Senators at Penguins - 10-18-10
PREGAME
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-You are reading live from a dreary, overcast day in Pittsburgh. It's in the upper 50s and there have been a few rain drops to fall from the sky. Not exactly the best day.
-A few sights from our walk up from downtown. The Steelworkers Building:
Looking up at PPG Place:
-If you didn't know Martin R. Delany was a promoter of African-American nationalism and that he published a Black newspaper, The Mystery, at an office near here AND that he attended Harvard medical school, practiced medicine in Pittsburgh AND was commissioned as a major in the Civil War... you do now:
-We apparently have a Nathan's here now:
-Plenty of Penguins merchandise in the windows downtown:
(We really dig the hat on the left with the "fat" penguin.)
-If you've never been to the Allegheny County Courthouse courtyard, do your self a favor and pay a visit:
-It's like we plucked a castle from some countryside in England and plopped it in Downtown.
-A couple of Penguins fans making their way up towards the Civic Arena:
-The current barn:
-Here's an all-time jersey. Al MacNeil:
-If you ever sat in the press box or luxury suites on the west side of Mellon Arena. You were greeted by this fellow:
-It was some sort of wrought-iron penguin sculpture which apparently had some tendinitis issues in its left shoulder. Well it has been reapportioned in this building as a lasting tribute to the amazing legacy Dan Potash.
-The ice:
-A few jerseys. As you can imagine, there are quite a few Sergei Gonchar in the house:
-This is his Traktor Chelyabinsk jersey from his old team in Russia.
-And this is an all-star jersey.
-A few Senators fans here representing Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips:
-Jean Pronovost with a slight jersey foul:
-Fans walking in off Centre Avenue:
-The Hockey Fights Cancer t-shirts being distributed:
-Marian Hossa:
-Mike Zigomanis:
(If someone asked our mom if we could take a photo of her Mike Zigomanis jersey, we'd be a little confused too.)
-Ruslan Fedotenko:
-Sidney Crosby Oceanic Rimouski:
-Dan Bylsma's demands are about to be met:
-We're 4 for 4 with Mike Rupp jerseys at home games this season:
-Is this a jersey foul? A Sidney Crosby jersey and a goaltender's mask:
-Kevin Stevens with a patch from the 1990 All-Star Game:
-Jarkko Ruutu still has at least one fan here:
-As does Alex Kovalev:
-Chris Tamer:
-Jaromir Jagr Team Czech Republic:
-Zigmund Palffy:
-Warm ups:
-The Penguins' starters are Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Tyler Kennedy at forward, Kris Letang, Paul Martin at defense and Brent Johnson in goal.
-Their scratches are Zbynek Michalek, Eric Godard and Brooks Orpik.
-The Senators' starters are Daniel Afredsson, Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza at forward, Sergei Gonchar, Erik Karlsson at defense and Brian Elliott in goal.
-Their scratches are Zack Smith and Pascal Leclaire.
-Jeff Jimerson handles the (blurry) anthems:
FIRST PERIOD
19:15: This wasn't the way Gonchar wanted to start his return. He makes a pretty sloppy turnover in the right circle in his own zone. Kennedy is there, takes it off him and moves in on net. He can't find an opening on Elliott who eats the puck up. Gonchar owes Elliott a beer.
17:32: Malkin enters the zone with speed, gets a step on his old landlord Gonchar, and rockets a wrister from the left circle wide on the far side.
17:20: The Penguins get the first power play of the game as Peter Regin is nabbed for interference against Mark Letestu. Alex Goligoski, Evgeni Makin, Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz take the ice.
15:25: Martin gains the offensive zone and sneaks a little pass to Letestu in the slot. Letestu takes a pass and shuffles a backander low on net. Elliott boots it out. That was pretty much the only shot the Penguins get on the power play.
15:20: The Penguins' power play expires with very little threat.
15:05: Andrew Hutchinson is nabbed for crosschecking Michalek. Cooke, Goligoski, Talbot and xxx take the ice.
14:05: Johnson fights off a pretty nice slapper by Kovalev from the right wing.
13:13: Michalek moves up the right wing, cuts inside Goligoski and whips a low wrister to the far side. Johnson boots it out with his right leg.
13:05: The Senators' power play expires. They had a few decent chances.
13:00: The Senators are called for too many men on the ice. Chris Neil will serve the minor. Crosby, Malkin, Goligoski, Letang and Kunitz take the ice.
12:46: Crosby rips a wrister from the right circle. It gets deflected on its way to the cage and is fought off by Elliott.
11:50: As a mass of humanity piles up in the Ottawa crease, Malkin whips a loose puck into the collection of bodies with a backhander. Someone knocks it down and Elliott appears to cover.
11:21: Mike Comrie sneaks a pass from behind the cage to Letestu sneaking in from the right point. Letestu takes the puck, surveys his shot and rips a rising, fluttering wrister which blows by Elliott's glove hand. What a shot. What a goal. What a start for Mark Letestu. COmrie and Martin get assists. It's a power play goal. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 1-0.
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10:45: Ben Lovejoy wipes out Spezza with a nice body check in the right circle.
10:07: From the right wing, Kovalev whips a rising wrister to the near side. Johnson easily gloves it.
9:23: Off a give and go, Jesse Winchester lifts a wrister from the right wing. Johnson fights it off with his chest.
8:31: During a stoppage, a video tribute to Gonchar set to "I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar is presented. Just about everyone in this place offers a standing ovation. The Penguins coaches applaud. The Penguins' players bang their sticks off the boards in front of the bench in applause. Gonchar stands on the bench and raises his stick. A pretty classy moment.
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7:46: A wrister by Kennedy off the right wing is eaten up by Elliott.
7:00: Neil is nabbed for hooking Craig Adams. Crosby, Malkin, Goligoski, Letang and Kunitz take the ice.
6:31: Letang snaps off a wrister from the top of the slot. Kunitz is in front and appears to re-direct it a bit. Elliott fights it off.
6:07: Welcome the Penguins' power play to the 2010-11 season. Goligoski cracks a one-timer off a loose puck from near the right point. It misses the net on the near side and ricochets to the left of the cage. Crosby is in the right place, right time and bangs it in by a sprawling Elliot on the glove side. Amazing what happens when you just shoot the puck and go to the net instead of passing it 4,023 times. Goligoski and Letang get assists. The "Woo-Hoo" song is played. Penguins 2-0.
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4:44: Shannon rips a wrister from the right circle. Johnson fights it off despite having two players bump into him.
3:07: Letestu moves up to the left wing and snaps off a wrister to the far side. It clangs off the far post.
2:58: When you're best players go all-out, it's almost impossible to be defeated. Off a faceoff win in the right circle in Ottawa's zone, the Penguins move the puck into slot. As Comrie battles for position in front, Letestu snaps off a wrister. Elliott boots out the shot but gives up a rebound to the inside of the left circle. Malkin is in the slot and dives to whack the loose puck into the cage by Elliott's right leg. This place goes nuts. Malkin's effort was phenomenal. Comrie and Letestu get assist. The "Woo Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 3-0.
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2:49: With his team reeling, Chris Neil tries to spark something by dropping the gloves with Deryk Engelland. It's not the most eventful fight as they mostly wrestle. Engelland lands a few rights. Neil lands a few rabbit punches. The pin each other against the boards and officials step in.
1:29: Adams snaps off a wrister from the right wing. Elliott steers it to the far wall.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Senators 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-We knew the Senators were struggling, but this has been pretty ugly. And it's not like the Penguins have been a model of consistency this season. Regardless, this has been so one-sided.
-The Penguins' power play is so frustrating. Tonight it looks like it can't be stopped. The next game, it could look like a dek hockey league power play.
-Mark Letestu is an NHL player. Period. He's not some fringe guy fighting to stay out of the AHL. He belongs at the level regardless of who is healthy.
-It would be a stretch to say he's been tested a great deal, but Johnson is once again doing what he can to allow his team to win.
-The Senators look pretty disinterested in playing tonight. They're just really flat.
-Gonchar hasn't exactly looked too sharp.
-The Penguins have a 17-12 lead in shots.
-Malkin leads the game with four.
-Michalek leads Ottawa with three.
-Goligoski leads the game with 9:33 of ice time. Letang is right behind him with 9:32.
-Gonchar leads Ottawa with 8:52.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-The Senators lead in faceoffs, 15-10 (60 percent).
-Regin is 4 for 5 (80 percent).
-Talbot is 4 for 7 (57 percent).
-Matt Carkner and Gonchar each lead the game with two blocked shots.
SECOND PERIOD
19:03: Spezza makes a nice moves off the left wing, cuts inside Lovejoy and snaps off a low wrister to the far side. Johnson kick it out with his right foot.
18:54: Off a feed from the slot, Lovejoy rips a wrister from the right wing. Elliott fights it off with his chest.
18:39: Kennedy glies up the right wing and centers a pass to Talbot to the right of the slot. Talbot one-touches it wtowards the net but misses to the near side.
16:26: After jabbing Gonchar in the right wing corner in Ottawa's zone with a hit, Adams sends Ruutu reeling in the opposite corner with another hit.
16:13: After Goligoski dodges a hit and allows Neil and Kelly to run into each other in the left wing corner in the Penguins' zone, Neil snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Johnson knocks it dead and covers.
15:53: Lovejoy is nabbed for crosschecking Kelly behind the Penguins' net. Letang, Talbot, Cooke and Martin take the ice.
15:30: Kovalev has really slipped. He simply loses the puck in the right circle and allows Talbot to corral it and whip it down ice.
14:20: Alfredsson moves in off the left wing corner and rips a disgusting wrister to the far side by Johnson's glove. It rings off the far post and deflects into the net off the back bar and ricochets out immediately. Play continues for a few moments before officials halt action and rule the shot a goal. What a sick shot. Gonchar and Kovalev each get assists. Fire Ray Shero and Craig Patrick. Gonchar now has a seven-game scoring streak against the Penguins dating back to 2002. Penguins 3-1.
12:36: Lovejoy puts a slapper on net from the right point. It hops up on Elliott who gloves the rebound as Kennedy buzzes around the net.
9:53: What a fluky goal. But it counts. Crosby gains the offensive zone on the right wing and deals to Lovejoy on the left point. Lovejoy tees up a slapper which hits Gonchar's stick and deflects to Dupuis to the right of the cage. Dupuis takes the puck, spins and whips a wrister into the slot. It hits off Karlsson's stick and deflects by a helpless Elliott's left leg. Really goofy. Lovejoy and Crosby each get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 4-1.
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9:28: This is getting ugly. Rupp dishes a puck from the right wing corner in the Ottawa zone to Letang at the top of the slot. Letang blasts a slapper which actually saws off the blade of Ruutu's stick and sends it flying. The puck then take a trajectory over the blocker-side shoulder of Letang. Elliott looks like he needs a hug. Coach Cory Clouston pulls him in favor of Robin Lehner, a 19-year-old who has all 4:42 of NHL experience on his resume. This could get even worse. Rupp and Adams get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 5-1.
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8:16: Alfredsson snaps off a shot which appears to catch Johnson on the forehead. Johnson is a little stunned but play continues.
6:38: Attendance is announced as 18,101. It is the team's 171st consecutive sell-out.
4:45: Lovejoy moves in on a loose puck in the right circle and cracks a slapper on net. Lehner boots it out.
2:24: Matt Cooke backhand pokes a loose puck on net from the right of the cage. Lehner gobbles it up.
1:53: Carkner puts a half slapper on net from the right point. Johnson boots it out despite traffic.
1:42: Chris Campoli sneaks a wrister on net from the left wing through traffic. Johnson eats it up. A scrum develops with Talbot trying to rip Michalek's lid off. Nothing comes of it.
0:59: Johnson clears a puck from along the goal line but catches Winchester in the face on his follow through. He's nabbed for high sticking. It's a "four-minuter" as Winchester is bleeding. Hutchinson will serve the minor. Bad time to take a penalty. Martin, Letang, Cooke and Talbot take the penalty.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 5, Senators 1.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-There's really not much to analyze about this one. One team is hot. The other is in complete dysfunction.
-The Penguins couldn't buy a goal in the first few games and tonight they're almost scoring them by accident.
-The Senators look like they didn't even want to get out of bed this morning.
-We knew Letang had some "oomph" on his shot, but dang.
-Comrie has played his best game of the season. He's engaging in physical battles, making plays with the puck and just in general, being a presence.
-Lovejoy is all over the ice.
-It's difficult to put this on Elliott. His team let him down.
-The Penguins have a 24-23 edge in shots.
-Tyler Kennedy leads in shots with five.
-Michalek and Kovalev each lead the game with three.
-Fire Craig Patrick.
-Gonchar leads the game with 18:05 of ice time.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Goligoski leads the game with 17:10 of ice time.
-The Senators have a 24-21 lead in faceoffs (53 percent).
-Mike Fisher, who has been pretty quiet tonight, is 7 for 11 (64 percent).
-Talbot is 7 for 14 (50 percent).
-Gonchar leads the game with three blocked shots.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Goligoski, Letang and Martin each lead the game with two blocked shots.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00: The Senators will have 3:01 of power play time on fresh ice. Letang, Dupuis, Talbot and Martin take the ice.
19:29: Talbot pushes a puck up the right wing, gets by Gonchar and pokes a shot on net which Lehner fends off. In the process, Gonchar hooks him. We'll have four on four for two minutes.
17:29: The Gonchar minor expires. The Senators have 30 seconds of power play time remaining.
16:59: The second Johnson minor expires. Ottawa did next to nothing with the power play.
15:41: Spezza whiffs on a one-timer in the slot. The puck bounces behind him to Campoli above the left circle. He winds up and golfs a one-timer by Johnson on the glove side. Spezza and Ruutu get assists. Fire Ray Shero. Penguins 5-2.
14:56: Crosby races up the left wing and rockets a wrister from the faceoff circle. Lehner fights it off.
14:01: Gonchar snaps off a wrister from the left wing wide on the far side.
11:55: A pair of fights break out as Rupp and Carkner mix it up along the right wing boards. The wrestle each other to the ice. Lovejoy and Neil are in a heap in the slot in Ottawa's zone. This all appeared to start when Carkner rode Crosby into the boards and took some liberties. A whole boat load of penalties are doled out. The Penguins end up with a power play. Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Kunitz and Goligoski take the ice.
10:30: Letang mishandles a puck at the right point. Mike Fisher takes it right off him and speeds up ice on a total breakaway. As he approaches the net, Johnson challenges him with a poke check and knocks the puck away. He covers the rebound and saves Letang a little embarrassment. Big play.
9:55: The Penguins' power play expires. They really didn't press the issue.
8:46: Regin snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Johnson squeezes up against the near post and fights it off.
8:21: After a turnover by Engelland in his own slot, Shannon picks up the loose puck and rips a wrister on net. Johnson gloves it. Engelland owes him a beer along with Letang.
7:53: Martin rockets a slapper from the right point which totally misses the net and "clacks" off the boards behind the net.
7:01: Nick Foligno puts a pedestrian wrister on net from the left wing. Johnson easily boots it to the near corner.
6:21: Spezza gainst the offensive zone with some speed and challenges Goligoski on the right wing. He releases a heavy wrister. Johnson knocks it dead and covers.
5:51: Cooke takes Phillips and himself out with a check in the right wing corner in Ottawa's zone.
5:24: Ottawa's last best chance to get back into this game is wasted as Campoli tips a feed in the slot wide on the far side to the right of the Penguins' cage. He had Johnson out of position there.
3:46: Karlsson booms a one-timer from the top of the slot on net. Johnson closes the gates and boots it out.
1:35: Karlsson cracks a slapper from deep on the right wing. It hits off the outside of the cage.
1:08: Even Hutchinson gets in on the act as he snaps off a wrister from the slot wide to the right of the cage.
0:39: Engelland smashes Michalek along the left wing boards in the Penguins' zone.
0:25: With a late stoppage, "Cotton-Eyed Joe" is busted out:
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0:00: End of game. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 5, Senators 2.
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POSTGAME
-Whoda thunk it? The Penguins have a winning streak. And they've pumped in five goals in each of their last two games. Amazing how a week ago, the season seemed all but lost, but now, they're well on their way to another Stanley Cup. Right?
-Whatever drama there is involving Marc-Andre Fleury is immaterial right now. The Penguins are winning. Period.
-As we stated earlier, Mark Letestu is an NHL player regardless of the health of anyone else on this roster.
-Who would think that the Penguins could lose a potential hall-of-famer blue liner in Sergei Gonchar and find away to produce even more on defense? Four out of the Penguins' six defenseman recorded a point tonight.
-Crosby and Malkin had two of their better games tonight and almost seemed like an afterthought with the team's overall play.
-Not that he has set the bar real high, but Mike Comrie had his best game of the season thus far.
-Before we get too excited, the Senators are a pretty bad team right now. The looked completely dysfunctional tonight.
-Amazing how the Penguins' power play is all of a sudden an asset now.
-Same old story for Brent Johnson. He just gave his team a chance to win.
-Sergei Gonchar was a minus-3 tonight. Ouch.
-Gonchar disputed the penalty he took at the start of the third which kind of took the life out of Ottawa's power play. He said:
"I thought I didn't hook him. I don't know why they made the call. I didn't put an arm on him. I didn't really do anything. I was surprised when they made the call."
-On the video tribute the Penguins played, Gonchar said:
"It was really nice of them. I was thankful to the fans for cheering. That meant a lot to me. It was a really special moment for me."
-Gonchar actually extended a scoring streak against the Penguins to seven games.
-We kind of felt bad for Brian Elliott. His team abandoned him from the start.
-With the Penguins playing it safe in the third period, the Senators ended up with a 34-29 lead in shots.
-Kennedy led the game with five.
-Michalek, Fisher, Campoli, Shannon and Kovalev each led Ottawa with three.
-Gonchar led the game with 25:26 of ice time.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Goligoski led the Penguins with 25:25.
-The Penguins had a 29-28 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).
-Crosby was 10 for 18 (56 percent).
-Fisher was 8 for 14 (57 percent).
-Goligoski, Carkner and Gonchar each led the game with three blocked shots.
-Malkin moved past Mark Recchi for 12th place on the team's all-time scoring list. Malkin has 387 points to Recchi's 385.
-Letestu leads all rookies in scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists) in seven games. Washington's John Carlson is second with six points (one goal, five assists).
-Goligoski and Martin are second and third respectively in points among defensemen with seven. Goligoski has three goals to Martin's one. Only Colorado's John-Michael Liles (eight) has more points.