Panthers at Penguins - 03-09-12

-The Penguins' starters are Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Steve Sullivan, Zbynek Michalek, Brooks Orpik and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Deryk Engelland, Dustin Jeffrey, Brent Johnson, Kris Letang, Paul Martin and Eric Tangradi.

-The Panthers' starters are Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss, Wojtek Wolski, Brian Campbell, Mike Weaver and Jose Theodore.

-Their scratches are Keaton Ellerby, Mike Santorelli, Jarred Smithson and Kris Versteeg.

-No Jimerson. No Photo.

FIRST PERIOD

19:00: Staal settles a loose puck in the right circle, motors behind the net, fights off a check from Jay Garrison and backhands a pass to Sulivan in the left circle. Sullivan jabs a one-timer on net which Theodore boots out.

17:51: Malkin controls a puck at the left point of the offensive zone, draws a few defenders in and slides a pass to Michalek at the left point. Michalek slides in along the boards and rips a wrister which hits something in front and bounces out of play.

15:25: Marcel Goc controls the puck behidn the Penguins' cage, muscles off a check from Malkin, spins in the left circle and chips a little wrister on net. Fleury holds it out.

14:50: Goc steals a puck off Michalek in the Penguins left faceoff circle and feeds a pass to Brian Campbell at the left point. Campbell booms a one-timer which Fleury steers away.

14:33: Sullivan taps a loose puck behind the Florida cage to the slot. Staal jumps on it and jabs it on net. Theodore boots it out.

12:57: Fleischmann flings a wrister from a tough angle on the lright wing. Fleury shrugs it away.

12:41: Campbell takes a pass at the left point, winds up an blasts a slapper on net. Fleury stops it with his chest and gloves the rebound in midair.

12:17: Goc has a chance with a one-timer in the slot but Kunitz backcheck and chops it away.

11:55: Malkin takes a bouncing pass in the right circle of the offensive zone, settles and chops a backhander on net. Theodore fights it off.

11:17: Weiss snaps off a pass from deep on the right wing to Fleischman positioned in front of the Penguins' blue pain. He redirects it on net but Fleury steers it away.

11:08: Despres leads a rush up the right wing. With a surprising amount of space, he flings a backhander from the right circle off the near post.

10:32: Marco Sturm controls a puck behind the Penguins' znet but is dropped to the ice on a check from Michalek.

9:44: Michalek airmails a slapper from the right wing boards of the neutral zone. Theodore boots it out and offers brutal rebound in the slot. Neal is all over it but puts his shot wide of the cage. The dude is snakebit right now.

9:22: Campbell hustles his way up the left wing boards, gets a step on Lovejoy and chips a wrister on net. Fleury kicks it out.

7:25: Matt Niskanen flings a wrister from deep on the right wing well wide of the cage.

7:07: Despres snaps off a wrister from the left point. Kunitz is in front and re-directs the puck high of the cage.

6:56: "Seach and Destroy" by Iggy Pop and the Stooges is played:

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5:52: Jack Skille rattles Despres in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone with a solid check into the boards.

5:28: Erik Gubranson chops a one-timer from the right point. It hits a body in front.

4:48: Dupuis snaps off a wrister from the left circle. It goes wide on the near side. Sullivan settles the puck behind the net and manages to sneak a pass through Theodore to Michalek in the right circle. Michalek grips and rips a wrister off the far post.

4:32: Orpik flings a wrister from the left point.  Theodore boots it out. Staal tosses the rebound from the slot at the cage but can't get a clean shot off.

3:59: Dupuis is nabbed for tripping Fleischmann in the Florida zone. Brook Orpik, Michalek, Craig Adams and the great Joe Vitale take the ice. "Your Love" by The Outfield is used for the kiss cam:

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3:12: From the left point, Campbell slides a pass down the wall to Kopecky in the left circle. Kopecky lifts a wrister which Fleury eats up.

2:39: Samuelsson booms a slapper from the right point. Fleury kicks it out. The rebound slides all the way out to the left point. Weiss tries to step up and hammer a one-timer but fans on the shot.

2:20: Samuelsson takes a pass on the right wing wall, makes a move around a defender and flings a backhander on net from the right circle. Fleury battles it away.

2:10: Sean Bergenheim takes a pass to the right of the cage and tries to jam in a forehand shot but fling it through the crease and out of danger.

1:59: The Dupuis minor is killed. The Panthers created a few things. Fleury was up to the challenge.

