Devils at Penguins - 03-25-12
PREGAME
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-Greetings from an overcast but mild spring day in Pittsburgh. It's kind of gray out, but it's pleasant as it's in the 60s. Stuff is blooming:
-Baseball is right around the corner. And in this case, it's under a mural on the Boulevard of the Allies ramp:
-Hockey fans just strolling around dahntahn:
-We're not telecommunications experts or nothing, but we'd say this pay phone is out of order:
-Tonight's barn:
-A lonely Devils fan is pumped for Travis Zajac's comeback:
-The ice:
-The ice:
-Sidney Crosby is on the cover of IceTime:
-Steve Sullivan is out of the lineup tonight after suffering an undisclosed injury. The fact that he hasn't missed a game this season until tonight is fairly remarkable.
-After getting run over by the Senators last night, don't expect things to get any easier for the Penguins. The Devils will want some revenge for how the Penguins thumped them last weekend in New Jersey. If you recall, that game got chippy late.
-A few sights around the arena. A Jay Caufield fan:
-Gary Roberts:
-Matthew Barnaby:
-Kevin Stevens:
-Fans walking up off Fifth Avenue:
-Fans walking in off Centre Avenue:
-Fans heading up to the 200 level:
-This place has a ton of bird inhabiting it. This one is perched above a FedEx sign:
-A new feature here are clearly marked directories in the stairwells:
(There's nothing but trouble on that seventh floor we assure you.)
-A Jordan Staal fan taking a photo of the Civic Arena's carcass:
-There are a few Devils fans here. Martin Brodeur:
-Zach Parise and former Devils forward Niclas Bergfors:
(Bergfors used to kill the Penguins.)
-Parise "Christmas" Devils:
-Patrik Elias with a patch from the 2000 Stanley Cup Final:
-Former Penguins/Devils forward Bill Guerin:
-A pair of Marc-Andre Fleury all-star jerseys:
-Lucky Luc Robitaille:
-And Lucky Pierre Larouche:
-Brooks Orpik Team USA:
-Martin Straka:
-Windbreaker of the Night:
-Jersey of the Night: Ben Lovejoy Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:
-Warm ups:
-The Penguins' starters are Craig Adams, Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal, Zbynek Michalek, Brooks Orpik and Marc-Andre Fleury.
-Their scratches are Brent Johnson, Matt Niskanen, Steve Sullivan, Eric Tangradi and the great Joe Vitale.
-The Devils' starters are Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Travis Zajac, Mark Fayne, Andy Greene and Martin Brodeur.
-Their scratches are Eric Boulton, Cam Janssen and Anton Volchenkov.
-Jeff Jimerson knocks it out of the park:
FIRST PERIOD
19:30: Michalek golfs a slapper from the right point. It hits something in front.
19:19: Ponikarovsky chucks a wrister from the left point on net. Fleury makes ths save but bobbles the rebound. Zajac crashes in but can't punch it by Fleury.
18:56: Wow. You don't see that too often. Martin Brodeur with sloppy puck handling. Letang dumps the puck in behind the Devils' net. Broduer skates back to play the puck but Malkin hustles back to force turnover. He steals the puck, and deals a backhand pass to Kunitz in the left circle. Kunitz punches it into the open cage. Brodeur needs to study more film of Fleury on how to handle the puck. Malkin gets the only assist. He should get two. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 1-0.
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17:13: Letang tees up a slapper from the left circle. Brodeur crouches down to make the save. Neal is right there on the doorstep and chops the rebound back on net. No dice.
16:52: Neal races up the right wing off a turnover. As Malkin drives to the net. He pulls up in the right circle and pumps a wrister on net. It hits something and deflects out of play.
15:25: Matt Toarmina has a pair of wrister from the left point blocked by Richard Park and Michalek.
14:50: Like we said, Fleury needs to watch more video of Brodeur handling the puck. Fleury plays a puck behind his net to Crosby towards the right wing corner. Crosby hurries a pass to Engelland just to his right. Engelland isn't expecting the pass and the puck ends up on the stick of Parise in the slot. Parise plunks in the easiest goal of his life with Fleury behind the net. What an ugly play by Crosby. The goal is unassisted but Crosby could claim a helper. Devils 1, Penguins 1.
