Lightning at Penguins - 01-05-11
PREGAME
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-Greetings from:
-The lights are still on at the Civic Arena...:
-...which is fenced in:
-The current barn:
-A Mike Rupp fan:
-The ice:
-In honor of your new second-line left winger, Tyler Kennedy is on the cover of ice time:
-Ulf Samuelsson:
-Kevin Stevens:
-Tonight's giveaway:
-Craig Adams:
-Ryan Ma___e still has some fans here:
-Rick Tocchet:
-Paul Martin:
-Simon Gagne:
-Miroslav Satan:
-Malone fans in Pittsburgh and Team USA form:
(And Jaromir Jagr.)
-They're rowdy for Malone here too:
-Ken Wregget:
-Zbynek Mich___:
-Jagr Team Czech Republic:
-Two former Hart Trophy winners - Martin St. Louis and Sidney Crosby:
-Peter Taglianetti:
-Two former first overall draft picks - Vincent Lecavaleir and Sidney Crosby:
-Ty Conklin:
-The rare Ron Francis No. 9:
-Markus Naslund Canucks!?!
(Add your Alex Stojanov vulgarity of choice where ever you like.)
-Warm ups:
-The Penguins' starters are Tyler Kennedy, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, Zbyenek Michalek and Marc-Andre Fleury.
-Their scratches are Arron Asham, Eric Godard and Derek Engelland.
-The Lightning's starters are Sean Begenheim, Simon Gagne, Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Lundin, Mattias Ohlund and Dwayne Roloson.
-Its scratches are Randy Jones and Mattias Ritola.
-Jimerson makes his 2011 calendar year debut:
FIRST PERIOD
19:53: The Penguins strike immediately. Lecavalier wins the faceoff to Sean Bergenheim off the right wing. Bergenheim makes a horrible turnover in the neutral zone. Malkin picks it up, blow through Lundin and Ohlund and attacks the net. He loses the puck for a moment off a poke check attempt by Roloson but regains it and is able to plunk it into the empty cage with Roloson scrambling. Wow. Staal somehow gets an assist. That's generous. Bergenheim could make a case for one. The "Woo-Hoo!" song hasn't even gottent to it's seat. Penguins 1-0.
18:33: Crosby races in down the slot off a neutral zone pass by Chris Kunitz Crosby approaches the net and rips a wrister right into Roloson who hangs on to freeze play.
18:04: After Fleury denis Moore down low, Purcell attempts a wraparound attempt from the left of the cage but his forehand shot is denied by Fleury who slides to his left and boots it out with his right leg.
17:37: The new third line of Matt Cooke, Chris Conner and Mark Letestu outworks the the Lightning down low for possession in the offensive zone. The puck is move to Lovejoy at the right point. He winds up and cranks a slapper. It deflects off the right skate of Conner position to the right of the cage and deflects behind Roloson on the glove side. The "Woo-Hoo!" song hasn't even dug into its nachos. The Penguins must be pumped from playing in a climate control environment for the first time this calendar year. Lovejoy and Cooke get assists.
16:35: Off a drop pass by Malkin , Mike Rupp rips a wrister from the left circle. Roloson knocks it down and covers.
15:03: Bergenheim's rough night continues as he's completely dumped in the right wing corner in his zone by Conner.
12:43: Kennedy gains the offensive zone on the left wing, cuts across the crease, gets Roloson to commit to his knees and rips a wrister from low in the right circle. The puck deflects off the shaft of Pavel Kubina's stick and deflects by Roloson's left leg. Yeesh. Roloson is mercifully pulled in favor of Dan Ellis. So far so good with this Kennedy experiment on the second line wing. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is beleaguered. The WWE "KENNEDY!" is played. Letang gets the only assist. Penguins 3, Lightning 0.
12:18: This is ridicutlous. Crosby snaps off a pass rom the right point across the slot to Kunitz on the left win. Kunitz moves towards the netand rips a beauty of a wrister which beats Ellis on the far side over his glove hand. What a shot. The Lightning is completely overwhelmed. Crosby and Pascal Dupuis get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song might need a maintenance day tomorrow.
8:28: After a fairly stagnant four minutes, Conner grips a whips a wrister from the left circle to the far side. It rings off the far post.
