Penguins 2, Bruins 1 - 10-21-08

PREGAME


 
(Kudos to Alison.)

-Right off the bat, Paul Steigerwald mentions that Sidney Crosby scored his first career goal against the Bruins back in 2005-06:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZWBFKZ33sw]

-Dany Sabourin gets the start in net for the Penguins. It's his first start of the season.

-Tim Thomas goes in goal for Boston.

-FSN Pittsburgh posts the lines. We refuse to acknowledge line combinations at this point on this team.

-A head shot of Tim Thomas (right) is shown. He looks like Chance Kelly, the actor who played "Godfather" in "Generation Kill."

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecLpOnpHaZw]

-The Penguins' scratches are Darryl Sydor, Matt Cooke and Bill Thomas.

-Boston has scratched P.J. Axelsson and Matt Hunwick.

FIRST PERIOD

19:41: Steigerwald mentions Crosby is dealing with a head cold at the moment. Perhaps he needs some Codral:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCSaClWNLvA]
 
19:22: Hal Gill tosses a puck towards the net from the left point. It gets knocked down, but Pascal Dupuis is able to scoop it up and punch a quick shot on net. Thomas eats it up.

19:07: Apparently it's still 1969. The Doors' "Break on Through" is played during a stoppage:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wg5Avck4oE]

18:28: Aaron Ward pops Maxime Talbot with a right cross up high. No call.

17:56: Mark Stuart fires a shot from the slot. Sabourin with the save. Patrice Bergeron follows up on the rebound. Sabourin kicks it out. Sabourin is sharp so far.

16:55: Former Penguin Andrew Ference fires a quick shot on net. Sabourin eats it up.

16:51: Off a faceoff, Ference fires a slapper from the right point. It rings off the post.

15:27: Tyler Kennedy throws a quick wrister from the right wing. Thomas kicks it away.

15:15: Michael Ryder gets off a quick shot from in tight. Sabourin kicks it out.

14:42: Talbot gets crunched into the boards by Milan Lucic.

14:27: Gill makes a poor turnover in his own end. The dangerous Bergeron picks up the loose puck, moves in and fires for the five-hole. Sabourin closes the gates and freezed play. Sabourin has been huge for the Penguins so far.

13:48: Apparently it is still Steigerwald calls Phil Kessel by the name of former Penguins forward Rick Kessell.

12:48: Eric Godard is called for hooking.

12:43: Off a faceoff, Bob Errey lets us know Zdeno Chara is big.

12:15: From the right point, Chara, who, as Errey reminds us again, is big, fires a slapper on net. Sabourin gloves it.

10:44: Zigomanis blocks a shot by Lucic in the slot.

10:20: Going against Andrew Ference, Godard actually tries to fly in on net with the puck. He gets a around Ference, but can't get a shot off.

9:54: Miroslav Satan fires a wrister from the right wing. Thomas saves it with the cuff of elbow.

8:08: Crosby is sent off for hooking Marco Sturm.

7:55: Chara is big.

7:03: Ference blasts a slapper from top of the slot. Sabourin knocks it out of play with his blocker.

6:52: David Krejci treis to jam it in from the left side. Sabourin stands his ground.

6:42: Dennis Wideman fires a slapper from the right point. Sabourin eats it up.

6:34: Kessel fires a low shot. Sabourin again with the save.

5:51: Stuart with a big shot from the left point. Sabourin is there again. He's played huge so far.

5:37: After another turnover by Gill, Bergeron fires a rising wrister. Sabourin pins it against his belly and freezes play.

4:55: From the boards, Ward tosses a soft shot on net. Sabourin makes his 302^nd save of the period.

4:24: Evgeni Malkin blocks a shot from the point by Chara.

4:13: Chara is big. Steigerwald mentions that Les Binkley is the only Penguins goaltender to have ever recorded a shutout in Boston.

4:04: Shawn Thornton drops the gloves with Godard. The grapple a bit. Pulls off Thornton's helmet. A few punches are thrown before Thornton slips and falls. Officials step in, Thornton almost seems to apologize to Godard for falling. While scrolling through the photo wire, we able to discover Godard actually pinched Thornton's nose and suffocated him (right). We'd post the video of this fight, but it was super lame.

3:15: Satan is called for consuming David Krejci's soul. Either that hooking. Either way, both penalties are worth two minutes.

3:00: Marc Savard dishes a slick pass to Ryder near the net. Ryder has an open net and a sure goal, but he can't control the puck.

1:08: Just as his penalty expires, Satan strikes. In the Penguins' zone, Crosby chases after Wideman for a puck. Wideman loses his footing. Crosby picks up the puck and feeds it to Malkin. Malkin gets behind the defense. As he approaches the net, Chara chops out Malkin's feet. Despite that, Malkin is able to get a low shot off. Thomas makes the save with is blocker but gives up a juicy rebound. Satan jumps on it and puts it over a prone Thomas. Penguins 1-0.

0:06: We go even further back in time with Boston's music choices. "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones is busted out:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYRajKfZYb0&feature=related]
 
-At some point, Benny Goodman might make an appearance tonight.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Bruins 0, Chara 4.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-The Penguins were lucky to come away with a lead that period. Boston dominated it for the most part.

-Sabourin completely saved the Penguins that period.

-Boston had a 16-10 lead in shots.

-The Bruins also led in faceoffs, 13-8.

-Cheers (the bar, not the show) is actually shown:


 
"-Cheers" was a show your parents used to watch back in the 1980s.

-Steigerwald mentions that Thomas is from Flint, Mich. which is also the home of filmmaker Michael Moore and the band Grand Funk Railroad.

SECOND PERIOD

19:51: Crosby charges up ice and puts a quick shot on net. Thomas is able to fight it off.

19:02: Dupuis pumps a big slapper on the net from inside the blue line. Thomas pins it against his shoulder.

18:34: Krejci pushes a shot on net from in tight. Sabourin stands his ground.

18:05: Ference pushes the puck on ice and gets spilled into the net. Despite the traffic, Sabourin covers the puck and holds it out of the net.

17:54: Stuart fires a slapper from the left point. It bounces around in the crease. Sabourin is able to cover it somehow.

17:33: Kennedy leaves a drop pass for Talbot. Talbot rushes the net and shoots low. Thoams kicks it out.

16:59: Savard puts a sneaky backhander on net. Sabourin again with the save.

16:40: Alex Goligoski takes out Stephane Yelle with a solid check near the boards.

16:34: Goligoski gets away with a bit of a hold on Vladimir Sobotka. No call.

16:28: Sobotka runs Paul Bissonnette into the boards from behind. Sobotka even uses his shoulder to dive Bissonnette's head into the boards. No call.

16:00: Crosby snaps a quick wrister off from in tight.

14:56: Petr Sykora pounds a slapper from the right point. Thomas knocks it down and covers.

14:28: Petteri Nokelainen tires to fires a quick shot off a pass in the slot. Mark Eaton makes a nice block with his right leg.

13:27: Lucic dumps Brooks Orpik in the corner. Orpik exchanges words with Lucic and gives him a look that would scare the salt off a pretzel:


 
(We have no idea what that means, it just sounded kind of folksy.)

13:01: Malkin gets back at Lucic and knocks him over with a hip check. He didn't really knock over Lucic. Lucic just tried to avoid the hit and fell over.

12:52: Wideman trips up Malkin the neutral zone. Two minutes. Sykora, Malkin, Crosby, Goligoski and Satan on for the man advantage.

11:14: Goligoski dishes a pass into the slot where Sykora re-directs the puck on net. Thomas makes the save.

10:58: Malkin scoops up a loose puck, sneaks in and lifts a shot that clangs off the post.

10:36: Ryder picks up a loose puck and fires a slapper from the right boards. Orpik blocks it with his stick and the puck caroms out of play.

9:17: Kennedy enters the offensive zone and bombs a slapper from the right point. Thomas eats it up.

8:50: Bergeron backhands a loose puck in the slot. Sabourin stands his ground.

7:29: Staal steals a puck near the net. A mini two-on-one develops with Sykora. Staal dishes the puck but Ference leans down and pokes the puck away with is stick.

7:17: Just as a whistle is blown, Ward smacks Ruslan Fedotenko to the ice. Staal is called for holding. He basically tried to give Blake Wheeler a hug.

7:01: Chara is tall.

6:28: The great Mike Zigomanis clears the puck.

6:14: Ryder whips a wrister on net from in close. Sabourin coolly gloves it.

6:07: Sooner or later, the Bruins were going to score on the power play. Ference slides along the blue line and dishes a pass to Kessel at the right point. Kessel controls it, moves in a rips nice wrister by Sabourin on the glove side. "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation is played. Bruins 1, Penguins 1.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6nZ33tQ9ds]
 
5:07: Yelle trips up Talbot behind the Penguins' net. Talbot seems like he might've exaggerated the trip a bit.

4:21: From being the Boston net, Satan feeds a nice pass to Sykora near the crease. Sykora can't quite get his stick on the puck however.

3:48: Sykora gets a chance in tight again and fires a backhander Thomas makes the save.

3:17: Marco Sturm pulls in a loose puck in his team's zone, pushes it up ice and goes one-on-one with Goligoski. Sturm makes a nifty move by Goligoski and gets a shot on net. Sabourin makes a save. Sturm goes crashing into the net.

2:21: Lucic tries to crunch Eaton in the corner. Eaton moves out of the way and avoids most of the hit.

2:13: Bergeron fires a slapper from the left wing. Sabourin kicks it out with a "thud."

1:43: Fedotenko throws an off-angle shot on net. Thomas traps it.

1:19: Chara chops a slapper from the point. Sabourin tips it away with his glove.

0:58: Kessel gets a chance in tight with a one-timer. Sabourin says no.

0:45: Savard and Crosby get tangled up in the corner. Replays show Crosby slamming Savard to the ice. Savard then pulled Crosby down. Matching minor penalties for roughing.

0:23: Dupuis leaves his feet and launches himself on Wideman behind the Boston net. How is that not charging?

0:17: Dupuis blasts a slapper from the left wing. Thomas with the save.

0:04: Bergeron fires a high wrister on net. Sabourin makes the save but gives up a rebound. Bergeron gets it back and slides it under Sabourin but wide of the net.

0:00: End of period. Bruins 1, Penguins 1, Chara 5.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-The Penguins had two power plays in that period and were fairly ineffective on each. They controlled the puck a bunch in the offensive zone, but didn't put a lot of shots on net.

-Boston has a 27-24 lead in shots.

-Faceoff are even, 21-21.

-Apparently, Dan Potash is now "D.J. Po."

-Mike Yeo gets some face time:



THIRD PERIOD

16:17: Gill holds the puck behind his net for several seconds drawing boos. It's been a slow start to this period.

15:45: Thornton tosses a backhander on net from the left wing. Sabourin eats it up.

14:44: Savard tries to toss a wrister towards the net from the right wing but his stick breaks.

14:38: Boston surges into the 1980s with U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name:"

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDkBzkA9L4s]

-Solid.

13:54: Kessel scoops up a loose puck along the right wing and zips a quick shot on net. Sabourin kicks it out with his right leg.

12:57: Crosby puts a shot on net from in close. Thomas eats it up.

11:43: Savard blasts a slapper from the slot. Despite being screened, Sabourin is somehow able to knock it away with his glove.

11:28: Savard punches a shot on net from in close. Sabourin keeps it out with his right leg.

9:33: Sobotka tosses a wrister on net from left point. Sabourin gloves it.

6:49: Talbot tries to go to the outside on Ference but Ference takes him out with a nice check. There's lots of up and down skating this period, but not too many shots getting on net.

6:17: Kennedy blasts a slapper from the right wing. Thomas appears to knock it out of play with his glove.

5:38: Errey drops an Ulf Dahlen reference. Solid.

5:03: Right off a faceoff, Fedotenko collects a loose puck and rips a wrister from the right faceoff circle. Thomas kicks it out.

4:20: Yelle dishes a nice pass into the slot for Nokelainen. Fedotenko does a nice job on the back check and keeps Nokelainen from getting his stick on the puck.

3:26: Chara is big.

3:22: Just inside the Penguins' blue line, Lucic fires a wrister. Sabourin snags it with his glove.

2:57: We get a "Tyler Kennedy/Little Tiger" reference from Steigerwald. Seriously, is Kennedy like six years old or something?

2:21: Staal shoots a rising wrister on net. Thomas knocks it down with his glove.

0:00: End of period. Bruins 1, Penguins 1, Chara 6.

THIRD INTERMISSION

-Again, lots of skating that period, but not a great deal of shots on net.

"Black Betty" by Ram Jam is played:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLnDuzgkjo]

-And you though Sidney Crosby's beard was bad.

OVERTIME

4:26: Not only is Chara big, but he's a cobra too according to Errey.

4:01: Crosby pounds a slapper from the point. Thomas gloves it. We get some "Slow Ride" from Foghat:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ9LvqUAjxk]
 
3:44: Ryder dishes a nifty pass from behind the net to Krejci in the slot. Krejci snaps a quick shot. Sabourin stands his ground.

2:53: Using Rob Scuderi as a screen, Kessel snaps a quick shot low. Sabourin kicks it out.

2:49: Chara scoops up a loose puck along the boards and fires a slapper. Sabourin again kicks it out.

1:52: Malkin and Staal come up on a two-on-one against Chara. Malkin dishes it to Staal in the slot. Savard backchecks and hooks Staal. Staal seemingly tries to make a pass back to Malkin and Thomas kicks it out. Hooked or not, Staal has to at least get a shot on net. He's allegedly a franchise player. That's a situation that demands him to score. Four-on-three.

1:44: Staal is called for slashing against Wideman. Replays showing what Staal aren't really clear. Three-on-three for the rest of the period.

0:54: Chara tosses a wrister on net. Sabourin makes the save. Bergeron tries to follow up on the rebound. Kris Letang kicks it away from him.

0:45: The Penguins come back up ice. Malkin dishes it to Orpik trailing. Orpik fires a high shot that hits Thomas in the shoulder.

0:37: Off an icing, the Bruins call a time out to rest up.

0:02: Dupuis slides a puck to Letang who fires a one-timer. Thomas kicks it out with a "thud."

0:00: End of period. Bruins 1, Penguins 1.

SHOOTOUT

-Letang goes first. He approaches the net, looses the puck, and tries to recover but the butt end of Thomas' stick knocks the puck away.

-Kessel zips in Sabourin and coolly beats him with backhander to the stick side. Bruins 1-0.

-Sykora slides th the left to slot, gives Thomas a bit of a shoulder juke and just barely sneaks a shot over his left leg. Bruins 1, Penguins 1.

-Bergeron comes in, dekes back and forward a few times and blows his shot wide of the net.

-Crosby is announced to boos. He takes the puck, glides in and shoot low to the stick side. Thomas knocks it away.

-Ryder comes right down the middle of the ice and goes to the backhand like Kessel on the stick side. He has Sabourin beat but doesn't lift the puck enough. Sabourin's left leg keeps it out.

-Satan glides in and shoots low. Thomas kicks it out with ease.

-Krejci takes some slow deliberate strides into the offensive zone. Sabourin challenges him with the stick. Krejci goes with the backhand on the stick side again and puts it just wide of the net.

-Malkin, who never seems to do well in the shootout, is called on. As he comes in on net, he dips a shoulder and raises a leg, gets Thomas to commit and puts a wrister by him on the stick side. Nice little move. Penguins 2-1.

-Savard approaches the net, shoots stick side and Sabourin knocks it away with the blocker. End of shootout. Penguins 2, Bruins 1. End of game. Penguins 2, Bruins 1.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMXPcC-KmkY]
 
POSTGAME

-What a game by Sabourin. The Bruins put a ton of shots on net and Sabourin seemed prepared for all but one of them. We think he earned the trust of a lot of Penguins observers who might've doubted his ability to be an effective back up, including us.

-It was mentioned prior to the game that Michel Therrien didn't mention to Sabourin he would be starting until the day before. It seems to that Sabourin excels when he's put into a spot start without much preparation. It's almost like he thrives off of adrenaline. But if he's given starts on a regular basis, he can wear down.

-In other words, if you told Sabourin a house full of diabetic handicapped orphans was on fire, he not only would rush in and save all of them, he would set up high-yield IRA's for their college education. But if you expected him to do the same thing the next day, all those kids would perish in the fire and they would be victims of identify theft.

-Ruslan Fedotenko seemed to play his best game as a Penguin so far. He didn't get on the scoreboard, but he seemed very active and very involved.

-Has anyone seen Jordan Staal?

-Boston had a 36-32 edge in shots.

-Bergeron led the game with seven shots.

-Crosby led the Penguins with six.

-The Penguins surprisingly had a 35-31 edge in faceoffs.

-Talbot went 12-for-14 in faceoffs.

-Chara led the game with 30:47 in ice time.

-Orpik led the Penguins with 26:32.

-Orpik and Gill led the game with four blocked shots.

-P.J. Axelsson was a scratch due to back spasms.

-Did anyone else notice that Mountaineer Casino and Resort advertisement on the boards in front of the Penguins' bench?

-EN reader Kevin Martin was kind enough to send us a video of the Penguins' warm up skate from last night:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbmjLxOJ2VQ]

-Kevin also shared some photos he took:


 

 

 
(We're pretty psyched to brag that we're now 3-for-3 in terms of readers sending in photos from the Penguins' "road" games this season including the two in Sweden. If you know anyone going to New York on Saturday, please spread the word that we want to go 4-for-4.)

-Dave Molinari's recap.

-Game summary.

-Event Summary.

-Highlights.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Penguins will hold the first of their four student rush games Thursday against the Hurricanes. Kudos to the Penguins for actually making the tickets available against a decent opponent in Carolina twice and the team's chief rival, the Flyers. A fourth game is against the cruddy Kings.

-Does Jordan Staal need to stay at center?

-TSN ranked Crosby's 10 greatest goals of his career:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXzYcCfCJkY]

Atlantic Division

-Devils forward Bobby Holik will be out 3-to-4 weeks due to a broken pinkie finger. To replace him, the team recalled forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from Lowell of the AHL. Good luck getting that name on a jersey.

-The Flyers demoted forwards Steve Downie and Jared Ross to their AHL affiliate also in Philadelphia.

Avangard Omsk, the KHL team of late Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov, played its first game since his death last week.

-New Rangers forward Aaron Voros is no Sean Avery.

Northeast Division

-Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves for the Canadiens in a 3-1 defeat of the Panthers.

-The Maple Leafs are having issues on the power play.

Southeast Division

-The Hurricanes returned their 2008 first-round pick, forward Zach Boychuk, to his junior team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. How weird is it that his junior team as the same name as his NHL team?

-The Thrashers' checking line of Eric Boulton, Jim Slater and former Penguin Chris Thorburn is called "the Greek Gods."

-Alex Ovechkin. Redskins fan.

Central Division

-The Red Wings put forward Darren McCarty on waivers.

-Detroit doesn't drop the gloves all that much.

-The Blue Jackets are looking for an interim goaltending coach.

-Blue Jackets forward Fredrik Modin is dealing with a groin injury.

-Columbus lifted a television blackout on some of its games.

Northwest Division

-The Avalanche got two goals from Ryan Smyth (right) and won in Los Angeles, 4-3.

-According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Wild is actively shopping forward Marian Gaborik.

-The Oilers responded to the hub-bub over their decision to kick the Covered in Oil blog out of their press box.

-Someone behind the scenes on "How I Met Your Mother" is a Canucks fan.

Pacific Division

-Marty Turco's 28 saves helped the Stars edge the Rangers, 2-1.

-The Sharks put forward Lukas Kaspar on waivers. He was the team's first-round pick in 2004.

Smythe Division

-James Mirtle has a new home. http://www.fromtherink.com/.

(Photos: Godard-Charles Krupa/Associated Press; Smyth-Jeff Lewis/Associated Press)