemed to turn the tide on the game in general. He had several good chances, and contributed all over the ice. Cannot wait to see him with Crosby or Malkin! Now, I did not call out Fleury, but man did he play a great game tonight, as did Tim Thomas. Matt Niskanen played another very good game, and was a presence AGAIN in all three zones tonight. Great move to get him added in Shero! The Penguins play a suddenly resurgent Buffalo team at home on Tuesday in a four point swing game between the fourth and ninth place teams in the East. A very big couple of weeks in front of the Penguins, keep the hammer down!
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