0:03: Sullvian races up the right wing wall and snaps off a wrister which appears to go wide. Theodore kicks it away.

0:00: End of period. Panthers 0, Penguins 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a pretty even period until the Panthers drew that power play. There was a fair amount of flow and skating. A little bit of hitting. There were some shots during five on five but not a ton of quality scoring chances.

-The Panthers' power play really put some heat on the Penguins. Fleury had to make some tough saves.

-The Sullivan-Staal-Dupuis line created the most chances for the Penguins. They are clicking right now.

-So far so good for Despres. He seemed confident and not overwhelmed with the pace of the game. He had 4:13 of ice time on six shifts.

-Brian Campbell does so many things for the Panthers. He's their older, redder version of Kris Letang.

-The Panthers have a 12-6 lead in shots.

-Samuelsson leads the game with three.

-Fire Craig Patrick.

-Michalek leads the Penguins with two.

-Michalek leads the game with 9:49 of ice time.

-Campbell leads the Panthers with 9:24.

-The Penguins have an 8-4 lead in faceoffs (67 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 3 for 4 (75 percent).

-Shawn Matthias, Garrison and Goc are each 1 for 2 (50 percent).

-There were 12 faceoffs and the Panthers managed to have Garrison, a defenseman, take two of them.

-Michalek and Orpik each lead the game with two blocked shots.

SECOND PERIOD

19:39: Weaver booms a slapper from the right point wide on the near side.

18:43: Malkin leads a rush up the left wing, gains the Florida blue line and leaves a drop pass for Kunitz at the left point. Kunitz windes up and fires a one-timer. Theodore eats it up.

18:28: Off the ensuing faceoffs, Fleischmann leads a rush back into the Penguins zone, gains the offensive zone and slides a pass to Garrison on the left wing. Garrison chops a heavy slapper on net. Fleury kicks it out.

16:37: Krys Barch winds up and blasts a slapper from the left half wall. Fleury shrugs it away.

16:05: Wojtek Wolski circles around the back of the back of the net, turns around in the right circle and lifts a wrister which Fleury fights off.

15:36: Neal fights off a stick check from Gudbranson and snaps off a wrister from the left circle.

15:24: Michalek pumps a slapper on net from the left point. Theodore eats it up.

14:22: After the great Joe Vitale makes a nice play to muscle Weaver off a puck in he left wing corner, Despres whips a wrister from the left point WAY over the net.

13:56: From the left wing corner Kennedy slides a cross ice pass to Brian Strait at the right point. Strait winds up and chops a slapper on net. Theodore kicks it out.

13:30: Kennedy snaps off a quick wrister from the left wing half wall. Theodore's left skate boots it away.

13:24: A wrister by Strait from the right point is off the mark.

12:43: From the left wing boards of the Penguins zone, Fleischmann snaps off a pass to the high slot. Wolski settle the puck, turns and fires a blind slapper wide of the net to the left. The puck deflects off the end boards right to the right side of the cage. Fleischmann is Johnny On the Spot and pokes it by the left skate of Fleury. What a lucky hop. Wolski gets the only assist. Wolski now has 10 points in nine career games against the Penguins. Panthers 1-0.

11:43: Despres flings a backhander on net from the right wing boards. Theodore knocks it dead and lunges out to cover the rebound. Neal gives him a little jab hoping for a rebound Play is blown dead. Ed Jovanovski takes issue with Neal and gives him some grief along the left wing boards. A scrum develops but nothing comes of it.

10:48: Arron Asham jumps on a loose puck behind the net and tries to jam in a forehand shot from the left of the cage but can't get a clean shot off.

10:21: Kennedy lifts a wrister from the left circle. Theodore fights it off. The great Joe Vitale battles for the rebound and chops a backhander on net. Theodore steers that away.

10:13: Cooke and Samuelsson get mixed up on the right wing boards of the Panthers zone and hack each other a handful of times. Both go off for slashing. Four on four.

9:35: Garrison booms a slapper from the left point. Fleury fights it off.

9:24: Staal zips into the offensive zone down the slot, veers to the left circle and whips a wrister on net. Theodore eats it up.

9:11: ALMOST for James Neal. Malkin slides a pass from the right circle to Michalek at the top of the slot. Michalek chops a half one-timer towards the cage. It hits off the stick of Weaver and slides to the right side of the crease. Theodor is out of place and Neal has a wide open net but chops it wide of the net. Argh.