7:56: Michalek takes a pass at the right point and pumps a slapper on net. Ellis eats it up.
6:28: Crosby gains the offensive zone with speed on the right wing, fakes a slapper from the half wall then deals to Lovejoy trailing. Lovejoy puts a slapper on net. Ellis knocks it dead and covers.
5:29: Michalek pumps a slapper on net from the left point. It hits a cluster of bodies in front. Cooke recovers the rebound and puts it on net. Ellis eats it up. A scrum breaks out with Cooke and Steve Downie - a match made in heaven - in the middle of it.
4:45: Kennedy tries to jam on in from the left wing. Ellis and Brett Clark hold him at bay.
4:16: Crosby has a wrister from the slot blocked by Ohlund.
3:24: Lovejoy sneaks up the right wing and sneaks a wrister on net from the right circle. Ellis turns it away. Lovejoy has been pretty aggressive with his shot tonight.
2:58: Downie pushes a puck up the right wing and attempts a wrister. Alex Goligoski is there to block it.
2:44: Cooke pumps a slapper on net from the right half wall. Ellis knocks it away with his right shoulder.
2:04: Gagne works his way up the right wing, gets by Orpik on the outside and moves in on net. He sneaks a wrister on net. As Fleury makes the save, Letang puts a right shoulder into Gagne who crashes into Fleury and knock the net of its moorings.. Play is delayed a bit as Fleury regains himself and the net is put back in place.
1:54: Kennedy pumps a wrister from the left circle. Ellis fends it off.
1:34: The Lightning's hole gets a little deeper as Kubina is nabbed for holding Malkin behind the Tampa Bay net. Crosby, Goligoski, Letang, Kunitz and Malkin take the ice.
1:04: This is brutal. Letang taps a spinning backhandes pass from the top of the slot to Goligoski on the left point. Goligoski winds up hesistates, hesitates then chops a slapper to the far side. Kunitz is in front on a screen and gets juuuuust a piece of it with as it beats Ellis by his left leg. It's Kunitz's second goal. Goligoski and Letang get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is getting weary. Penguins 5-0.
0:54: This just keeps getting worse for the Lightning. Downie is sent off for slashing Cooke. Letang, Goligoski, Crosby, Malkin and Kunitz go back out on the ice.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 5, Lightning 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-Hmm... well... that was a pretty dominant period. Right off the opening draw the Penguins dominated this game. They pressed the gas the entire 20 minutes.
-Not to make excuses for the Lightning, but it had a pretty grueling, tough overtime game in Washington last night. It's players can't be all that fresh. Regardless, there's not excuse to get run over like this.
-Malkin's goal was one second short of tying a franchise record for fastest goal to start a period. Jean Pronovost scored six seconds into a 5-2 loss at St. Louis, March 25, 1976.
-Lots of folks, including us, questioned using Kennedy on the second line left wing with Staal and Malkin. So far, he's shut everyone up. He's been really aggressive and has not been overwhelmed by the speed of Staal and Malkin.
-Lovejoy is playing outstanding. He's been really aggressive with his shot as well and has been joining the rush quite a bit.
-Cooke looks so much more comfortable on the third line than he did on the second line.
-The Penguins are dominating shots, 20-8.
-Kennedy leads the game with four shots.
-St. Louis and Victor Hedman each lead the Lightning with two.
-Hedman leads the game with 8:04 of ice time.
-Letang leads the Penguins with 7:42.
-Faceoffs are even, 13-13 (50 percent).
-Former Penguin Adam Hall is 4 for 5 (80 percent).
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Maxime Talbot is 2 for 2 (100 percent).
-Ohlund, Kubina and Matt Smaby each lead the game with two blocked shots.
-Staal's assist on Malkin's goal was taken away. That's the right call. That assist was BS. Staal lost the faceoff and Malkin stole it off
SECOND PERIOD
20:00: Dwayne Roloson apparently is up for more punishment as he's back in net. The Penguins will have 1:07 of power play time on fresh ice. Crosby, Kunitz, Malkin, Goligoski and Letang take the ice.
19:14: Crosy winds up and cranks a slapper on net from the left circle. Roloson makes the inital save but allows a rebound. Kunitz is in front and hacks it through Roloson's five hole with a backhand. The puck squirts loose behind Roloson. Moore is Johnny-on-the-Spot and holds it out. He came close to covering the puck with his hand in the crease there. Kunitz was very close to getting a natural hat trick there.
18:54: The Downie minor expires. WORST POWER PLAY EVER!!!!!
17:23: Here's some intrigue. Stamkos races up the left wing and gets a step on Lovejoy to the outside. Lovejoy reaches back and dive to poke the puck away. He gets Stamkos' right leg and trips him up. Stamkos fails to get a shot off but is awarded a penalty shot. After some booing, fans star a "FLERRRR-EEEEE! FLERRRRR-EEEE!" chant. Stamkos takes the puck at center ice. He winds to his left and just as he's about to cut in on net, he loses his edge and falls to his side. Fleury races out of his crease and clears the puck. Uh... wow. That was embarrassing. Laughter rains down. Fans then offer a "STAMMMMM....KOOOOSSSSS..... STAMMMMMMM....KOOOOOSSSSS" sing-song chant. That was brutal. It's been that kind of night for the Lightning.
-Even Alex Ovechkin was impressed:
14:09: Letang gains the offensive zone with speed and uncorks a wrister from above the right circle. Kubina blocks it.
13:55: Downie and Rupp are each sent off. Downie for diving and Rupp for hooking. Four on four.
12:44: Hedman has a point-blank chance in the left circle but his wrister is turned away by Fleury.
12:36: Malkin guns a wrister from the left circle. Roloson challenges the shot and eats it up.
12:04: Orpik is in deep in the left wing and centers a pass to the slot. Kennedy is there but can't quite get a clean handle on the pass.
11:55: Stamkos and Downie return.
11:44: Gagne taps a pass of the left wing to St. Louis in the slot. St. Louis puts a little too much zip on the shot and guns it wide.
10:21: Kunitz has as good of a chance at a natural hat trick as he'll ever have. Crosby controls the puck on the right wing in the neutral zone and taps a pass up to Kunitz who gets behind Clark and Kubina setting him loose on a breakaway. Kunitz moves in on net and tries to push a backhander through Roloson's five hole. The Lightning goaltender closes the gates and denies Kunitz the hat trick.
8:58: Cooke is on with Staal and Malkin. Cooke tries to feed a pass to Staal in the right circle but he can't get a clean handle on the puck.
8:24: Orpik cranks a slapper from the left half wall. Despite a screen by Cooke, Roloson eats it up.
8:00: Letang chips a wrister from the right point. Despite a screen by Rupp, Roloson eats it up.
7:40: Rupp gets away with an elbow to the side of St. Louis' head behind the Lightning net.
7:06: Oh wow. From the neutral zone, Letestu taps a pass to Kennedy on the left wing. Kennedy gains the zone and gives it back to Letestu. From the left circle, Letestu attacks the net. He goes forehand to backhand and sneaks a rising backhander by the stick side of Roloson. Lestestu then does a really cool-looking spin with this stick in his hands. Wow. You know things are going back when Mark Letestu is busting out a signature celebration on you. Kennedy and Goligoski get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 6-0.
5:44: Martin cranks a loose puck on net from the left circle with a slapper. Rolson knocks it down and covers with Cooke hovering around.
4:48: St. Louis challenges Martin one-on-one in the left circle in the Penguins' zone. Martin holds his ground and simply taps the puck away with a nice play.
4:41: Staal jostles Lundin with a nice check in front of the Penguins' penalty box and sends him tumbling to the ice.
4:18: Attendance is announced 18,261. That's a decline of over 50,000 from their previous game. Time to move to Kansas City.
-It is the team's 187th consecutive sellout.
3:44: Just when you think Fleury might be napping, he proves he not. Lecavalier sneaks up the right wing by undressing Letang at the blue line. He moves up the boards and backhands a saucer pass over Orpik who has slid down attempting a block. Malone is in the slot and swats the puck out of mid-air on to net. Fleury hangs with the play and eats up the shot. What a play by Lecavalier and Malone and what a save by Fleury.
1:19: More bad news for the Lightning. Hedman is called for boarding against Crosby. Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Letang and Goligoski take the ice.
0:31: From the left point, Letang taps a pass to Goligoski at the top of the slot. Goligoski guns a one-timer which Roloson boots out.
0:16: Kunitz has a chance in the right circle but squeezes the life out of his stick ripping the shot well wide to the far side.
0:10: Hat trick! Goligoski grips and rips a wrister from the top of the slot. Kunitz is in front on a screen and re-directs the puck with his forehand under Roloson and into the cage. It takes the fans about 15 seconds to realize its Kunitz's goal and they begin to litter the ice with hats and the t-shirts distributed as a giveaway. Goligoski and Letang get assists. This power play is clicking. The "Woo-Hoo!" song always clicks. Penguins 7-0.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 7, Lightning 0.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-At this point, the only thing the Penguins can accomplish from a team perspective is to avoid injuries. This win is obviously secured. Just stay healthy.
-If you thought the Penguins would let up with a big lead after the first period, think again. Dan Bylsma keeps his team aggressive in just about any situation.
-Fleury has stayed sharp too. The Lightning hasn't had many quality chances tonight, but he's been on the ball the few times he has been challenged.
-We're guessing Kunitz's few remaining critics will be silenced for one night at least.
-Buzzkill alert: Kunitz actually had a chance to have four or five goals tonight.
-The Penguins are dominating in shots, 36-15.
-Kunitz and Kennedy each lead the game with five.
-St. Louis and Hedman each led the Lightning with three.
-Letang leads the game with 15:56 of ice time.
-Lundin leads the Lightnign with 15:50.
-The Penguins have a 24-23 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).
-Talbot is 5 for 8 (63 percent).
-Stamkos is 5 for 9 (56 percent).
-Ohlund and Kubina each lead the game with three blocked shots.
-Dupuis and Crosby each lead the game with two blocked shots.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00: Lightning coach Guy Boucher places Ellis back in net to presumably even out the punishment.
17:35: The comeback starts now!!!! Off a turnover by Michalek, Thompson controls a puck on the left wing boards, turns and snaps it on net. Hall is in front and appears to push it by Fleury. Fire Ray Shero. Thompson gets the lone assist. Penguins 7-1.
16:22: And the Penguins pretty much respond at will. Conner moves up ice on the left wing on a four on one with Golgioski, Cooke and Letestu against poor Lundin. Conner distributes to Goligoski in the slot. Goligoski has enough time to pick his shot and bake a cake. He rips a sick wrister over the glove hand of a helpless Ellis. It conks off the cross bar and into the cage. Ouch. Conner and Lovejoy get assists. Penguins 8-1.
15:12: Bergenheim lifts a wrister from the left wing. Fleury snags it.
15:00: Lovejoy is the worst player EVAH!!!! He's sent off for hooking Hall. It's Tampa Bay's first power play of the night. Talbot, Craig Adams, Michalek and Orpik get assists.
14:14: St. Louis chips a wrister from the right point. Fleury fights it off despite
13:53: Play is halded as Malone and Michalek wrestle a bit near the net. As Malone appears to invite Michalek to a fight, Orpik comes flying in and holds off his friend and former teammate. A scurm develops. Michalek and Malone are each sent off for cross checking. Malone actually gets a double minor. Orpik get a roughing minor. Still five on four for the Lightning.
13:00: The Lovejoy minor is killed. Back to five on five.
12:20: Bergenheim is sent off for boarding Adams in the Lightning's zone. A scrum breaks out. The officials manage to keep it under control for the most part. The Penguins have a power play. Dan Bylsma decides to take it easy and sends out the jay-vee power play of Letestu, Cooke, Staal, Lovejoy and Martin.
10:21: Huuuuugee save. Hall races up the right wing creating a two-on-one with Moore against Michalek. Michalek commits to Hall. Hall sneaks a feed to the slot. Moore pushes it on net but Fleury fends it off. Rupp comes flying back on the backcheck and almost accidently kicks it in but Fleury holds that out as well.
9:08: Goligoski cranks a slapper from the top of the slot and puts it wide to the left of the cage.
7:41: Kennedy snaps off a wrister from the right wing wide to the far side.
7:03: Letang chops a slapper from the right point. It gets deflected and hops in on net. Ellis boots it out with his left leg.
6:05: St. Louis snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Fleury stretches to his right and boots it out with his right leg.
