Penguins at Avalanche - 03-03-12

-Happy 64th birthday to Penguins hall-of-fame broadcaster Mike Lange:

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-The Avalanche have some pretty good players. And not a lot of folks know a lot about them. Like Ryan O'Reilly:

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-And Gabriel Landeskog:

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-Old nemesis Steve Downie is in Colorado now. He has ripped up the Penguins, while with the Lightning, in recent years:

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-The Penguins' starters are Craig Adams, Matt Cooke, the great Joe Vitale, Zbynek Michalek, Brooks Orpik and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Dustin Jeffrey, Brent Johnson and Kris Letang.

-The Avalanche's starters are David Jones, Mark Olver, Jamie McGinn, Erik Johnson, Shane O'Brien and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

-Its scratches are Tyson Barrie, Chuck Kobasew and Kevin Porter.

-Root Sports provides the Penguins' lines and defensive pairings:

-Something which would add to Root Sports broadcasts would be the lines and defensive pairings for the opponents.

FIRST PERIOD

19:39: The great Joe Vitale and Johnson battle with each other while hustling after a dump in to the left wing corner of the Avalanche's zone. Both players crashe into the end boards with Johnson getting the worst of it. His feet appeared to hit the boards. A scrum develops. As players battle, an athletic trainer rushes out to attend to Johnson. He eventually collects himself and returns to the bench seemingly fine.

19:12: Off a nice steal by Downie against James Neal in the Penguins' zone, Landeskog lifts a wrister from the right circle. Fleury fends it off.

18:59: From the right point of the Avalanche zone, Evgeni Malkin kicks a pass to Martin skating into the zone. Martin take the pass and guns a slapper wide fot the left of the cage.

18:48: Downie tries to mix it up with Malkin in front of the Penguins' bench. Martin skates over and gives Downie some grief. Downie sells the contact and takes a fall. Martin is called for diving while Downie gets a diving minor. Four on four.

17:59: Landeskog zips into the offenisve zone on the left wing and races into the offensive zone. He dodges a stick check and snaps off a wrister wide on the near side.

17:35: Yet another scoring chacne for Landeskog. he coasts into the offensive zone on the right wing, fends off a stick check from Ben Lovejoy and flips a little wrister on net. Fleury knocks it dead and covers.

16:45: Off a turnover by Malkin in the Avalanche zone, Mueller has the makings of a breakaway as he pushes the puck through the neutral zone. Matt Niskanen hustles after Mueller, catches up and strips the puck. Great defensive play.

15:28: Matt Cooke pushes the puck up ice on the left wing, gains the offensive zone and leaves a drop pass for Lovejoy. Lovejoy snaps off a wrister. Giguere eats it up. That was the Penguins' first official shot on net.

13:42: An audible "LET'S GO PENS!" chant can be heard in Colorado.

13:18: From the right half wall, Chris Kunitz deals a pass to Malkin. Malkin flings a backhander from the right circle. Giguere kicks it out.

12:05: Welcome back to the scoresheet Arron Asham. Adams gains the offensive zone and leaves a drop pass for Asham on the right wing. Adams drives to the net and pushes Shane O'Brien back towards the crease like an Oklahoma drill. As that happens, Asham winds up and cranks a slapper from above the right circle which burns Giguere over his glove hand. What a shot. Adams made that entire play, particularly with the center drive to create a screen. It's Asham's first goal since Dec. 3. Adams and Orpik get assists. Penguins 1-0.

10:43: Talk about secondary scoring. Deryk Engelland gets one too. Sullivan controls the uck at the red line on the left wing, He deals a cross-ice pass to Engelland at the Colorado blue line. Engelland gains the offenisve zone and leaves a drop pass for Staal at the right point. As Engelland drives to the cage, Staal sneaks a pass under the stick of Johnson. It hits off the backhand of Engelland and futters over the right shoulder of  Giguere on the far side. What a play. Staal and Sullivan get assists. Penguins 2-0.

8:34: Off a poor turnover by Engelland from behind his own net, Cody McLeod snaps off a point blank wrister from the left circle. Fleury kicks it out. Engelland owes Fleury a beer for that.

6:39: Richard Park chops a slapper from the right wing. O'Brien goes stick on puck and deflects the puck out of play.

6:36: Asham and McLeod drop the gloves off a faceoff. They mostly wrestle around as Ahsam flings his right elbow pad free. As they get pinned against the right wing boards, Asham lands a few rights. They mostly wrestle around before the linesmen step in. Not a great fight. Asham is two-thirds of the way to a Gordie Howe hat trick.

