The game today was an example of how good the Penguins can be when they are clicking. The pretty easily beat NJ today 5-2, and outshot them 41-14 in doing so. The win ran their winning streak to 11 games, the longest win streak in the NHL this season. Their record is now 44-21-5, good for 93 points and they are only 2 points behind the Rangers who play Colorado tonight. The win was the 1500th win for the franchise, and oddly enough it made the Penguins the 11th franchise in history to record 1500 wins. 11's were wild today! Some interesting numbers from today's game. Staal extended his scoring streak to 10 straight games with an assist today, while Fleury recorded his 10th straight win, and his 39th on the season, tying him with Rinne of Nashville in wins. Sidney Crosby recorded 3 assists today, giving him 3 three point games in the 10 that he has played this year. In fact, Crosby 17 points in the 10 games he has played this year, and if you take the 51 games he has played since the start of last season, he is averaging 1.63 points per game, which projects to 134 points in a full season. Crosby has 5 assists in his two games back, and linemate Matt Cooke now has back to back 2 goal games, and a career high 16 goals on the season. Cooke has more points than penalty minutes for the first time in his career. That Crosby, Kennedy, Cooke line has 4 goals and 9 assists in the past two games, with Cooke collecting all four of the goals! Red hot Pascal Dupuis also tied a career high with his 20th of the season today. On to the game today. At 1:55 of the first period Chris Kuntiz was hauled down on the way to the net, and was awarded a penalty shot as a result of the play. Brodeur stopped Kunitz, and it seemed like maybe the Devils would get some momentum from that play. However, just four seconds later at 1:59, James Neal ripped his 32nd goal of the season over Brodeur's shoulder off a face off win by Malkin(47). That is the third time this year the two of them have made that play. Pens lead 1-0. They held that lead until the 16:57 mark when Andy Greene tied it for New Jersey at 1-1. The period ended that way. The score held until mid-way through the second period, when Pascal Dupuis scored his 20th of the year, tying a career high, assisted by Jordan Staal (18), and Matt Niskanen (17). The goal occurred on the rush, with Niskanen hitting Staal at center ice, who gained the zone and dropped a pass to Dupuis who ripped it past Brodeur. It also came after a time out called by Byslma, when this same group had just finished an exhausting end to end shift. The Penguins retake the lead at 2-1. Then at 11:44, Matt Cooke scored his 15th of the year, assisted by Sidney Crosby (13) and Tyler Kennedy (19). The goal came as Crosby made a great backhand pass from the corner to Cooke driving to the net. The puck went off of Cooke's skate and behind Brodeur. The Penguins now lead 3-1. A great set up by Crosby. They did not wait long to add to the lead. At 12:42, on the POWER PLAY, Malkin scored his 40th of the year on a beatiful cross ice pass from Crosby that he Malkin RIPPED a one timer past Brodeur. The assist was Crosby's 14th of the season, and Chris Kunitz picked up his 27th assist on the year. The Penguins lead 4-1 now. The period ended with Penguins leading 4-1. Early in the third period, Peetr Sykora got the Devils back in the game with his 16th goal of the season. Penguins now led 4-2. But the Penguins answered quickly when Matt Cooke scored his 16th goal of the season, taking a loose puck off of Kennedy's stick in front of the net and hammered it home. It was another goal off the rush, with Crosby collecting his 15th assist, and Kennedy got his 20th. Though Kennedy has not scored a goal in 21 games, he has been collecting assists of late! The game ended with Penguins winning 5-2! The win has Pittsburgh as noted, only 2 points behind the Rangers, and the Penguins have a game in hand. It also has Pittsburgh 3 points ahead of Philadelphia for the fourth seed, but the Flyers and Penguins clash in a matinee in Philly tomorrow at 12:30. The Penguins have a chance to take a 5 point lead with a game in hand if they can win in regulation tomorrow. The win also gives the Pens a 6 point lead over New Jersey with 2 games in hand. Malkin's 2 points gave him 87 points on the season, and a three point lead over Steven Stamkos in the league scoring race. Two big factors in the Penguins success include a red hot PK, which is first in the NHL at 89.6%, and secondary scoring. Remember when only the top line was scoring? Not the case now, with Pascal Dupuis netting 5 goals in his past 7 games, and Matt Cooke getting 4 in the last two. The Penguins are now second in the NHL in goals per game at 3.14, closing the gap on league leading Philadelphia who is scoring 3.17 goals per game. The Penguins also boast 2 players with 30+ goals, Malkin having 40, and a total of five players with 20 or more including Geno at 40, Neal at 32, Staal at 22, Kunitz at 21, and Duper at 20. This is the first time since 2000-2001 the Penguins have boasted 5 players with 20+ goals. Add Sid to the mix of 30+ projected out and you can see the balance in the Penguins attack. Next up, the other top team in the East, another big divisional battle tomorrow! Let's Go Pens!
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