Yaaaawwwwnnnnnn! Watching tonight's game was a bit like watching paint dry, but it is two points we will gladly take. These two points, combined with the loss by the Rangers has the Penguins only 4 points behind the Rangers for top spot in the Eastern Conference. With two head to head games left, the race for the conference lead could get very interesting. I thought tonight's game was another solid performance for Brian Strait, as well as for Simon Despres. Marc Andre Fleury was spectacular again tonight, giving up only one goal in regulation, making 28 saves in regulation, plus two in the shootout. As noted in the pre-game post, the victory makes the Penguins 20-4-1 in their past 25 games, marking the first time in club history that they have won 20 games out of any 25 game stretch. Amazingly, during their 11 victories in the past 12 games at home, they have fallen behind by two goals in 7 of them, and came back to win them all. Jordan Staal got an assist tonight to extend his point scoring streak to 7 games, a career high. His line also carried the team for the second straight game, making up for a top line that has suddenly gone cold. It is great to see the defensive depth of this club come into play, as the Penguins are missing Letang, Engelland, and Martin or half of their top 6, and they don't miss a beat. The penalty kill was a perfect two for two tonight, while the power play was 0 for 3, and now 0 for 14 without Letang. Yet the Penguins keep marching on! As for the game, not much to say here, it was kind of a snoozer as noted. The first period ened with the team in a 0-0 tie. At the 7:17 mark of the second period, Tomas Fleischman gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead, scoring his 21st goal of the year while taking advantage of a bad bounce off the boards. The period ended with the Cats holding a 1-0 lead. However, the Penguins lead the league in 3rd period comebacks, and sure enough at the 2:56 mark of the third, Pascal Dupuis hopped on a turnover, got the puck to Staal, who made a great pass to Sullivan, which Sully put behind Theodore for his 14th goal of the season, assisted by Jordan Staal (15) and Pascal Dupuis (24). Tie game! Later in the period, Pascal Dupuis had a goal taken off the board, adding to what has to be a league leading total of disallowed goals. The game ended 1-1 in regulation, and remained that way after the overtime period. We went to a shootout, and James Neal and Evgeni Malkin did what they do, burying the first two shootout attempts, while Fleury blanked the Cats, giving the Penguins their 8th straight victory. Malkin will have to wait for his 500th point at least one more game. The win gives the Penguins 87 points........interesting number given the possibility that 87 will return on Sunday against the Bruins. Let's Go Pens!
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