14:23: Off a turnover by Martin, Ponikarovsky snaps off a wrister which Fleury fights off.
14:05: Off a gurove in the neutral zone, Tyler Kennedy gains the offensive zone with speed and pumps a wrister from the left circle on net. Brodeur kicks it out. Kennedy recovers the rebound and flips a backhander wide.
13:31: Michalek tees up a slapper from above the right circle. Brodeur hugs it against his chest.
12:56: Off a turnover by Crosby , Elias whips a wrister from the left point wide to the far side.
11:28: Off their own version of the Neal-Malkin faceoff play, Zajac wins a faceoff against Staal in the left circle of the Penguins' zone. Kovalchuk is positioned behind him and unleashes a boomer of a one-timer. Fleury hangs on for dear life to make the save.
11:06: The Devils are controlling play right now. Kovalchuk whips a heavy wrister on net from the slot. Fleury eats it up.
10:24: Things just keep getting better for the Penguins as Neal is called for tripping Parisse in the left circle of the Devils' zone. Matt Cooke, Staal, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.
9:57: Kovalchuk tees up a slapper from the left circle. Orpik squares up and blocks it wide with his left skate.
9:15: Off a turnover in the netural zone, Dupuis races into the offensive zone shorthanded. He deals a pass to Letang on the left wing. Letang floats a wrister on net. Brodeur eats it up.
8:51: From the left wing corner, Zajac snaps off a pass to Elias all alone in front of the blue paint. Elias pounds it on net. Fleury reads the play all the way and kicks it out. HUGE save.
8:24: The Neal minor expires. The Devils generated some solid chances there.
6:41: On a three-on-two rush, Adam Henrique controls a puck above the right circle and ties to feed it to a teammate in the lleft circle. Letang slides down and blocks the pass. Tough play.
5:49: Bryce Salvador chucks a wrister from the left circle wide of the cage.
5:34: Salvador booms a slapper on net from the left point. Fleury eats it up despite traffic.
4:28: Fayne chops a shot on net from the left point. Orpik blocks it in the slot. Steve Bernier has the rebound to the right of the crease and whips towards the cage. Michalek blocks that.
3:34: Dainius Zubrus snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Paul Martin partially blocks it. Fleury has to fight off the puck.
3:25: Malkin racesup to the left wing on a partial breakaway. As he approaches the net, Brodeur springs from his crease to poke the puck away. Malkin somehow is able to recover the puck in the left circle and whips a wrister from the slot while falling wide to the left of the cage. What an effort.
1:58: Kennedy rattles Adam Larsson with a solid hit into the right wing boards of the Devils' zone.
0:55: The Penguins go to their bread and butter tand get a goal. Adams hits Larsson in the left wing corner of the Devils zone and forces a turnover along the boards. Cooke corrals the puck on the half wall and pokes a pass to Staal int he slot. Staal uses Toarmina as a screen and floats a wrister by the right shoulder of Brodeur. What a play. Adams created all of that. Cooke gets the only assist. Adams should get one too. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 2-1.
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0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Devils 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-What an up and down period. The Penguins controlled the extreme ends of it. The Devils dominated the vast majority of it in between.
-The Penguins' play in the defensive zone was messy. Just like last night against the Senators, they allowed the Devils far too much room to work with. The Devils have some pretty ample passing lanes to work with.
-Other than the first line of Kunitz, Malkin and Neal, the Penguins lines are kind of all over the place again.
-Fleury has been very good. If not for a bad turnover by Crosby, Fleury has a shutout.
-Zajac looked pretty good for his first game since Jan. 2. He was very involved in the play and went to the high traffic areas. He looks like he belongs. He had 4:50 of ice time on six shots and ws 5 for 6 on faceoffs.
-The Penguins have a 14-11 lead in shots.
-Neal, Kunitz and Parise each lead the game with three shots.
-Orpik leads the game with 10:02 of ice time.
-Marek Zidlicky leads the Devils with 8:18.
-The Penguins have a 13-9 edge in faceoffs (59 percent).
-Crosby is 7 for 8 (88 percent).
-Zajac is 5 for 6 (83 percent).
-Adams and Orpik each lead the game with blocked shots.
-EN reader Matt spotted a Tomas Sandstrom jersey outside:
SECOND PERIOD
18:30: Off a turnover by the Devils in their own zone, Orpik golfs a slapper from the left point. Brodeur gloves it.
17:44: Kovalchuk grips and rips a wrister from the left circle. Fleury gloves it.
17:12: Attendance is announced as 18,601. It its the team's 247th consecutive sellout.
16:52: Zubrus circles out of the left wing corner and whips a wrister on net front the circle. Fleury makes the save. Elias is parked inf ront and jabs at the rebound no dice.
16:28: The Devils are creating things. Off a turnover by the penguins in their own zone, Zubrus pumps a slapper from above the right circle. Fleury eats it up.
15:00: Lovejoy has not recorded as shift since 8:29 into the first period.
14:15: After Fleury denied shots tight by Ryan Carter and Steve Bernier, the rebound skids otu to the top of the slot. Toarmina floats a wrister on net. Fleury battles that away.
13:40: After an icing call, the Penguins call a timeout to get a breather.
13:14: Off a faceoff win in the left circle, Letang booms a one-timer from the left point. It hits something in front and deflects wide.
12:36: Zubrus races up the left wing and he's run to the ice on a rough hit by Letang. Letang appears to get he worst of the hit and slowly recovers to his skates. Letang remains in the game.
11:36: David Clarkson rips a wrister from the left circle wide on the near side.
10:36: What robbery! Off the left wing wall, Crosby is able to sneak a backhanded pass to Dupuis in front of the blue paint. Dupuis takes the pass on his forehand with his back to Brodeur. He moves to his backhand and lifts a shot on the short side. Brodeur sticks with the play and robs Dupuis with a glove save. Dupuis gets run over after releasing the shot.
10:02: Crosby taps a puck by Zidlicky at the Devils' blue line and creates a minibreakaway. He winds up and cranks a slapper from th eleft circle.
9:16: Engelland booms a one-timer from the left point. Parise challenge and blocks the shot. He's wincing after that. Ouch.
9:03: Someone else appears to be absent from the Penguins bench in addition to Lovejoy. It looks like it might be Letang. He has not recorded a shift after that hit against Zubrus. The Penguins only have four defensemen right now.
7:47: The Penginge their first power play of the game. Dupuis gains the offensive zone on the left wing and centers a pass to Asham in the slot. Zajac hacks out Asham's stick from his hands. That's two minutes. Malkin, Neal, kunitz, Martin and Crosby take teh ice.
6:43: Staal takes a pass from Crosby on the left wing, races in on net and whips a wrister to the far side from the left circle. Brodeur's right skate kicks it out.
5:54: After the Penguisn go off sides, Cooke and Kovalchuk mix it up at the Devils' blue line. Kovalchuk is called for slashing Staal in the Devils' zone. Staal is called for tripping? Staal took a tumble and he's called for tripping? Okay. Letang returns to the ice. It remains five on four for seven seconds.
5:47: The minor to Zajac expires. Nothing doing for the Penguins.
5:09: Larsson pumps a slapper on net from the left point. Fleury eats it up.
4:26: Pascal Dupuis. Goal scorer. On a rush into the offensive zone, Crosby taps a pass from the slot to Adams on the right wing. Adams whips a wrister on net from the right circle. Brodeur kicks the rebound out to the slot. Crosby overskates it It ends up on Dupuis' stick. He grips anrips a wrister which beats Brodeur on the glove side. It's Dupuis' 23rd goal of the season. He now has points in 10 consecutive games. Adams and Crosby get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and the "Super Duper!" clip from "Anchorman" are played. Penguins 3-1.
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2:12: Kovalchuk pumps a wrister from the slot on net. Fleury kicks it out as bodies crash in around him. Ponikarovsky pokes the rebound wide.
0:49: A sing-song "Marrrrr....ttteeeeee...." chant starts in the end behind the Devils' zone.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Devils 1.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-This has been an odd game. The Penguins have hardly played their best hockey but have a pretty commanding two-goal lead.
-The Devils have generated the majority of quality scoring chances but the difference has been Fleury. He's just playing better than Brodeur.
-The Penguins managed to cut down on the space the Devils have to work with in the offensive zone despite being short on healthy defensemen.
-The Devils have a 24-23 edge in shots.
-Kovalchuk leads the game with five shots.
-Staal, Kunitz, Neal and Letang each lead the Penguins with three.
-The Devils have a 25-24 edge in faceoffs.
-Crosby is 10 for 15 (67 percent).
-Zajac is 8 for 13 (62 percent).
-Michalek leads the game with three blocked shots.
-Andy Greene leads the Devils with two.
THIRD PERIOD
19:37: From the left circle, Adams chips a pass to the slot. Cooke is streaking towards the net and backhands it wide.
18:31: Letang tries to tag Zubrus with another hit at the Penguins' blue line but Zubrus bails out at the last second.
17:18: Greene golfs a one-timer from the left point. Fleury makes the save. The rebound trickles juuuussttt to the right of the net.
16:23: That was going to happen eventually. The Penguins get sloppy in their own zone and the Devils pull within a goal. Ponikarovsky outworks Letang for a puck behind the net and slides a pass to Zajac in the left cricle. Zajac snap off a pass to Kovalchuk on the back door. Koalchuk bpound the puck by the right leg of helpless Fleury. The Penguins just got outworked there. Zajac and Ponikarovsky get assists. FIre Ray Shero. Penguins 3-2.
15:05: The Penguins regain the two-goal lead. From the right wing boards of the neutral zone, Michalek slides a pass across the ice to the blue line. Crosby is there and taps it by by Zidlicky with a similar move he attempted in the second period. That creates a breakaway for Crosby. He races in and pumpes a slapper by Brodeur through the five hole. Crosby does a fist pump and says something that appears to rhyme with "Duck Ha!" in the right wing corner does the The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 4-2.
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14:30: Racing back for a potential icing, Letang is tripped up by Carter and crashes into the boards in an awkward way. His legs almost did a complete split there. Officials blow play dead. A small scrum develops but nothing comes of it. Carter is called for tripping. That was so dangerous. Malkin, Neal, Crosby, Kunitz and Martin take the ice. Letang remains on the bench as an athletic trainer checks on him.
13:59: Malkin snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Salvador goes stick on puck. It hops up and catches Salvador on the right side of his head. Play is blown dead. He lumbers to the bench in discomfort but appers fine for the most part.
13:19: Crosby and Greene wrestle for position in the right wing corner for a puck. Green slams Crosby on to the board back first. Hit head may have made contact with the boards. Crosby appears fine.
12:30: The Carter minor expires. The Penguins did little with that chance.
10:52: Letang returns to the ice after sitting out the entire power play.
8:40: Cooke takes a silly penalty. He drops Toarmina in the right wing corner away from the puck. That gives the Devils a chance on a power play. Adams, Orpik, Staal and Michalek take the ice.
8:04: Kovalchuk tees up a one-timer from the left point. His stick breaks and the puck slides wide to the near side.
6:40: Cooke's minor expires. The Devils did little with that chance.
6:05: Greene races up the left wing and snaps off a wrister which Letang blocks with a stick on puck.
5:53: HUGE chance missed by the Devils. After a turnvoer by Letang in his own zone, Zajac creates a two-on-one against Martin with Kovalchuk. Martin lays down to block the pass. Zajac is able to backhand a pass to the Kovalchuk to the right of the crease. Kovalchuk has the right half of the cage to shoot at but punches it wide. Argh. He has to bury that.
4:40: Salvador pumps a slapper on net from the left circle. Fleury battles it away. The rebound is loose in the slot. Kunitz is able to get a stick on it and prevent a shot by Elias.
3:29: Salvador snaps off a wrister from the left point. It hits a cluster of bodies in the slot. Ponikarovsky punches the rebound wide.
2:36: Zubrus has a chance in the left circle. He chops a slapper but Martin goes stick on puck to deflect it high.
2:27: Brodeur is pulled for an extra attacker.
2:11: Greene fires a slapper form the left point which hits a body in front.
1:32: After a few hard hits by the Penguins in their own zone, they secure the win. Staal chips the puck to the neutrla zone. Malkin picks it up and air mails a wrister toward the open net for one of us:
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{youtube width="465" height="266"}g_z4Pt-s0AI{/youtube}0:39: "M-V-P!" chants rain down. Petr Sykora is nabbed for high sticking fellow Czech Michalek behidn the Penguins' net. That's two minutes. Malkin, Letang, Crosby, Malkin and Neal take the ice.
0:01: Carter is called for delay of game after putting the puck out of play.
0:00: End of game. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. Penguins 5, Devils 2.
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POSTGAME
-First things first. Ben Lovejoy suffered a "lower-body" injury. He will be evaluated tomorrow.
-The biggest difference in this game to us was the goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury was very sharp. He stole goals. Martin Brodeur, arguably the best goaltender in NHL history, was sloppy and allowed a few softies. Fleury was just better.
-Both teams made a ton of mistakes. There were turnovers galore in each defensive zone. The Penguins just did a little better job of cashing them in.
-What an up and down game for Sidney Crosby. He had some pretty ugly turnovers in his own zone, one of which led to a goal. But then he has two dazzling offensive plays which lead to goals.
-Craig Adams was given an elevated role tonight and took full advatage of it. He got some minutes on the second line in the absence of Steve Sullivan and helped create two goals. His forecheck on Adam Larsson in the left wing corner created the chance Jordan Staal scored on. And his put the puck on net in the second period which created the rebound Pascal Dupuis scored on.
-Speaking of which, Dupuis' hot streak continues. And he's not just scoring meaningless goals. He now has eight game-winning goals. As Dan Bylsma said after the game, "Eight goals is a career."
-Kris Letang had a rough night. He was banged around quite a bit in various situations. We wouldn't be surprised if he sleeps with a few ice bags tonight.
-Travis Zajac looked pretty sharp for a player who has been sidelined with a tough injury since early January. He was very involved in the play. He went to the high traffic areas and helped create some offensive chances. Give him a few more games to get back in the swing of things and the Devils will be dangerous down the middle.
-Zajac's line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexei Ponikarovsky looked dangerous most of the game.
-The Devils led in shots, 34-28.
-Kovalchuk led the game with eight shots.
-James Neal led the Penguins with four.
-Brooks Oprik led the game with 26:35 of ice time.
-Marek Zidlicky led the Devils with 25:06.
-The Penguins led in faceoffs, 36-29 (55 percent).
-Crosby was 12 for 19 (63 percent).
-Zajac was 10 for 16 (63 percent).
-Zbynek Michalek led the game with four blocked shots.
-Bryce Salvador led the Devils with three.
-Dupuis now has a career best 23 goals, 50 points and a 10-game scoring streak.
-The Penguins have won 10 consecutive home games, one short of the franchise record set by the eventual Stanley Cup-winning 1990-91 squad (Jan. 5-Mar. 7, 1991.)
-The Penguins reached the 100-point mark for the third consecutive season.
-Fleury now has 225 career wins, one short of Tom Barrasso's franchise record of (226).
-Crosby now has 597 career points.
-Dupuis moved past Letang and Phil Bourque for 47th place on the franchise's all-time scoring list. Dupuis and Letang each have 165 points but Dupuis (76) has more goals than Letang (38). Bourque has 164 points.
-Kunitz (151) moved past Ryan Whitney (150), the man he was traded for, for 54th place on the scoring list.
-Highlights: