Penguins at Islanders - 02-11-11
PREGAME
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-Hey, guess where we are:
-No, not quite:
(Kudos to EN readers Brian Warcup and Mike Brinton for the photos from Uniondale.)
-The ice:
-Warm ups:
-The Penguins' starters are Pascal Dupuis, Mike Rupp, Maxime Talbot, Deryk Engelland, Alex Goligoski and Brent Johnson.
-Their scratches are Chris Conner, Matt Cooke and Ben Lovejoy.
-Conner? Interesting.
-The Islanders' starters are Matt Moulson, P.A. Parenteau, John Tavares, Jack Hillen, Milan Jurcina and Mikko Koskinen.
-Their scratches are Kevin Poulin, Rob Schremp and Ty Wisharth.
-Also "Brent Johnson beat up Rick DiPietro" has joined the lexicon of "the Staals are brother," "Marian Hossa was a Penguin" and "R.J. Umberger is from Pittsburgh."
x2 already
-FSN Pittsburgh provides something we suppose you could call line combinations:
-The defensive pairings:
FIRST PERIOD
19:25: Hillen cranks a loose puck on net from the right point with a one-timer wide on the near side.
19:11: Parenteau puts a puck towards the net. Moulson is there to re-direct it on net. Johnson fights it off.
19:03: The Penguins get a break early on. A puck flutters up in the air in the crease. Parenteau is there, fights off a check and jabs it with a high stick into the net. It sneaks over the glove hand of Johnson who immediately protests the goal. An official immediately waves it off. A brief review confirms the call on the ice.
17:30: FSN Pittsburgh has a solid list on the Islanders' goaltending woes:
17:24: We get some extracurriculars early as Michael Haley, a textbook antagonist, tries to get something going with Zbyenek Michalek. A A scrum develops in the left wing corner in the Penguins' zone. Haley ends up with an roughing minor. Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy, Brett Sterling, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski take the ice.
17:06: Kennedy puts a pedestrian shot on net from in tight. Koskinen eats it up.
16:22: Letang rips a wrister from the slot. Koskinen locates it through traffic and freezes play.
15:57: Koskinen gloves a wrister from the right point by Michalek.
15:24: The Haley minor is killed. The Penguins put a few decent shots on net.
14:45: Tangradi brings a puck from behind the net and barges to the net with a spin move. Koskinen holds him off. Errey compares the move to something Anaheim's Bobby Ryan would do. Nice company.
12:19: Andy MacDonald smacks Nick Johnson with a nice shoulder check in the right wing corner in the Islanders' zone.
11:45: Adams lifts a wrister from the right wing. Koskinen fights it off with his blocker. The rebound trickles to the left wing. Letang sneaks up and rips it on net. Koskinen grabs it and freezes play.
11:09: The Islanders get a little lucky and are on the board first. Talbot blocks a one-timer by Michael Grabner in the slot. The rebound takes a funny bounce to the right point. Travis Hamonic hammers the puck on edge to the far side. It rings off the far post, deflects off Brent Johnson's left skate and into the cage. A couple of fluky bounces there. Grabner and Frans Nielsen get assists. Islanders 1-0.
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9:36: Haley and Craig Adams drop the gloves at center ice. Haley, fresh off a recall from the AHL, has some serious adrenaline going and pretty much dominates the fight. He gets a right had free after some initial wrestling and lands at least five punches to some part of Adams' head.
9:20ish: There's a pretty intense looking ginger kid lurking behind the Penguins' bench:
(Kudos to @reddoxieowner and @mshaffer for the screen shots.)
9:10: Tavares slinks up the left wing, makes a few nifty moves on Letang to create space and whips a wrister wide through the crease.
8:42: Off a turnover by Letang, Parenteau lifts a wrister from the right circle. Johnson eats it up. Letang owes Johnson a beer.
7:21: Radek Martinek cranks aslapper from the right point. It his a body in front and deflects high.
7:08: The Islanders maintain possession in the Penguins' zone and cash in. Josh Bailey controls the puck on the right wing and centers a pass to Jesse Joensuu in the slot. Joensuu grips a wrister which sneaks through the give hole of Goligosk and under Matt Martin who hops up while on a screen the Puck sneaks by the glove hand of Johnson who had no prayer. Bailey and Matt Martin get assists. Islanders 2-0.
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6:35: Grabner pushes the puck up ice, taps it by Michalek and appears to be off to the races. Michalek has no other option other than to tackler Grabner who won the fastest skater contest at the All-Star Game. Officials award Grabner a penalty shot. Grabner moves in, dekes heavly to his forehand, pulls it back to his backhand and is denied by the left leg of Johnson. Big save for the Penguins. The Islanders would've had all the momentum.