5:42: Downie's cruddy night continues. Off a turnover by Talbot in the defensive zone, Lecavalier feeds a pass to Downie in the right circle. Downie tries to blast the biggest one-timer in his career but totally biffs on the shot and flops to the ice. What a clown.
5:06: Malone guns a slapper from the right point. Fleury punches it away with his blocker.
4:44: During a commercial break, "Cotton-Eyed Joe" is busted out:
3:37: Fending off a stick check by Dupuis, Hall chops a blind slapper from inside the Penguins' blue line. Fleury steers it away.
3:27: Crosby is sent off for slashing Bergenheim. Staal, Michalek, Orpik and Cooke take the ice.
1:37: Shorthanded Dupuis moves up the right wing with Adams on a two-on-one. He has a clean shot but forces a pass to Adams. A defender breaks it up on a back check.
0:10: The remaining fans in the building stand and applaud their team.
0:00: End of period. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. Penguins 8, Lightning 1.
POSTGAME
-It would be a stretch to suggest anyone would've predicted the Penguins could've flirted with 10 goals prior to this game, but the writing was on the wall heading into this contest. The Lightning came off a tough emotional division win against the rival Capitals last night. They were heading right into a buzzsaw with a fresh, rested mostly healthy team in Pittsburgh the next night. This looked like it had the potential to be a one-side game before the puck even dropped.
-We would suggest these re-tooled lines by the Penguins were a smashing success, but Dan Bylsma mixed and matched the line combinations throughout the night. And obviously, the Lightning wasn't the toughest match up given its fatigue from the night before. But so far so good.
-They'll get a real test tomorrow against the Canadiens in Montreal.
-The Penguins pretty much sensed the Lighting was spent and jumped on their opponent early. Right off the first faceoff, Malkin jumped on a bad pass and just blew by the Tampa Bay defense which obviously wasn't prepared. Dwayne Roloson and Dan Ellis were sacrificial lambs essentially.
-Off his failed penalty shot, Steven Stamkos said he had lost the edge on both his skates after crashing into the post and boards when Ben Lovejoy took him down. He needed both sharpened after he failed on his penalty shot.
-The Penguins' power play was outstanding. It was like a shark and sensed blood in the water.
-We like cliches if you haven't noticed by the way.
-What a game by Chris Kunitz. He pretty much played the way he needs to. He got dirty in the high traffic areas. He created some havoc in front of hte net and even scored on a few pretty shots.
-Kunitz's hat trick was the second of his career. He had three goals and an assist as a member of the Ducks in a 6-4 defeat of the Coyotes, Nov. 19, 2006.
-Staal looked strong again in game two of his comeback. He was physical along the boards. He went to the net and looked pretty confident. Eventually, points and goals will come.
-Matt Cooke looked infinitely more comfortable with the downgrade to the third line. His skillset is just better suited for that role.
-Alex Goligoski probably needed a game like this in terms of production. He only had one assist in his previous nine games. He had his first multi-point game since the final regular seaosn game of last season, a 6-5 overtime road win against the Islanders, April 11, 2010. He had two assists.
-Goligoski's previous career best was a three-point effort (two goals, one assist) in a 4-3 overtime road win against the Sabres, Dec. 22, 2008.
-Letang's three assists tied a career-high. He had three assists earlier this season in a 4-1 defeat of the Flames, Nov. 27.
-Lovejoy recorded multiple points in a game for the first time in his career.
-The Penguins led in shots, 41-32.
-Malone led the Lightning with six.
-Fire Ray Shero.
-Kennedy and Kunitz each led the game with five.
-Lundin led the game with 25:03.
-Letang led the Penguins with 21:48.
-The Penguins had a 37-35 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).
-Staal was 11 for 18 in faceoffs (61 percent).
-Thomas was 5 for 6 (83 percent).
-Ohlund led the game with four blocked shots.
-Goligoski, Michalek, Dupuis, Letang and Crosby each led the Penguins with two.
-Letang (115 points) moved ahead of Pete Mahovlich (114) and Terry Ruskowski (114) for 65th place on the team's all-time scoring list.
-Kennedy (97) moved ahead of Dupuis (96) for 83rd place.
-Goligoski (81) moved ahead of Michel Ouellet (80) and Cooke (80) for 97th place.
-Finally, EN reader @danieljgiddings spotted a Kris Beech fan:
