Maple Leafs at Penguins - First Period - 9-18-09
FIRST PERIOD
19:38: Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Tyler Kennedy rushes in from the right wing and rips a wrister to the far side wide.
19:14: Matt Cook backhands a puck into the crease. Reimer flops down to stop it. Wyatt Smith is in the crease hacking away. The puck hops up in the air and Smith swats it into the net. The red light goes off. A crowd gathers behind the net around Caputi. Officials wave off the goal.
18:36: Cooke gives Carl Gunnarsson, who couldn't have a more Scandinavian name, a good stiff check into the boards behind Toronto's net.
18:12: Kris Letang sneaks in from the right point and snaps off a wrister. Reimer fights it off with a "thud."
18:10: Andy Rogers clears the rebound off Letang's shot out of play. That's two minutes for delay of game. Luca Caputi, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Goligoski. Letang and Bill Guerin are on for the power play.
17:58: Malkin is on the right point and hammers a one-time which Reimer fights off.
17:23: After the penguins control play in the Toronto zone for about 35 seconds, Ian White clears the puck down ice.
16:53: Letang makes an errant backhanded pass to Goligoski at the top of the slot that clears the zone.
16:10: Rogers' penalty is kiled. The Penguins controlled the puck well but did little with it.
15:40: Correction on an earlier note. Brent Johnson is the starting goaltender for the Penguins.
15:21: Bissonnette gets tied up with Jeff Finger in the neutral zone. Bissonnette takes a tumble. Finger gets two minutes for tripping. Caputi, Goligoski, Guerin, Malkin and Letang are on for the power play.
14:24: Caputi gets denied down low by Reimer. Reimer hangs on to freeze play. Garnet Exelby comes in and wipes out Caputi. A crowd gathers but little happens.
14:01: An official takes a tumble just outside the blue line. That brings probably the loudest cheer of the night.
13:17: Just as Finger's penalty is killed, the Penguins score. Goligoski controls the puck along the right wing. He snaps off a wrister. Cooke is right in front of Reimer on a screen and deflects the puck underneath the Toronto goaltender. Real nice subtle deflection by Cooke. Goligoski and Letang get assists. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 1-0.
12:10: Rogers is having the roughest night of anyone who has ever worn No. 66 in this building. He's sent off for elbowing this time. Malkin, Caputi, Guerin, Goligoski and Letang are back on for the power play.
11:46: Malkin gets the puck at the top of the slot and hammers a slapper just wide of the cage. That bring an "ooooohhhhhhhh...." from the crowd.
11:15: Letang blasts a slapper from the left point that hits Caputi pretty squarely in front of the net. The shot staggers Caputi but he skates it off.
10:28: The feed from the Toronto broadcast is available up here in the press box and they just showed this little beauty:
That still isn't old.
10:10: Rogers' penalty is killed. The Penguins did little with that opportunity.
8:40: Darryl Boyce gets Toronto's first shot of the game as he swats a loose puck in the slot on net. Johnson fights it off.
8:04: Hopewell's own Nate Guenin slides down and makes a nice block on a Toronto shot from the right faceoff circle.
7:42: We get our first "LETS GO PENS!" chant of the night.
6:53: Caputi gets a nice feed from Malkin in the slot and rips a wrister that appears a bit wide. Reimer reaches out and knocks it away with his blocker.
6:36: Ben Lovejoy hammers a slapper from the left point that misses the mark. It riccochets off the back boards and comes to the left of the cage. Malkin is there and is able to chip the puck in by Reimer on the stick side. Nice effort by Malkin to fight off his defender there. Somehow Cooke and Kennedy get credit for the assists. We're pretty sure we saw Lovejoy last touch that puck. Oh well. The "Hey Song" is played. Penguins 2-0.
4:53: John Mitchell is sent off for hooking. Guerin, Malkin, Caputi, Goligoski and Letang are on for the power play.
4:26: Malkin makes a pretty brutal turnover in the offensive zone as he backhands a puck right to Viktor Stahlberg. Eesh.
3:23: Caputi picks up a loose puck in the slot, turns and whips it at the net. A Toronto defender's stick deflects it high.
2:55: Malkin makes a nifty pass from just left of the net to Caputi in the left faceoff circle. Caputi kneels down and snaps off a wrister. Reimer eats it up.
2:23: During a television timeout, a video of the Penguins meeting President Obama at the White House draws some boos.
1:09: Everytime Rogers touches the puck, he gets booed. We suppose some folks are a little testy about him wearing No. 66.
0:53: Mike Rupp rips a wrister that appears to get deflected out of play.
0:19: Brooks Orpik sneaks a wrister through traffic on net. Reimer fights it off.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Maple Leafs 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-That was a pretty dominant period for the Penguins. And they didn't even seem to be going full speed.
-It should be noted that a lot of the players in the Maple Leafs' roster tonight will probably be playing in the AHL this season. Most of Toronto's NHL talent played against the Flyers' last night.
-Cooke had a pretty good period. He went to the net, created a little traffic, fullfilled his normal duties on the forecheck and mixed it up a bit.
-Caputi looks like he belongs in the NHL. He's been on the Penguins' power play and doesn't seem overwhelmed playing on Malkin's wing. He's been mixing it up a bit in traffic as well.
-Goligoski looks really smooth and composed anytime he handles the puck.
-Hard to tell anyting about Brent Johnson after that period. He was hardly tested.
-Wyatt Smith had a few decent moments that period.
-Malkin almost looks bored out there.
-The Penguins have a 10-3 lead in shots.
-Caputi leads the game with three.
-Alex Foster, former Penguins forward Tim Brent and Boyce each have one for Toronto.
-Goligoski leads the game with 8:18 of ice time. Letang is right behind him with 8:14.
-White leads Toronto with 7:41.
-Toronto has a 14-9 lead in faceoffs (61 percent).
-Jason Allison, we forgot he was on Toronto's training camp roster, is 4 for 5 (80 percent).
-Kennedy is 3 for 5 (60 percent).
-No one has more than one blocked shot.
-The scorers took away Kennedy's assist on Malkin's goal and awarded it to Lovejoy.