5:26: The Penguins get a break and go on the power play. Hamonic is nabbed again. This time for hooking Mike Rupp. Staal, Kennedy, Sterling, Letang and Goligoski take the ice.
4:08: The Penguins' power play is nullified as their nabbed for too many men on the ice. Four on four for 42 seconds.
3:26: The Hamonic minor expires.
2:40: With Dupuis and Adams losing their broken sticks, Paul Martin is able to deflect a shot from the slot by Moulson out of play. The Penguins were in a bad situation there.
2:14: The Islanders are all over the Penguins. Hamonic snaps off a wrister from the left circle to the slot. Parenteau zips through the slot and re-directs it behind Johnson. Hamonic and Tavares get assists. Islanders 3-0.
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2:04: Godard and Gilleis, a match made in heaven, drop the glove son the ensuing faceoff. They mostly wrestle around and lands a few big shots. Gillies plls off Godard's lid. They spin around before agreeing to call it off and skate to their locker rooms.
0:47: What in the heck is going on. As Deryk Engelland and Zenon Konopka mix it up in front of the Islanders' bench, Grabner gets behind Michalek itn the slot and rips a wrister by Johnson's glove hand. Ouch. Why didn't play stop with that skirmish near the New York bench? Bruno Gervais and Martinek get assists. Islanders 4-0.
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0:38: Joe Vitale gets denied in tight by Koskinen.
0:14: Kyle Okposo launches a wrister from the right wing. Johnson knocks it down. Nielsen sweeps the rebound on net from the slot. Johnson makes the save and lunges out to cover the second rebound.
0:00: Yeesh. End of period. As the horns sounds, Letang is having issues standing. he's on one knee behind the Penguins' net. It looked like he might have been slashed by Tavares in the left wing corner. Trainer Chris Stewart attends to him. Letang eventually recovers to his feet and makes his way to the locker room. What a way to end a train wreck of a period.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-This is pretty ugly. We don't know if the Penguins just expended a lot into last night's game or if the Islanders are just jacked up for this game or if its a combination of both, but this is a pretty one-sided game.
-It would be easy to blame the injuries and the multitude of AHL players in the Penguins, lineup, but the Islanders' roster is full of AHL-caliber skill too. This should be an even match-up skill-wise.
-Johnson has not been sharp obviously. But it's not totally his fault. He's had to face a ton of quality shots early so far.
-It would be a stretch to say Koskinen has been tested.
-The Islanders have a 16-10 lead in shots.
-Grabner leads the game with three shots.
-Letang, Kennedy and Tangradi each lead the Penguins with two shots.
-MacDonald leads the game with 8:14 of ice time.
-Letang leads the Penguins with 8:09.
-Faceoffs are even 14-14 (50 percent).
-Konopka is 7 for 10 (70 percent).
-Staal is 6 for 10 (60 percent).
-Paul Martin and MacDonald each lead the game with two blocked shots.
-An Mario Lemieux Wales Conference All-Star jersey was spotted on site:
-Letang warms up prior to the period and appears fine.
SECOND PERIOD
20:00: Tavares was given a slashing minor for his hatchet job on Letang. Staal, Kennedy, Sterling, Goligoski and Letang take the ice.
19:32: Kennedy cranks a one-timer on net. Koskinen makes the save. The rebound is loose to the left of the crease. Koskinen is on his side and dead to right. Goligoski picks up the puck and tries to lift it. He does, but not enough as Koskinen is able to juuuuust get a piece of it his his glove hand. What a save. You have to imagine Koskinen's 6-foot-6 frame allowed him to make that save.
18:00: The Tavares minor is killed. The Penguins needed a goal there badly.
16:45: And everything is going the Islanders' way. A loose pucks skids out towards the right point. Hamonis moves up and chops a slap-pass to Tavares on the back door. Tavares re-directs it behind a helpless Johnson. What a play. Hamonic and Moulson get assists. Islanders 5-0.
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16:16: This is just embarrassing. Haley blows by Letang off the right wing, dekes around Johnson and sneaks the puck by his right leg. Johnson looked like he was skating in mud there. Johnson is pulled in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. He's had a brutal night. The goal is unassisted. Islanders 6-0.
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14:40: All hell breaks loose as Matt Martin mugs Talbot at center ice. Bailey and Bailey square off while Rupp and Hamonic have their own fight. This is nuts. Two and a half fights at once. Rupp and Hamonic mostly wrestle. Dupuis and Bailey actually have a decent fight for two guys who don't do it much. Replays show Martin skating with Talbot, dropping his gloves an attempting a punch from the side. Talbot saw it at the last moment and and bailed out from the punch. The Islanders were presumably looking for payback on a hit by Talbot on Islanders forward Blake Comeau from the last time these two teams played. Comeau has not played since then. Let's just say a ton of penalties are doled out. The Penguins ends up with a five minute power play. Staal, Kennedy, Sterling, Goligoski and Letang take the ice.
13:53: And the Penguins finally get a bounce. Goligoski cranks a one-timer from the right point. Koskinen kicks it out. It hops ot to Letang at the left point. Letang cranks a one-timer which hits a stick or skate and deflects by Koskinen's on the glove side to the far side.Goligoski and Sterling get assists. Islanders 6-1.
12:06: Nielsen and Fleury mix it up. Nielsen is called for slashing Fleury. The officials aren't messing around after that brawl. The Penguins will have a five on three for two minutes.
12:03: Letang guns a one-timer from the right circle wide on the near side. He needs to get that on net.
11:03: A slapper by Letang from above the left circle is gloved by Koskinen despite a screen by Staal. Dan Bylsma calls a time out to get organzied.
10:56: If nothing else, the Penguins are making the most out of their power play time right now. Kennedy sneaks up the right wing and deals a little backhanded pass to the slot. Staal is there and whips a one-timer by the glove hand of Koskinen. Kennedy get assists. The Penguins still have 1:17 of a five on four to work with. Islanders 6-2.
9:40: The Penguins' power play expires.
8:07: The score sheet was sorted out for the penalties. Rupp, Engelland, Dupuis, Hamonic, Matt Martin and Bailey each received game misconducts.
6:28: And the train wreck gets back on track. Parenteau taps a pass from the right wing to the slot. Moulson chops a half slapper which beats Fleury over his right shoulder. Parenteau and Tavares get assists. Penguins 7-2.
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3:59: Okposo jumps on a loose puck in the slot and snaps off a wrister which rings off the cross bar. All kind of weird stuff in this game.
3:26: Vitale drops Hillen behind the Islanders' net with a solid check on the forecheck.
2:40: More penalties as Godard and Hillen mix it up in Islanders' zone. Godard is called for roughing. Staal, Adams, Michalek and Orpik are out for the penalty kill.
2:30: Michalek is sent off for slashing xxx. Talbot, Adams and Orpik are on the ice.
2:09: Milan Jurcina snaps off a pass from the right point. to Tavards to the left of the net. Tavares whips it on net. Fleury makes the inital save with his glove but allows a rebound. Tavares and Moulson each stab at the rebound. Moulson, the former Penguins draft pick, gets credit for the goal. Fire Ray Shero. Tavares and Jurcina each get assists. The Islanders still have 1:29 of power-play time. Craig, Talbot, Goligoski and Paul Martin take the ice. Islanders 8-2.
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0:00: End of period. Bridgeport Sound Tigers 8, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-Well... uh... it's probably a good thing for the sake of humanity in general that Matt Cooke isn't available for this game.
-This is just a circus. We don't know what to make out of this other than one team full of minor league call-ups is clearly having a much better game than the other team full of minor league call-ups.
-Give the Islanders credit, their game is sharper. And they had a tough win at Montreal last night as well. They're not using the two games in two nights excuse.
-It's kind of disappointing that the NHL wasn't a little bit more proactive about the potential for mayhem in this game. When the Penguins traveled to Boston for a re-match following Matt Cooke's hit on Marc Savard, they took all sort of precautions such as offering warnings to each team before the game. As it was, the game ended up being a pretty tame affair. The Islanders didn't make it a secret they were looking for revenge. On top of that, the call up an antagonist like Haley before the game. The NHL dropped the ball with this one.
-The Islanders have a 28-27 lead in shots.
-Goligoski leads the game with six shots.
-Tavares leads the Islanders with five.
-Nick Johnson leads the game with 15:41 of ice time. Huh?
-Nielsen leads the Islanders with 15:18.
-The Islanders have a 29-25 lead in faceoffs (54 percent).
-Konopkpa is 11 for 18 (61 percent).
-Adams is 4 for 7 (57 percent).
-Paul Martin, Gervais, Martinek and MacDonald each lead the game with three blocked shots.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00: Johnson returns to the lineup for the third period.
19:50: All 13 of the Islanders fans begin a "Joohhhhhnnn.... sonnnnn..." sing-song chant.
18:42: Grabner is off to the races again as he gets by Letang on the left wing. Letang lunges to knock the puck away from him. Johnson stops Grabner on the backhand. Grabner gets run over by Orpik on the back check. Grabner crashes into Johnson and dislodges the net. Okposo jumps Orpik. A scrum develops. Johnson and Letang are slow to recover. Both remain in the game. Four on four.
16:42: Orpik and Okposo rejoin play.
15:52: Michalek tees up a slapper from above the right circle. Gervais lines up to blocks it. He's dropped by the shot and staggers to his feet. The puck hit him on the left ankle.
15:13: Tangradi and Gilles collide along the boards. Tangradi is in a bad way and Gilles still takes it upon himself to keep beating on Tangradi. Haley and Talbot square off. They wrestle to the ice. Haley recovers to his feet then goes after Brent Johnson. Johnson takes him up and drops his gear. As they lock up. Godard jumps off the bench and jumps Haley! Dear lord. What a joke. This is an embarrassment. Colin Campbell should be embarrassed. Gilles stands in the runway to his locker room and talkes trash to Tangradi. Talking trash to an injured player. What an embarrassment. A ton of penalties are called obviously. It takes forever for officials to figure everything out. The Penguins end up with another five minute major. Kennedy, Goligoski, Staal, Sterling and Letang take the ice.
14:15: Officials loose track of the penalties and forget to stick Talbot in the penalty box.
13:09: Michalek chops a slapper from the top of the slot wide to the right of the cage.
12:18: Kennedy moves off the right half wall and rips a wrister from the slot over the blocker of Koskinen. Letang and Vitale get assists.It's Vitale's first career point. Islanders 8, Penguins 3.
10:53: Kokinen covers up a puck. Craig barges into the crease. A small scrum develops. Nothing comes of it.
10:13: The Penguins' power play ends.
7:49: Off a give and go, Okposo fans on shot from the slot and crashes into Brent Johnson. Okposo and Sterling each get minors. Four on four.
7:20: Kennedy is sent off for interference. Four on three for 1:32.
6:24: MacDonald chops a slapper from above the left circle over the cage.
5:49: Okposo and Sterling return to action.
5:20: Kennedy is back on the ice.
3:55: Another skirmish breaks out with Letang, Talbot and Konopka in the middle of it. Nothing much comes of this. The joke just continues. Letang and Okposo each get fighting majors. They get sent to the locker room along with Talbot and Konopka.
3:48: Koskinen gloves a shot. Another scrum develops. Bailey is called for roughing. The Penguins get a power play.
2:16: Another fight. Vitale and MacDonald go at it in front of the Islanders net. What a joke.
2:08: A perfect end to the night. Orpik makes a sloppy pass at the left point. Grabner steals it and is off to the races. He moves in on Johnson and rips a wrister by Johnson.
2:02: Another stoppageas Craig tries to fight Nielsen who is hardly a fighter. The mamoth Jurcina steps in and a scrum develops. Nothing comes of it. Craig is booted off the ice. Gol
1:31: Johnson makes a save off a wrister from the left circle.
1:10: Islanders fans, all 13 of them, chant "We Want 10!"
0:00: End of circus. Islanders 9, Penguins 3.
POSTGAME
-When casual hockey critics on ESPN or other media outlets rip this sport as barbaric, nights like this are what they point to. This was an embarrassing night for the NHL. Forget the Islanders and the Penguins. This was a horrible night for the sport in general.
-Give the Islanders credit, they had a lot more purpose for the early parts of the game. They had more jump and their attack was a pretty crisp but after that, things took a turn for the worse.
-The Penguins call up Eric Tangradi from the AHL today because they need an actual legit player to fill out their lineup. The Islanders Michael Haley, who, prior to tonight, had all of two games this season at the NHL level for a last-place organization. That tells you a lot about both franchises.
-That's not to excuse the Penguins for their actions, but the Islanders had revenge as one of their primary goals tonight. Instead of playing the game, once they got a lead, they tried to goon it up.
-There was a total of 307 penalty minutes combined in the game. That is a record for combined minutes any game involving the Penguins.
-The Penguins had 151 penalty minutes. The Islanders had 156.
-The NHL updated the penalty numbers. There was a total of 346 penalty minutes. The Penguins ended up with 163. The Islanders 183.
-Another update. There are 351 total penalty minutes. The Penguins had 163. The Islanders had 188.
-The 163 penalty minutes are a team record. Yeesh.
-Obviously, a ton of discipline will be and needs to be handed down on both sides. Colin Campbell and company need to makes an example out of each team.
-Dan Bylsma gets an automatic suspension for Godard leaving the bench pending a review.
-On FSN Pittsburgh, Dan Bylsma said Eric Tangradi passed inital tests administered by the Islanders' doctors but said Tangradi has concussion-like symptoms.
-The Penguins had a 38-36 lead in shots.
-Grabner led the game with eight.
-Goligoski and Kennedy led the Penguins with six each.
-Staal led the game with 27:21 of ice time.
-Martinek led the Islanders with 23:47.
-The Islanders had a 37-34 edge in faceoffs (52 percent).
-Konopka was 15 for 23 (65 percent).
-Talbot was 8 for 16 (50 percent).
-Paul Martin, Talbot, Gervais, Martinek and Hillen each led the game with four blocked shots.
-Letang (122) moved past Val Fonteyne (121) for 63rd place on the team's all-time scoring list.
-Kennedy (106 points) moved past Craig Simpson (105) for 73rd place.