Penguins 1, Devils 0 - 12-26-08
PREGAME
-Greetings from a rainy Pittsburgh.
-The Penguins' scratches are the great Mike Zigomanis and Kris Letang.
-New Jersey will scratch Sheldon Brookbank and Bryce Salvador.
-Scott Clemmensen and Marc-Andre Fleury are the starting goaltenders.
-Paul Bissonnette and Dustin Jeffrey are in the line up tonight for the Penguins. Jeffrey will be the Penguins player to wear No. 42 since the days of Tuomas Gronman.
FIRST PERIOD
20:00: Before the game even starts, an official has to seperate Matt Cooke and David Clarkson.
18:31: Fleury fights off nice re-direct chance by Brian Gionta.
18:01: Wow was that sloppy on both ends.. Johnny Oduya makes a brutal turnover which Pascal Dupuis takes. With Paul Martin on his knees in front of Clemmensen, Dupuis gives it to Satan who misses the shot from in tight.
16:33: Bissonnette dumps the puck into the offensive zone and is mashed into the boards by Clarkson.
15:45: Brian Rolston picks up a loose puck in the Penguins' zone and uncorks a slapper which Fleury kicks out.
14:46: Fleury denies Zach Parise on a wrist shot.
13:59: Sykora fires a slapper just wide of the cage.
13:47: Travis Zajac's rising wrister is denied by Fleury.
13:27: On a delayed penalty, Miroslav Satan is set up in the slot with a one-timer. His shot is blocked. Parise is sent off for interference. FSN Pittsburgh comes back from commercial with the stat of the night:
12:30: Clemmensen gloves a deflected puck.
11:27: Jay Leach clears the puck and essentially kills off the rest of Parise's penalty. The Penguins looked really weak on that power play.
10:54: Clemmensen fights off a wrister from the ever dangerous Rob Scuder with his blocker.
10:42: Fleury gloves a shot from Oduya.
10:39: Off a faceoff, Fleury fights of a spinning shot from Clarkson.
10:19: Fleury knocks away a wrister from Bobby Holik with his blocker.
9:58: Clarkson tries a wraparound but Fleury closes the door.
9:48: Maxime Talbot and Mike Mottau chase after a loose puck in the corner. Mottau allows Talbot to go by him and trips him up by putting a stick between his skates. Talbot crashes into the boards with a lot of force and is slow to get up. He appeared to hit the boards with his hip. Just what the Penguins need. Mottau gets two minutes for tripping while Cooke is given a 10-minute misconduct.
9:05: Malkin pushes a loose puck in the crease on net. Clemmensen keeps it out.
8:30: Zajac pushes the puck up ice, uses Ryan Whitney as a screen and snaps a wrister that off the mark.
7:48: Mottau's penalty expires without much of a threat from the Penguins.
6:16: Satan dishes a pass to Crosby in the crease. Clemmensen appears to keep it out. Either way, the puck didn't go in.
5:46: Dupuis feeds a pass to Malkin in the slot but he can't quite get a stick on the puck.
5:34: Ruslan Fedotenko gets away with interference against Joh Madden.
5:24: A shot by Fedotenko is deflected and goes out of play.
4:59: Talbot is apparently fine as he's back on the ice fighting for a puck with Mottau.
3:29: Orpik slides a pass to Scuderi at the right point. Scuderi fires a one-timer which is blocked in front.
1:50: Talbot appears to have a chance to blast Andy Greene with a big check in the corner but he pulls up.
0:23: Parise cruises down the right wing, uses Boucher as a screen and fires a wrister. Fleury makes the save and denies the chance on the following rebound. A chance on a second rebound goes wide. Jamie Langenbrunner actually raised his arm at one point thinking his team scored.
0:16: Malkin takes the puck up ice, leaves a drop pass for Sykora who whips a wrister on net. Clemmensen makes the save. Malkin is right there for the rebound but can't control it enough to tuck it behind Clemmensen.
0:00: End of period. Devils 0, Penguins 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-That was a pretty bland period of hockey. Other than a few chances in the final 30 seconds for each team, there wasn't a lot going on.
-The Penguins' power play continues to struggle.
-Stop us if this sounds familiar; The Penguins are being outshot, 12-5.
-Parise, Clarkson and Brian Rolston each lead the game with two shots.
-The Devils have a 7-5 edge in faceoffs.
-Danius Zubrus is 2-for-2.
-Jordan Staal is 3-for-4 (75 percent).
-Whitney is logging some serious ice time. He leads the game with 8:17.
-Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin leads New Jersey with 7:42.
-Oduya is the only player to have recorded a blocked shot.
-Are we the only ones who think Clemmensen has a pretty cool helmet?
(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
SECOND PERIOD
18:35: Fleury knocks away a wrister from Langenbrunner.
16:47: Dupuis tries to re-direct a pass from Crosby in the slot. It goes wide of the cage.
16:27: Madden comes charging up ice. Fleury makes the save but gives up a big rebound. Mike Rupp follows up on it and pushes it towards the cage. Fleury covers it up. Mark Eaton is nabbed for hooking.
15:44: Martin claps a big slapper from the left point. Fleury appears to make a save despite traffic.
15:09: Gionta whips a wrister from the left wing. Fleury closes the gates.
14:27: Eaton's penalty expires. The Devils power play looked more aggresive than the Penguins'.
13:32: A blast by Philippe Boucher is off the mark.
12:36: Godard slides down to the ice to block a big shot by Greene at the left point. Godard blocks it but he's really smarting from shot. He lays on the ice for a moment and limps over to his bench. Replays show him taking the shot off a knee. Yeouch. That takes a lot of guts.
12:06: Clemmensen eats up a shot by Satan off a faceoff.
11:48: Clemmensen kicks out a deflected wrister by Talbot.
11:21: Patrik Elias takes a puck near the left wing, winds up, fakes a shot, pulls it into the slot and fires a shot on net. Fleury is in perfect position to eat it up.
11:11: Clemmensen knocks down a shot by Malkin and shuffles it away.
10:19: Malkin tosses a puck on net from the right wing. Clemmensen is able to fight if off despite traffic in front.
10:03: Boucher is dumped behind the Penguins' net by Rupp.
9:29: Clemmensen kicks out a big wrister by Alex Goligoski.
8:30: Paul Steigerwald mentions that Clemmensen is from Iowa. For some reason, that makes us think of this:
7:09: On a give and go, Malkin dishes a pass to Fedotenko in the slot. Fedotenko rips a wrister that Clemmensen gets a piece of with his glove. He doesn't get enough of it as it trickles into the net. Colin White tries to scoop it out with his stick but it's too late. Malkin and Sykora get assists. Penguins 1-0.
5:51: Jay Pandolfo tries to skate by Whitney for a loose puck. Whitney appears to interfere with him and is sent to the box for two minutes. The penalty is for hooking actually.
5:39: Rolston drives a shot on net. Despite traffic, Fleury makes the save. Langenbrunner comes flying in on a rebound but Fleury drops his stick, dives over and absolutely robs him with a dazzling glove save. Wow.
5:32: Parise is denied by Fleury.
5:06: A big slapper by Langenbrunner is kicked out by Fleury
4:50: Staal re-directs a shorthanded opportunity just wide.
4:25: Clemmensen denies Talbot with his stick.
4:07: What happened there? After a pile-up of bodies in the slot, the puck squirt through Fleury and goes partially over the goal line. Eaton is Johnny-on-the-spot and kicks it out with his left skate. Officials review the play to see if the puck went over the line. They rule it didn't. Gionta ends up with a tripping penalty. Four-on-four for 16 seconds.
3:48: Whitney's penalty expires. The Penguins will have a power play for 1:44.
2:14: Whtiney uncorks a one-timer which is no where near the net.
2:04: Gionta's penalty expires. The Penguins were again flat on the power play.
0:45: Elias grabs a loose puck, moves into the slot and rips wrister which Fleury fights off. Langenbrunner ties to grab a rebound but is tripped up by Fleury. Fleury is called for tripping. Cooke will serve the penalty.
0:10: Oduya plays a puck into the crease. Zajac is there but can't get a stick on the puck.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Devils 0.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-That period was a lot more entertaining. Lots of up and down action and lot more offensive chances.
-Fleury's been strong. He's bailed out the Penguins more than a few times tonight.
-The Devils are controlling shots, 24-13.
-Elias leads the game with five shots.
-Malkin leads the Penguins with three shots.
-New Jersey has a 14-12 edge in faceoffs.
-Zubrus is 4-for-4.
-Staal is 6-for-10 (60 percent).
-Crosby leads the game with 14:57 of ice time. Whitney is right behind him with 14:54.
-Martin leads New Jersey with 14:17.
-Staal leads the game with two blocked shots.
-Is it us, or does Fedotenko look like he's wearing someone else's helmet for his interview with Dan Potash?
-It just looks too small.
-Paul Steigerwald refers to Newark, N.J. as "beautiful." Unavailable for comment:
(Photobucket)
-Fleury's penalty will have 1:15 left at the start of the period.
-A drowsy Mike Yeo gets some facetime:
THIRD PERIOD
19:12: After Fleury denies Rolston from the right wing, Langenbrunner collects the rebound and has a wide open net to shoot at. His shot is totally off the mark though. Doh!
18:45: Fleury's penalty expires.
18:09: Satan lifts a backhander over the New Jersey net.
16:29: Malkin takes out Martin's legs at the Devils' blue line. No call. That's a total joke there wasn't a call on that. It's not surprising to realize Bill McCreary is an official for this game.
16:08: Fleury covers a deflected shot just outside the crease.
15:31: Scuderi makes a nice play and breaks up a pass into the crease by Gionta.
14:54: Bissonnette tries to jam in a shot from the side. He denied. Martin is called for cross checking Bissonnette. Godard skates to a Devils player to confront him. Bissonnette holds him back.
13:54: Whitney blasts a one-timer from the right point. Clemmensen appears to deflect it away with the shaft of his stick.
13:23: Goligoski's blast is eaten up by Clemmensen.
12:54: Martin's penalty expires. The Penguins were a little bit more aggresive on that power play.
12:06: Cooke makes a nifty play to clear the puck out of his zone with his glove. Talbot chases it down but doesn't touch it because it would be ruled a hand pass. Talbot and Mottau just sit there and stare at the puck like dopes for a few seconds before Mottau finally plays it.
11:52: Parise fires a shot. Boucher appears to block it. Parise gets it back and fires another blast which Fleury fights off.
11:44: Fleury makes another big save with his stick.
10:23: As Fedotenko play a puck out of his slot, Langenbrunner tries to chop at the puck and shoot it. He he ends up taking out Fedotenko's feet and is called for tripping.
8:40: The Penguins struggle to maintain control of the puck in the offensive zone. That results in Pandolfo coming down the left wing. That forces Whitney to chase him down and lunge for a block. Pandolfo is still able to get his shot on net. Fleury eats it up.
8:23: Just as Langenbrunner's penalty expires, Clemmensen fights off a big blast from Boucher. That might've been the Penguins' weakest effort with the man-advantage all night.
7:16: Sykora is nabbed for hooking. The Penguins really need a kill here.
7:06: Cooke clears the puck with a backhander. We've said this before, but we're really eager to see him on the penalty kill.
6:41: Fleury fights off a big blast by Rolston. Talbot pokes the rebound out of th zone.
5:38: Brooks Orpik blocks a slapper by Oduya. Tablot is again there to play it out of the zone.
5:16: Sykora's penalty expires.
4:54: Cooke gets away with interference on Clarkson in front of the net. He checked Clarkson to the ice away from the puck? How is that not interference?
4:01: Madden sets up a nice one-timer for Langenbrunner. Langenbrunner blasts his shot but is denied on a big save by Fleury. Fleury kicks it out with a "thud." What a huge save.
3:39: Devils coach Brent Sutter calls time out to organize a night everyone can come over to watch "Summer Rental." We think.
2:45: Orpik blocks a shot by Gionta.
2:06: Talbot dumps the puck deep.
1:57: Malkin fires a slapper. Clemmensen knocks it down and covers the rebound.
1:35: Fedotenko dumps the puck deep.
1:16: Elias tosses a puck into the slot to... no one.
1:10: Clemmensen is pulled for an extra attacker.
1:04: Whitney is called for playing the puck with a broken stick. Ugh. What a time for a brain cramp. First he broke it off Clarkson's hip then he played the puck with a broken stick.
0:53: Gionta knocks the stick out of Orpik's hands. That's two minutes. What a time for another brain cramp. The faceoff will go all the way down into the Devils' zone.
0:40: Clemmensen is pulled again for an extra attacker.
0:20: Elias plays the puck to Parise who tries to jam it by Fleury. No dice.
0:09: Langenbrunner fires a big blast which misses the net.
0:03: Another shot by Langenbrunner is denied by Fleury despite a traffic wreck in front of the cage. Dupuis plays the rebound out of the zone.
0:00: End of game. Penguins 1, Devils 0.
POSTGAME
-Does anyone else feel the Penguins stole one there? Are we the only ones who feel Fleury was the only reason they won that game? The Devils just seemed to control the play. Fleury just was playing out of his mind tonight.
-If Dany Sabourin plays in this game, the Penguins lose, 5-1.
-The Penguins had quite a few bounces go their way tonight. But you need those occasionally to win games. The last time they were in New Jersey, the Devils had quite a few lucky bounces go in their favor in a 4-1 win, Dec. 10.
-Did anyone see SIdney Crosby?
-The officiating was nothing short of terrible tonight. This was easily the worst officiated game we've watched all season.
-New Jersey dominated in shots, 37-18.
-Elias and Rolston led the game with six shots each. Parise and Clarkson added five.
-Malkin led the Penguins with four.
-New Jersey had a 24-16 advantage in faceoffs.
-Zubrus was 4-for-5 (80 percent).
-Malkin was 3-for-5 (60 percent).
-Whitney led the game with 22:06 of ice time.
-Oduya was right behind him with 22:01.
-Scuderi, Orpik and Staal each led the game with two blocked shots.
-Fleury recorded the Penguins' and his first shutout since a 6-0 shutout of the Flyers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final May 18.
-The Penguins' and Fleury's last regular season shutout was ironically a 2-0 win at New Jersey March 25.
-Fleury passed up Les Binkley for second place on the team's career shutout list. Fleury now has 12 shutouts and trails only Tom Barrasso who has 22.
-Crazy Eyes Brooks Orpik checks out his plus/minus rating:
