Wild at Penguins - Third Period - 10-31-09

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 30 seconds of power-play time on clean ice. Guerin, Staal, Kunitz, Letang and Goligoski take the ice.

19:31: Stala has a shot from the left wing blocked.

19:24: Staal gets a chance in front just as Schlutz's penalty expires. Backstrom lays out and makes a great save with his torso.

18:45: Adams pumps a slapper on net from the right wing. Backstrom makes the save. He gives up a bad rebound to his right. Cookeis there but a Wild player dives to block his shot.

17:43: Sykora pumps a heavy slapper on net from the right wing. Fleury fights it off.

17:02: Fleury covers and freezes a puck in the crease. Kobasew tries to dig out a rebound but play is halted.

15:51: The Wild is nabbed for too many men.  Sykora will serve the penalty.  The stoppage allows Crosby and Zidlicky to leave the penalty boxes. Crosby Kunitz, Guerin, Goligoski and Letang are on for the power play. Big two minutes for each team here.

15:16: Burns breaks Crosby's stick along the boards. No call. During the stoppage, the official drops the puck before Crosby is even near the circle. The WIld win the faceoff and get it down ice. Wow. They must really be mad at Crosby tonight. You don't see the officials do that too often. And they're with in their rights. You're supposed to have the faceoff 20 seconds after the stoppage of play outside of injuries or commercial time outs.

13:51: The Wild kill off the penalty. Very little going on for the Penguins.

13:26: Staal drops Hnidy in the corner with a shoulder check.

12:50: Rupp comes off the boards and snaps off a wrister from the left faceoff circle. Backstrom knocks it down and covers. Bourque and Dupuis are there for a rebound but no dice.

12:34: Dupuis moves into the offensive zone and whips a wrister on net from the left wing.

12:14: Koivu snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Antti Miettinen, whose name we've been hoping to avoid having to spell tonight, has a nice screen. Despite that. Fleury is able to make the save.

11:28: Crosby tosses a puck on net from the left point. Backstrom eats it up. During the stoppage, Letang gives Sykora a shove. Sykora pretty much whacks Letang in the face. They each get minors. Sykora gets two minutes for high sticking. Letang for head-butting? Ooookay. Four-on-four. We wonder what's up with those two.

10:20: Orpik tosses a puck on net from the left wing. Crosby charges the net and seems to actually deflect it wide.

10:06: Kunitz pump a slapper on net from high in the slot. Backstrom makes the save.

9:22: As the Sykora and Letang penalties expire, the Penguins put about 32 chances on net and couldn't get onby Backstrom. We have not hopes of recapping what all went on in that scramble. Crosby backhands a puck on net from the right wing. Backstrom makes the save with his right shoulder. The rebound hops up. Kunitz crashes in. the Rebound kicks to the side where Oprik can't punch it in but he manages to hammer a Minnesota player to the ice. Orpik and Bourque gets chances but no dice.

8:20: Rupp and Scott leave the ice following a scrum near the Penguins' bench. Those are two big boys. Scott is 6-foot-8, 258 pounds. Geez.

7:35: The Penguins set up a "Whitney Play" for Letang coming in off the right wing. Letang shoots. Backstrom is able to make slide over and make the save with his stomach.

7:05: Koivu blasts a slapper from just outside the Penguins' blue line. Fleury gloves it and distributes to Goligoski.

6:20: As the penalties to Rupp and Scot tend, Eaton tosses a shot on net. It gets deflected wide.

5:04: "LET"S GO PENS! LET'S GO PENS!"

4:24: Crosby makes a nice steal in the offensive zone. He turns and approaches the net. Instead of shooting, he forces a pass to Guerin on the left wing. The pass is broken up. He's got to take that shot. We know it wasn't a high percentage shot, but he has a better chance of scorign there than forcing that pass.

3:54: Adams gets tripped ub behind the Wild net. No call. He did appear to embellish that a bit.

3:30: Dupuis puts a shot on net from the left wing. Backstrom makes the save. Staal and Scott crash into the net dislodging it. Staal looks so small compared to Scott.

1:49: Adams comes flyin in on the left wing stealing a puck off Zidlicky. He cuts to the crease, goes backhand and has Backstrom beat on the glove side but juuuust pushes his backhander wide.

1:34: After a crazy sscrambel in tight, play is halted as Belanger is down on the ice. Goligoski fell and clipped him in the nose with a high stick. Belanger is bleeding pretty good. he recovers to his feet and a trainer attends to him. Belanger and the trainer go to the locker room for repairs. That looked ugly.

1:31: Fleury is pulled for an extra attacker which is Guerin.

1:02: The Wild bank a shot off the wall and ice the puck. Goligoski goes back and retrieves it for the icing call.

0:40: Letang fires a wrister from the right point.  it gets deflected wide.

0:03: Following a lot of scrumming in the crease, Goligoski barely keep a puck in the zone, turns and fires a desperation wrister which is blocked by Miettinen.

0:00: End of game. Wild 2, Penguins 1.