Devils at Penguins - First Period - 10-24-09
FIRST PERIOD
20:00: Dan Bylsma gives Mike Rupp a start against his former team. He's on a line with Evgeni Malkin, Ruslan Fedotenko. Kris Letang and Orpik man the points.
19:10: Martin Skoula takes a shift with Mark Eaton.
18:30: Jay McKee and Alex Goligoski are back together. We're going to assume Bylsma will treat his defensemen much like his forwards and mix and match them a bunch.
18:06: Tyler Kennedy tries to crank a one-timer from the slot but a Devils player kneels down and blocks it with the outside of his left leg.
17:40: It didn't take long for Matt Cooke and David Clarkson to find each other. They cause a small gathering near the Devils' bench. Officials quickly break it up. We have a feeling those two aren't done tonight.
17:17: Travis Zajac trips up Kris Letang along the boards. That's two minutes. Bill Guerin, Sidney Crosby, Malkin, Goligoski and Letang are on for the power play. Goligoski is kind of running the only point position on the power play at the top of the slot while Letang is on the half-wall.
17:06: Goligoski uncorks a slapper from the top of the slot. Brodeur gloves it despite a lot of traffic in front.
16:23: Malkin slides a pass to Letang at the right point. Letang smacks a one-timer. Brodeur kicks it out with his left leg.
15:17: The Devils calmly play the puck down ice and kill off the rest of Zajac's penalty. The Penguins generated a few decent chances from the point, but not a lot down low.
13:54: A little montage of Russell Crowe is played because the man himself is here watching the game. Clips from "Gladiator" and "Mystery, Alaska" are used. Crowe is in town filming a movie.
-John Biebe might be one of the best leader ever in a movie. Even better than George S. Patton.
13:18: The horse-feathers luck of Chris Kunitz continues. He emerges from a cluster of bodies on the left wing, grabs the puck and rips a wrister from the right faceoff circle five hole. It gets through Brodeur's gear and juuuuuust slides wide of the far post. Ugh.
11:05: Cooke absolutely smashes Bryce Salvador into the boards deep in New Jersey's end. The hit sticks both players on their wallets. The boards were really shaking a good bit after that hit.
10:10: New Jersey finally scores on its first shot of the game. Nicklas Bergfors plays a puck from behind the net to Mark Fraser in the right faceoff circle. Fraser gets a quick shot on net. Fleury makes the save. The rebound pops up in the air. Fleury tries to glove it but ends up deflecting it into his own net over his right shoulder. Ugh. Put that one on Fleury. Bergfors and Dainius Zubrus get assists. Devils 1-0.
8:24: Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Pascal Dupuis hustles up the ice. He enters the offensive zone and from the right faceoff circle (Imagine this) he cranks a slapper on net. Brodeur knocks it down and covers. A scrum develops behind the net but nothing comes of it.
8:12: Zajac comes up the right wing and puts a half slapper on net. Fleury gloves it.
7:44: Off a turnover in the Penguins' zone by Guerin, Brian Rolston swats a loose puck on net from the left point. Fleury kicks it away.
7:09: Zajac whips a quick wrister at the cage from the left wing. Fleury smacks it away with his glove.
6:56: Kennedy snaps off a wrister from a tough angle on the left wing. Brodeur gloves it.
6:38: Kennedy hustles up the right wing and fires a laser of a wrister that goes just wide of the cage to the far side.
4:38: Zajac is having a nice period so far. He puts a sneaky wrister on net from the right faceoff circle. Fleury fights it off.
4:10: "LET'S GO PENS! LET'S GO PENS!"
3:21: The Devils turn it over deep. Kunitz picks the puck up and immediately whips a wrister on net from the left of the cage. Brodeur is in perfect position and makes the easy save.
2:58: Kunitz pops Rolston with a stiff shoulder check in the neutral zone.
2:07: Orpik sneaks a wrister through from the right point. It appears to hit someone in front then Brodeur before it deflects to the right of the net.
0:36: Guerin hounds Andy Greene into a turnover deep. Crosby scoops up the puck and snaps off a low wrister. Brodeur makes the save. Just as he appears to have the rebound collected, Kunitz jumps in and bumps Brodeur and the puck into the cage. Johnny Oduya and Jay Pandolfo jump on Kunitz. Officials break that up fairly quickly. How was Kunitz not called for goaltenders' interference there? That's a bad non-call by the officials.
0:00: End of period. Devils 1, Penguins 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-That was a kind of up and down period. The Penguins had the momentum early. The Devils took it back. Then neither team really had much going late.
-There was a fair amount of chippiness and more than enough physical play.
-Brodeur's still Brodeur. He still makes everything thing seem easy.
-Kennedy keeps taking shots from just about anywhere.
-The Penguins have a 12-9 lead in shots.
-Kunitz and Jamie Langenbrunner each lead the game with three.
-Letang leads the game with 9:04 of ice time.
-Salvador leads New Jersey with 8:37.
-The Devils have an 11-10 edge in faceoffs (52 percent).
-Zajac is 6 for 8 (75 percent).
-Jordan Staal and Crosby are each 4 for 6 (67 percent).
-No one has more than one blocked shot.