8:13: Cooke and Samuelsson return to play.

8:04: Skille whips a wrister from the left with whch Fleury fights off.

7:53: Garrison is shooting lke crazy. A puck slides out to the left point. Garrison drops the hammer on a one-timer which clinks off the far post.

7:20: Jovanovski gains the offensive zone on the right wing and flings a wrister on net. Fleury kicks it out easly.

6:50: Kennedy snaps off a wrister from a tough angle in the left cirlce. Theodore fights it off.

5:20: We're not sure if this is a result of the four on four situation, but Asham is skating with Staal and Kunitz. Is Dan Bylsma switching his lines?

5:03: Kunitz has a point blank chance from the left of the crease denied by Fleury.

4:55: On the ensuing faceoff, Staal is reunited with Sullivan and Dupuis.

4:47: Weiss has a wrister from the left circle blocked by Staal.

4:32: Sullivan lifts a wrister from the top of the slot. Theodore bodies it away.

3:53: Bergenheim winds up and cranks a one-timer from theleft circle wide of the cage.

3:33: Samuelsson takes a pass in the left circle and snaps off a wrister. Fleury boots it out.

3:05: Off some strong work in the lef wing corner by Neal and Malkin, Kunitz flings a wrister from the left ccircle. Theodore fights it off.

2:21: Cooke has a chance with the puck in the but the great Joe Vitale accidentaly runs him to him and creates a turnover.

1:58: Orpik winds up and booms a slapper from the left point. It's off the mark.

1:50: Michalek has a slapper fblocked at the right point. It kicks otu to the neutral zone and creates a partial breakaway for Fleischman. As Orpik tracks him down, he flings a wrister on net from the slot. Fleury fights it off with his left leg.

1:31: Attendance is announced as 18,606. It is the team's 243rd consecutive sellout.

1:05: Bergenheim snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Strait knocks it wide with a stick on puck.

0:12: Neal takes a pass from Malkin the right wing in the netural zone, gains the offensive zone and puts a heavy shot on net. Theodore says no.

0:03: Neal races into the offensive zone, takes a drop pass and snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Theodore kicks it away.

0:00: End of period. Panthers 1, Penguins 0.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was pretty ugly period of hockey. Not a lot of quality scoring chance for either team. If not for a lucky hop off the end boards, this is probably still 0-0.

-Theodore has been outstanding. He making just about every save seem routine and he's kicking out some quality rebounds which the Penguins can't really do  much with.

-Fleury has been sharp too. He was beaten off a cruddy hop off the boards.

-The Penguins are getting shots, but they're all outside perimeter shots which Theodore will eat up all day.

-Neal is getting good looks at the net. He just can't finish right now.

-The Panthers have a 23-21 edge in shots.

-Kennedy leads the game with five.

-Fleischmann leads the Panthers with four.

-Campbell leads the game with 19:00 of ice time.

-Michalek leads the Penguins with 17:49.

-The Penguins control faceoffs, 17-9 (65 percent).

-Staal is 8 for 11 (73 percent).

-Goc is 4 for 7 (57 percent).

-Michalek leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Strachan and Weaver each lead the Panthers with two blocked shots.

-Sullivan is on the cover of Icetime:

-EN reader @MLennon66 spotted a Ty Conklin jersey:

THIRD PERIOD

18:08: Lovejoy races into the offensive zone on teh right wing and chops a slapper. Jovanovski goes stick on puck and blocks it wide.

17:57: Kennedy hustles out of the right wing corner and is tripped up by Sturm. No call.

17:31: Brian Strait left the bench and headed to the dressing room with a towel on his face.

17:04: Steve Sullivan to the rescue. Staal snap off a pass from the right wing of the neutral zone to Sullivan on the left wing. Sullivan hustles into the offensive zone, fends off a stick check from Gubrandson and lifts a backhander which squeaks behind the blocker of Theodore and trickles into the net. What an effort by Sullivan. Theodore can't let that leak through. Staal and Dupuis get assists. This line is doing everything for the Penguins offensively right now. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Panthers 1, Penguins 1.

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16:40: Skille chops a slapper from the left wing. Niskanen goes stick on puck and deflects it out of play.

16:15: Tyson Strachan grips and rips a wrister from the top of the slot wide of the cage.

15:45: Barch clips Adams in the face with a high stick in the left wing corner of the Penguins. He draws blood. Adams heasd to the dressing room with a towel over his face. That's a "four minuter". Malkin, Neal, Niskanen, Kunitz and Sullivan take the ice.

15:40: Niskanen takes a pass in the left cicle, winds up an cranks a slapper no where near the cage.

14:43: Malkin controls a puck in the right wing corner and snaps off a pass to Neal cutting towards the crease. Neal jabs a shot on net. Theodore eats it up.

13:58: John Madden sweeps a backhander on net from the left circle. Fleury steers it away.

13:45: The first minor expires. The Penguins are now 0 for 13 without Letang on the power play.

13:15: Kunitz flings a pass from the left wing corner to Malkin above the left circle. Malkin cuts to the slot and chucks a wrister on net. Theodore eats it up.

12:58: Malkin deals the puck from the left wing wall to Neal in the left circe. Neal snaps off a wrister hiwhc hits a body in front.

12:46: Malkin chops a slapper from the circle. Theodore fights it off.

12:41: The Panthers call a time out.

12:09: Despres winds up and booms  one-timer form the left point. Theodore steers it away with is blocker.

11:45: The second minor expires. The Penguins are now 0 for 14 without Letang on the power play. Oof.

11:07: Another contribution from a secondary scorer.  Dupuis takes a pass down low to the left of the cage. He whips a backhander from the left circle on net. Theodore fights it off initially. Dupuis sticks with the play and chops the puck off the near post. It deflects off the left leg of Theodore and trickles into the cage. The official points at the net. The Penguins celebrate as the "Woo-Ho!! Song and the "Super Duper" clip form "Anchorman" are played. A video review overturns the call on the ice as it's ruled the puck did not complely cross the goal line. Wow. Tie game.

9:37: Tonight's giveaway is a set of mini Fathead stickers:

8:22: Bergenheim has a chance in the Penguins slot but Neal strips him on a nice back check.

6:24: A puck is dumped in behind the Penguins net. Theodore leaves his crease to play it but the puck hits of the end boards, take a funny hop and deflects to the front of the wide open net. Cooke is there eyeballing the juicy puck but Garrison sweeps it out of danger.

4:54: Michalek floats a wrister from the left point. Theodore steers it away.

4:44: Campbell snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Michalek leans down. The puck glances off his left skate and deflects over the cage

4:09: Fleischmann whips a wrister on net from the left ricle. Fleury fight sit off.

3:55: Things pick up here as play opens up. Staal races up the left wing, twists in side on Garrison and fires a wrister from the left circle. it hits a stick and deflects away.

2:37: Kennedy has a slapper from the left circle blocked by Garrison.

2:10: Campbell pumps a wrister from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front and deflects to the left wing corner.

1:27: Malkin battles for ap uck on the on the right wing wall and is taken down by Weiss. No call.

0:57: Malkin tries to dance in off the right wing point and is dropped to the ice by Madden on a legal check.

0:06: Staal circles out of the left wing orner and whips a wrister on net. Theodore knocks it away with his glove. Staal follows up on the rebound. Theodore appears to get a piece of that too.

0:00: End of period. Panthers 1, Penguins 1.

POSTGAME

-The Penguins have a 31-27 lead in shots.

OVERTIME

4:23: Weiss chops a slapper from the left circle. It hits Orpik in the leg and deflcts away.

3:56: Neal snaps of a wrister form the left wing. Theodore says no.

3:36: Malkin coats up the left wing, makes a dazzling move by Garrison and seems to have a clean look at the net but he sort of runs out of room with the puck and Theodore steers it away before he can shoot.

2:20: Fleischmann flings a wriser from the left point wide to the far side.

1:52: Off a great steal by Staal in the left wing corner, Malkin flings a wrister from the slot. it hits off the ned boards and deflects to Staal to the right of the net. Staal has the net wide open as Theodore is out of position but he chips a backhander over the cage. Garrison might have gotten a piece of that. Argh.

0:57: Samuelsson grips and rips a wrister from the right point. Fleury eats it up.

0:19: Dupuis whips a backhander from the left circle. Theodore hugs the near post and holds it out.

0:00: End of period. Wolski tries to wheel and deal his way into the offensive zone but has the puck chopped off his stick by Dupuis as time expires. Panthers 1, Penguins 1.

FOURTH INTERMISSION

-The Penguins lead in shots, 34-29.

SHOOTOUT

-Neal gets the nod first. He weaves his way down th slot slowly, looks up and rips a wrister from the hash marks by the glove hand of Theodore. Penguins 1-0.