5:37: Off another bad turnover by Malkin in his own zone, Milan Hejduk guns a one-timer from the slot. Fleury traps it against his chest and freezes play.

4:41: Elliot flings a shot from the right point. Martin blocks it. Elliot hustles after the rebound and guns another slapper. It hits the great Joe Vitale up high and staggers him a bit.

3:00: From the right wing corner, Kunitz slides a pass to Engelland at the right point. Engelland whips a wrister wide to the far side.

2:15: Sullivan shuffles a backhanded pass to Lovejoy at the right point. Lovejoy chops a one-timer which hits something in front and hops away from the cage.

1:36: Off a two-on-one with Niskanen against O'Brien, Adams rips a wrister from the left circle high of the cage.

0:16: A late gift for the Penguins. O'Reilly hooks up Staal in the left wing corner of the Penguins' zone preventing a shot. That's two minutes for hooking.

0:07: Niskanen corrals a puck at the right point and blasts a slapper towards the net. It hits something in front and deflects to the right of the cage. Neal tries to backhand flip the puck towards the net with Giguere scrambling but can't get a clean shot off.

0:01: From the top of the slot, Niskanen slides a pass to Malkin in the right circle. Malkin cranks a one-timer. Giguere reads it all the way and fights it off.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Avalanche 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a strong but hardly perfect period for the Penguins. They had a slight advantage of puck possession in the Avalanche's zone and kept a good deal of the play in the offensive zone. But they had some sloppy play in their own zone and allowed the Avalanche some quality scoring chances.

-Fleury was very sharp that period. He had to be given some of the poor turnovers by his own teammates.

-Lovejoy looks solid for someone who hasn't played a great deal the past month or so. He looked confident against some of the Avalanche's fleet forwards and even jumped in a little offensively.

-Sullivan looks like he enjoys life back in a top-six role. He seems to have a little chemistry with Staal.

-Gabriel Landeskog is pretty impressive. He's very confident with his skating and puck control. And he's not shy about hitting.

-The Avalanche has a 14-8 lead in shots.

-Landeskog leads the game with five.

-Lovejoy and Malkin each lead the Penguins with two.

-Brooks Orpik leads the game with 8:54 of ice time.

-Jan Hejda leads the Avalanche with 7:44.

-The Avalanche controls faceoffs, 13-5 (72 percent).

-O'Reilly is 6 for 6 (100 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 2 for 4 (50 percent).

-O'Brien and the great Joe Vitale each lead the game with two blocked shots.

SECOND PERIOD

20:00: The Penguinw ill have 1:44 of power play time on fresh ice.

19:11: Sullivan winds up and cranks a slapper from the top of the slot. It hits a mass of bodies in front. Neal is in the crease but can't get a stick on it.

18:16: The O'Reilly minor is killed. The Penguins are now 0 for 6 on the power play since Letang left the lineup.

17:41: O'Brien booms a slapper from the right half wall. Fleury fights it off with his glove hand.

15:34: Kunitz snaps off a wrister from above the left circle. Giguere kicks it out.

15:16: Downie chops a half slapper from above the left circle. Fleury battles it away.

14:42: Off some solid passing from the firs tline

14:30: Martin snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Neal glides through the crease and re-directs the puck with his stick. It clinks off the cross bar and deflects to Malkin to the left of the crease. Malkin settles the puck and roofs it behidn an out-of-place Giguere. A lucky bounce there. Neal and Martin get assists. A healthy contingent of Penguins fans celebrate. Penguins 3-0.

13:03: Elliott flings a backhande rfrom the left wing Fleury kicks it out. Elliott hustles after the rebound and is knocked to the ice by Park. Park is called for tripping. That was kind of ticky tack call. That said, great work by Elliott to create the chance and draw the penalty. Orpik, Zbynek Michalek, Adams and Staal take the ice.

10:57: As Park's minor expires, Hejduk controls the puck in the right wing corner of the offensive zone and shuffles a pass to Johnson at the right point. The pass glances off the leg of Orpik and deflects all the way out to neutral zone. Park steps out of the box and is off on a breakaway. He motors in on Giguere and snaps off a wrister through the five hole of a helpless Giguere. Wow. That was a pretty big cave-in for the Avalanche. Orpik somehow gets an assist on the goal. More happy Penguins fans. Penguins 4-0.

8:34: Cooke hustles up the left wing and taps a pass to Park in the slot. Park deals it back too Cooke. Matt Hunwick knocks the puck away. Giguere kind of pops Cooke up high and sends him flailing into the left wing corner. Play is halted. Cooke stands up and says something to Giguere. Giguere gets right in Cooke's grill and gives him another pop shot. A scrum develops along the end boards. Fleury actually skates to his blue line sort of suggesting he would get involved. Offiicals break it up. Giguere ends up with a roughing minor. Olver will serve it. What was Giguere thinking there? Malkin, Neal, Sullivan, Niskanen and Kunitz take the ice.

6:31: As the Penguins' power play expires, Paul Stastny pushes the puck into the offesnive zone one-on-one with Orpik and puts a soft wrister on net from the left circle. Fleury steers it away.

5:22: Dupuis spins in the right circle, jukes Giguere out of his crease and whips a backhander on the empty net. Jay McClement is johnny-on-the-spot and knocks the puck dead with his stick. Great defensive play. Giguere owes him a beer.

4:52: Dupuis races into the offensive zone and flings a backhander from the right circle wide of the cage.

4:23: O'Brien lifts a wrister from the top of the slot over the cage.

4:07: McGinn snaps off a wrister from the right circle to the far side. Fleury's right skate kicks it out.

3:25: Engelland snaps off a wrister from the left point. O'Brien blocks it in front

3:19: The Penguins are nabbed for too many  men on the ice. Asham will serve the minor. The great Joe Vitale, Adams, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.

2:23: Stastny grips and rips a wrister from the left circle. Fleury eats it up.

1:41: After Staal forces a turnover and pushes the puck up the left wing into the offensive zone, Dupuis chases down the loose puck and whacks it on net with a one-timer. Giguere fights it off.

1:36: Johnson's rought night cotninutes as he pins staal against the boards while chasing a loose puck. That's two minutes for interference. Four on four for 17 seconds.

1:19: The Penguins' minor expires. They'll have a power play for 1:43.

0:28: Niskanen chops a one-timer from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front.

0:21: Niskanen whips a wrister on net from the top of the slot. Neal re-directs it on net. Giguere fights it off.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 4, Avalanche 0.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-Just about everthing is going the Penguins' way in this game. They're getting the bounces and creating plenty of luck on their own. They  just have to avoid injuries in the third period.

-The secondary scoring has been the best part of this game for the Penguins. Three goals from sources which don't normally provide them in Asham, Engelland and Park.

-Not to be a killjoy, but the Penguins' power play is now 0 for 7 since Letang left the lineup.

-Giguere needs to worry about finding his game instead of trying to start little fights with Cooke.

-The Avalanche has a 23-20 lead in shots.

-Malkin and Landeskog each lead the game with five.

-Malkin leads the game with 15:26 of ice time.

-Johnson leads the Avalanche with 13:49.

-The Avalanche is dominating faceoffs, 27-10 (73 percent).

-O'Reilly is 8 for 8 (100 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 3 for 9 (33 percent).

-O'Brien leads the game with three blocked shots.

-The Great Joe Vitale leads the Penguins with two.

-Michalek was given the assist on Park's goal instead of Park.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 25 seconds of power play time to start the period. Neal, Kunitz, Lemieux, Niskanen and Sullivan take the ice.

19:35: The Penguins power play expires. They are now 0 for 8 on the power play since Kris Letang left the lineup.

18:43: Michalek loses his discipline and takes a selfish penalty against McGinn. Several seconds after McGinn slams him into the boards on the right wing of the Penguins' zone, Michalek knocks McGinn over behind the Penguins' net with an elbow to the shoulder. Pretty selfish. The great Joe Vitale, Adams, Orpik and Martin take teh ice.

18:25: Downie controls the puck to the left of the net and deals a pass to Mueller sneaking into the right circle. Mueller whips a wrister on net. Fleury reads the play, slides to his left and eats up the shot.

18:15: Cooke pushes the puck up the right wing into the offensive zone and whips a wrister on net from the faceoff circle. Giguere gloves it.

17:47: Martin pushes the puck up the right wing, holds up in the right circle and loses the puck on a stick check. Staal follows up on the loose puck, cuts to the left circle and whips a heavy wrister on net. Giguere kicks it away.

17:28: Dupuis hustles up the left wing after loose puck, collects it and whips a wrister on net from the left circle. Giguere fights it off.

16:43: The Michalek minor expires. Another great effort by the Penguins' penalty killers.

15:04: Elliott whips a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury snags it.

12:13: On a two-on-one against Ryan Wilson, Sullivan sneaks a pass to Dupuis in the left circle. Dupuis snaps off a wrister which Giguere steers away.

11:02: There goes the shutout. After Downie wins a one-on-one battle in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone against Orpik, he deals a pass to Landeskog who snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Fleury fights it off. Stastny is to the right of the cage and chops the puck free to the slot. Hunwick is there and pokes it into the open cage behind an out of place Fleury. Some great work by the Avalanche there to create the goal. Stastny and Landeskog get assists. Downie could make a case for one. Penguins 4-1.

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10:33: Malkin makes a furious rush into the offensive zone and appears to have a clean look at the net but Landeskog hustles back on a backcheck and knocks Malkin off the puck and to the ice.

9:53: Downie positions himself in front of Fleury. Fleury takes a jab at his legs and Downie takes a tumble. Downie gets up in a huff and cross checks Fleury. Engelland isnt having any of it and chokeslams Downie to the ice and pounds him as he lays on his back. Officials break it up. Downie and Engelland each get roughing minors. Fleury gets a slashing minor. Neal will serve it. Downie did his job very effectively there and got his team a five on four power play. A goal here is a must for the Avalanche Adams, Dupuis, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.

9:09: Johnson chops a slapper from above the left circle. Dupuis deflects it away.

8:22: Cooke corrals a puck in his right wing corner and flings it down ice for a clear.

7:53: The power play expires. Another excellent effort by the Penguins.

6:45: O'Brien snaps off a wrister from the top of the slot. Eric Tangradi challenge and blocks the shot.

6:02: Matt Duchene decides to make an appearance and flings  backhander on net from the right wing. Fleury fights it off.

5:19: Stastny collects a loose puck behind the Penguins' net and attempts a backhanded wraparound from the left of the cage. Fleury's blocker holds it out.

4:55: Cooke fights through a check and whips a backhander on net from the left circle. Giguere eats it up.

2:29: The Avalanche pull Giguere for an extra attacker.

2:12: The great Joe Vitale whips a puckat the empty cage from the neutral zone. It gets blocked.

1:26: Nail. Coffin. Martin controls the puck on the right wing wall of his own zone and zips a pass down ice to Sullivan at the Colorado blue line. Sullivan pushes it into the offensive zone and slides it into the open net for one of us:

-Martin and Orpik get assists. Penguins 5-1.

0:00: End of game. Penguins 5, Avalanche 1.

POSTGAME

-What an excellent overall effort by the Penguins. They took advantage of mistakes by the Avalanche, limited their own errors, spread the scoring around, avoided injury and collected two points.

-The secondary scoring was what impressed us the most. The first line only produced one goal and the power play was shutout. But the Penguins got four goals from other sources, including a few meat and potatoe guys like Arron Asham and Deryk Engelland. When a team gets offense from other sources, it's scary for the opposition.

-Fleury was outstanding. He had to make some tough saves in the first period after his teammates had a few poor turnovers in their own zone. If Fleury doesn't comes through there, this game has a completely different feel.

-The Penguins' defense stepped up in a big way in the absence of Kris Letang. Letang contributes in all assets of the Penguins' game and he's not replaceable. The Penguins' remaining blue liners found a way to fill in for him. Paul Martin had what might have been his best game of the season. he was strong in his own zone and even figured in on the offense a few times. Deryk Engelland was everywhere. Brooks Orpik and Zbynek Michalek were sturdy in their own zone. Niskanen and Lovejoy showed some things with the puck as well.

-Killjoy Alert: The Penguins' power play is 0 for 8 since Letang left the lineup. Ick.

-On the flip side, the Penguins' penalty kill was outstanding as it killed off all four power plays for the Avalanche. And it even seemed to produce more offensive chances than the Penguins' power play.

-As we said earlier, Steve Sullivan has found his game back in a top-six role. He now has a seven-game scoring streak.

-After a strong start, the Avalanche just seemed to curl up in a ball and die after the Asham goal. That team just didn't seem to handle the adversity of an early deficit well.

-By all accounts, Jean-Sebastien Giguere has had a fine rebound season but he didn't show any of that tonight. He looked like the tired, washed up player he has been in recent years with the Maple Leafs.

-Gabriel Landeskog is going to be a really good player. He can skate, he can shoot and he likes to hit. He's a pretty complete player already in his young career.

-Steve Downie is still Steve Downie. In other words, he's a word we can't repeat in this forum.

-The Avalanche actually dominated shots, 36-28.

-Landeskog led the game with eight.

-Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins with five.

-Orpik led the game with 23:03 of ice time.

-Landeskog led the Avalanche with 20:36.

-The Avalanche led in faceoffs, 34-19 (64 percent).

-Jay McClement was 10 for 13 (77 percent).

-Malkin was 7 for 17 (41 percent).

-Martin led the game with four blocked shots.

-O'Brien led the Avalanche with three.

-Finally tonight, some people were excited about this game more than others:

(Kudos to @cmcarson for the capture.)

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: