Rangers at Penguins - First Period - 11-28-09
FIRST PERIOD
20:00: If you're following along at the game, we've been told the shot totals on the scoreboards are malfunctioning. They ought to build a new arena or something.
19:38: Bill Geerin coasts up the left wing with Sidney Crosby on a two-on-one. Guerin elects to shoot but is wide with his release.
19:23: Mark Eaton is nabbed for holding the stick of Chris Drury. Eaton skates to the box pointing at his forehead as if to indicate he was high sticked. EIther that or he's making fun of the official's unibrow. Jordan Staal, Craig Adams, Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik take the ice to kill the penalty.
18:52: Adams swats the puck down ice to kill some time from along the boards.
18:33: As Cooke drops Gaborik with a shoulder check, Alex Goligosk whips a puck down ice to kill time.
17:38: Eaton's penalty was killed. The Penguins allowed very little to the Rangers aht two minutes.
16:21: The Penguins have Crosby on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko.
15:40: Gaborik abuses Goligoski blowing by him with a move ot the outside. He moves in on net but can't push a shot underneath Fleury. Fleury covers the rebound with P.A. Parenteau jabbing at it. Fleury holds it out. Goligoski and other bump Parenteau out of their goaltender's grill. Goligoski looked really slow there. It's tough to depend that type of speed coming off an injury.
15:18: And Sean Avery maks his presence known. Fleury comes out to play a puck. Avery bumps him. That's two minutes for goaltenders interference. Crosby, Malkin, Guerin, Gonchar and Goligoski take the ice.
15:05: Malkin gets the butt-end of Dan Giradi's stick in the face. No call.
14:56: Crosby sneaks a pass form the right wing through the crease to Malkin on the back door. Malkin gets a shot off immediately. Valiquette is able to slide over and eat up the shot. Big save there.
13:57: Malkin collects a loose puck behind the net and tries to sweep it in with a backhander by Valiquette. Valiquette holds it out.
13:20: Staal moves a puck to Letang at the left point. Letang smacks a one-timer. Valiquette makes the save. Kennedy is there the rebound and punches it on net. Valiquette gloves it. Kennedy gets run over bin the slot.
13:18: Avery's penalty is killed. The Penguins' power play looked lightyears better there. The generated some quality chances.
12:24: Off a turnove rin the Penguins' zone, Bobby Sanguinetti rips a wrister from the slot. Fleury kcisk it out.
11:58: Crosby cuts up ice, blows by Sanguinetti and has a clean run at the net. But he looses control of the puck and it slides in on net.
11:41: Guerin rips a wrister from the slot. Valiquette fights it off with his torso.
11:10: And Goligoski gets burnt again. This time by a defenseman. Marc Staal. Staal takes a pass from Drury on the left wing, abuses Goligoski, blowing by him to the outside. He moves from the forehand to the backhand and chips a wonder backhander over Fleury on the stick side. What an effort by Staal. Goligoski has had a rough first period. It's one thing to have a world-class skater like Gabork blow by you, it's another to have a stay at home defenseman like Staal do it to you. Did Goligoski come back too soon? Drury and Ales Kotalik get assists. Rangers 1-0. And yes...
10:45: Letang taks a pass at the left point, hesitates and and uncorks a slapper on net. Valiquette makes the save but gives up a rebound. Malkin is there but can't get a handle on the puck.
9:37: Adams rips a wrister from the left wing. Valiquette gloves it.
8:41: Fleury denies Gaborik in tight.
7:54: Letang snaps off a wrister from the right point. It hits Crosby and/or Girardi in front and hops on net. Valiquette is still able to fight off the tricky bouncer.
7:43: With the puck behind the cage, Valiquette hugs the left post. But he loses his balance and falls backwards and knocks it off. Nice skating ability.
7:08: Ryan Callahan chugs up ice and smacks a slapper on net from just inside the blue line. Fleury fights it off.
6:04: Gunner Eric Godard whips a wrister on net from the left faceoff circle. It clunks off the outside of the post.
5:46: Off a faceoff, Crosby and Aaron Voros get tied up. Crosby just shoves him to the ice to an applause.
5:23: Crosby outworkds Matt Gilroy for possession of the puck behind the Rangers' net. With help from Guerin, he gets it into the crease. Malkin jumps on it and swats it into the cage by Valiquette's left foot. The Penguins got that goal through plain and simple hard work. Crosby and Guerin get assists. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 1, Rangers 1.
4:52: Gonchar takes a pass on the left point. He tees up a slapper to the far side. It hits Valiquette on the sticks side and deflects wide.
4:13: Cooke slams Michael Del Zotto with a check in the corner with a check that was louder than it acqually seemed.
3:42: Kennedy moves up the left wing and cranks a slapper on net from the the right wing. Valiquette kicks it out.
3:15: The great Martin Skoula smacks a loose puck on net like a one-timer from the left point. Valiquette punches it away.
2:17: (Bob Cole Voice) What. A Shot! Goligoski moves up the ice and gains the Rangers' blue line. He loose control of the puck. Just before it goes offsides, Crosby grabs it and moves in. From the slot, he rips a ridiculously sick wrister that burns Valiquette on the blocker side. That was a sick shot. Goligoski gets the only assist. All he really did was turnover the puck and fall over. Oh well. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 2-1.
1:31: Welcome back Maxime Talbot. Kris Letang zips a pass to Talbot at the red line. Talbot distributes to Crosby on the left wing. As Crosby gives it back to Talbot in the slot in the offensive zone, Godard makes a wonderful play by cutting across the slot from the left wing and drags a defender with him. That creates the space for Talbot to move in all alone. He goes from the forehand to the backhand and sneaks a shot by Valiquette under his left leg. It's his first goal since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It puts the Penguins up by two. Crosby and Letang get assists. Godard should get one. The "Hey Song" has to double shift. Penguins 3-1.
1:05: Fleury fights off a wrister by Christopher HIggins on the right wing.
0:50: Fleury boots out a soft wrister by Sanguinetti from the slot.
0:00: As the period ends, a skirmish takes place in the Penguins' zone. It looked like Chris Drury and Mike Rupp were in the middle of it. It ends with Mike Rupp looking like he could pop Avery's head like a zit. Nothing comes of it. End of period. Penguins 3, Rangers 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-Early on, this looked like the Rangers' period. They were a tad more aggressive. The Penguins had a few rusty bodies in the lineup and the Rangers seemed to jump on that. The Penguins fought back and took the lead.
-Valiquette looked good early on, but eventually the dam broke and he let in a whole flood of goals.
-Not to rain on the parade, but Goligoski was brutal in the first period. He just looked like he was totally overwhelmed by the speed of the game.
-The Penguins have a 16-13 lead in shots.
-Malkin, Guerin and Higgins each lead the game with three shots.
-Gonchar leads the game with 8:49 of ice time.
-Former Penguin Michal Rozsival leads the Rangers with 8:12 of ice time.
-Fire Craig Patrick.
-The Penguins have a 14-7 lead in faceoffs (67 percent).
-Crosby is 5 for 6 (83 percent).
-Vaclav Prospal is 3 for 8 (38 percent).
-No one has more than one blocked shot.