Tonight's game started much as the past two games started, with the Penguins falling behind early 2-0, on two soft goals. At 15:56 of the first period Ullstrom scores for the Islanders, after making Picard look like a pylon he whips a shot over Fleury's shoulder, who did not take the proper angle, leaving a lot of net for Ullstrom to shoot for. Bad defensive play, and SOFT goal given up by MAF. At 7:44, Milan Jurcina gives the Islanders a 2-0 lead on another weak goal, and it is not looking like Fleury's or the team's night. And hey, they are again decimated by injuries, with Jordan Staal joining the group of Penguins unavailable to the team. But, this Isles team is not the Flyers or Bruins, and the Penguins are not ready to give up yet. At 5:32 of the period Joe Vitale strips the puck from Mark Streit and sets up Steve Sullilvan for his 5th goal of the season, while earning his 5th assist for his efforts. Matt Niskanen also picks up his 7th assist of the season. The Penguins were not done either......with only 28 seconds remaining in the period, James Neal gets his 16th goal of the season after Kunitz forces a turnover, and gets the puck to Malkin to who finds the real deal in front of the net, and he makes no mistake. The assist for Geno was his 17th of the season, and tied the game for the Penguins. Late period goals are often back breakers too! It did not take too long for the Islanders to regain the lead in the second period, as Kyle Okposo gives the Isles the lead again at 17:07 with another softie given up Fleury. This is the shakiest Fleury has looked all year, and many people, myself included thought it might be time for Johnson to come in. Then, after a bad call on Hamonic, the Penguins end up with a 5 on 3 power play, and did something they almost never do. They scored on it! James Neal buried his 17th goal of the season, after Kunitz dug a Sullivan rebound free. The assists were Kunitz's 7th and Sullivan's 9th of the season. Neal also had gotten his league leading 9th power play goal on the play, and the game was tied again. Then at 4:02, possibly the most versatile player on the team, Pascal Dupuis gave the Penguins their first lead of the night, burying his 9th goal of the year, assisted by Kennedy (8), and Picard (1). The period ended with the Penguins leading by a score of 4-3. Then early in the third period at the 18:56 mark, Matt Cooke got his 7th goal of the season, assited by Kennedy (9), and Niskanen (8). Then came the backbreaker. At the 9:50 mark, Paul Martin got his first goal in 79 games, assisted by Malkin (18), and Matt Niskanen (8). This would close out the scoring, and give the Penguins the win, and 38 points on the season to date. There are some players worth mentioning tonight, starting with Fleury. He did his best Big Ben move tonight. He looked awful in giving up the 3 goals early, but like Ben, his memory was short, and he made the saves he had to as his teammates battled back into the game. Also, how much better has Deryk Engelland gotten. The defense as a whole looked a lot better with Engo back in the game tonight. Also, how about Paul Martin, getting a goal tonight, and chipping away at his plus/minus, now down to only a -6 for the year. What about Matt Niskanen? He was only +3 tonight with 2 assists, and now has 9 points on the season, and a plus 12! Simon Despres continues to look solid, and is gaining valuable experience. Pascal Dupuis the best value in the NHL, stays hot, scoring a goal in his first game as a center in the NHL. How about Geno? In 23 games, he is now tied with James Neal to lead the Pens in scoring with 28 points despite playing in 7 fewer games. Matt Cooke recorded his 1000th penalty minute of his career tonight. Those who thought that the Malkin, Neal and Sullivan line needed to be split looked pretty smart as each recorded two points tonight, along with Chris Kunitz. Nice win, given the injury list, but Tuesday night it is time to see this against quality competition!
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