-Wolski gets the nod for the Pathers. He goes slightly to the right, evens out in the slot and whips a wrister wide to the left of the cage.

-Malkin gets a roaring greeting to the ice. He goes slightly to the right, slows down, kicks out a leg and snaps off a wrister under the glove hand of Theodore. Penguins 2-0.

-Samuelsson must score. He goes right down th eslot. As he approaches the net, Fleury challenges witha  poke checl. That forces Samuelsson to go wide to the left of the  net and miss the net. End of Shootout. Penguins 2, Panthers 0. End of game. The "Woo-Hoo!" song plays. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. Penguins 2, Panthers 1.

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POSTGAME

-Competitive? Sure. Tight? Absolutely. Entertaining? Hardly. That was some ugly hockey folks. The shootout was the only thing that brought any life to this game.

-Perhaps it was just a byproduct of playing hockey in March with the playoffs approaching, but there just wasn't much free space out there for either team. Quality offensive chances were few and far between. Look at the two regulation goals and even the goal by Pascal Dupuis which was waved off. They were all off kind of fluky bounces. You had to play ugly in this game.

-What's scary is how often these types of games seem to be occuring in the NHL these days. Ever since the all-star break, the games have seen a dip in scoring and the officials seem to be letting a few more would-be penalties go. It should be a concern to anyone who enjoys this game the way the Penguins play it.

-Many in the NHL want to bring the red line back in to the game. And many want to allow more interference. All in the name of slowing the game down in order to prevent injuries, especially head injuries. And never mind that Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Keith Primeau and other all suffered head injuries with the red line in place. Never mind that there isn't any hard evidence to suggest either of those factors are the reason for the rise in head injuries. And never mind that many players have admitted they're much more aware of how to identify the symptoms associated with head injuries and that has led to more diagnosises. And never mind that the league still allows many HEAD SHOTS. No. It's that danged red line which will save players.

-Getting back to this game tonight, what more can you say about the line of Steve Sullivan, Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis? They've carried this team offensively for the past two games. They have accounted for the team's last four regulation goals. Five if you include tonight's diallowed goal. While the first line has ceased up, the second line has picked up the line.

-If and when Sidney Crosby comes back, what says the first line of Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal must stay together? They have gone cold the past week, especially James Neal who hasn't scored a goal in nine games.

-The Panthers don't have the world's greatest collection of talent up front with their forwards, but we thought the Penguins' blue line did a marvelous job of making things difficult in their own zone. Zbynek Michalek was all over the ice and pretty much became a puck magnet tonight considering all the shots he blocked. Ben Lovejoy was strong too and appeared to get a few more chances offensively in the absence of Paul Martin and Kris Letang.

-Speaking of which, the Penguins' power play continues to struggle. It's now 0 for 14 since Letang left the lineup.

-With the Rangers losing in regulation tonight, the Penguins remain behind the Rangers by four poitns with an even amount of games remaining. Thursday's showdown in Manhattan gets more interesting.

-Marc-Andre Fleury was sharp. He didn't face a terrible amount of quality shots, but he didn't look bad on anything tonight. The goal he allowed was kind of fluky with the riccochet off the end boards.

-Jose Theodore was outstanding outside of one leaky goal. He usually does well against the Penguins. He now has a career record of 20-5-4 against them.

-Simon Despres continues to look like an NHL-ready player. He was confidence and was seemed comfortable with the speed of the game tonight. He had 15:12 of ice time on 20 shifts, twho shots and two blocked shots.

-The Penguins continue to be one of the NHL's most lethal teams in the shootout. How many squads can use all-stars like Neal, Malkin, Crosby, Letang (when healthy) to shoot and have an all-star in net as well with Fleury?

-The Penguins led in shots, 34-29.

-Tyler Kennedy and Tomas Fleischmann each lead the game with six shots.

-Brian Campbell led the game with 28:32 of ice time.

-Michalek led the Penguins with 28:04.

-The Penguins dominated faceoffs, 34-17 (68 percent).

-Staal was 15 for 20 (75 percent).

-Stephen Weiss was 8 for 21 (38 percent).

-Orpik led the game with five blocked shots.

-Mike Weaver, Jason Garrison and Jovanovski each led the Panthers with three blocked shots.

-The Penguins now have 1497 wins in franchise history. They are three short from becoming the 11th club in NHL history to reach 1,500.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: