The Penguins attempt at a season high 4 game winning streak was denied by the Vesa Toskala and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who held off the Penguins late game attacks for the 4-2 win.
Dany Sabourin was called to start for the Penguins, after starter Marc-Andre Fleury faced 28 shots in a 4-1 victory the previous night. But the Leafs got to him early, with Mark Bell scoring his first of the season 3:56 into the first period.
Bell missed the first 15 games of the season and was placed in the NHLPA Substance Abuse Program after an off-season incident which lead to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run charges.
In the 2nd immediately following a power-play Toronto scored on a two man breakaway, with Kyle Wellwood assisting Jason Blake. The Maple Leafs caught the Penguins with only one defenseman on the ice, and when Mark Eaton failed to keep the puck in at the blue line the Leafs were clear in on the two man rush.
Nik Antropov made it 3-0 later in the 2nd, deflecting a Bryan McCabe shot for a power-play goal.
Ryan Malone broke up Toskala's shut out attempt, scoring in the third off a fortunate bounce. Colby Armstrong's bad angle shot deflected off Toskala and then bounced off Malone's knee and into the net.
With less than 2 minutes left in the 3rd Erik Christensen's shot handcuffed Toskala, who initially made the save, but had the puck roll up his shoulder and into the net, bringing the Penguin's within one, 3-2.
However in the dying throws of the game the Penguins turned up the pressure and pulled Sabourin in favor of a sixth skater. After numerous attempts were thwarted by Toskala and the Leafs, Alexei Ponikarovsky sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
Maxime Talbot was again a healthy scratch, but that didn't stop him from having some fun after practice. With 14,000 fans on board for the Penguins open practice, encouraged by Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, Talbot threw on Crosby's 87 jersey and borrowed a stick to take the ice. For 2 minutes he did his best Crosby impersonation to the delight of the crowd and his teammates.
Mark Recchi was once again a healthy scratch, and further ensuring his departure from the franchise, it appears he may have been stripped of his Alternate Captaincy. Defenseman Mark Eaton had the "A" patch on his jersey, though it was not apparent whether this was due to Gonchar's injury or Recchi's absence.
The Penguins (11-11-2) will welcome the Phoenix Coyotes to the Mellon Arena on Monday, in what will be the 2nd game of a hectic early December schedule that sees them playing 5 games in 8 days.
Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Game 24: 11/30/07: Penguins 4 - Stars 1
After a six day layoff in action the Penguins made it three straight last night, defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1. They've only won 3 in a row once before this season, back in the third week of the season. The victory put the Penguins at .500 for the first time since November 7th.
Sidney Crosby came up big early, scoring 24 seconds into the first period, taking the puck from behind the net and beating Stars backup goaltender Mike Smith five-hole.
Just minutes later Tyler Kennedy jumped on a Stars turnover, and scored his 3rd of the season. Kennedy has seen increased playtime due to his solid play and the injury of Maxime Talbot, and rounded out the 3rd line with Gary Roberts and Jordan Staal.
Five minutes into the 2nd period Dallas pulled within one on a Mike Ribeiro shot that deflected of Daryl Sydor and beat Fleury high. The goal ended Fleury's shutout streak of 85 minutes and 31 seconds since he was pulled in the first period against the Ottawa Senators on November 22nd.
Crosby scored his second of the game, and 14th of the season, putting a Sydor rebound behind Smith and increasing the lead once again to 2.
Evgeni Malkin put the game away in the 3rd period when Petr Sykora found Malkin streaking down the wing, who made it 4-1.
Mark Reechi was a healthy scratch once again, further fueling trade rumors. Surely Reechi must be frustrated, but his poor performance has dictated the Penguins position. Rumors have it that Reechi is pursuing a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reechi played under Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock in Philadelphia.
I'm a little skeptical about whether the Penguins will find a trade partner for Reechi, but even if they do, I can not imagine anyone valuing him to the point that Pittsburgh receives in return anything that would be of use this season. Perhaps a draft pick.
Maxime Talbot and Sergei Gonchar were both scratched due to nagging injuries. Talbot's high ankle strain has kept him out of service since the 17th of November, but he has been skating with the Penguins in practice and should return to the lineup shortly.
Iron Man Gonchar left Saturday night's game against Atlanta with a groin injury, and saw his 105 game starting streak end. He is listed as day to day and is not expected to start on Saturday when the Penguins (11-11-2) take on the Maple Leafs(9-11-6) in Toronto.
Sidney Crosby came up big early, scoring 24 seconds into the first period, taking the puck from behind the net and beating Stars backup goaltender Mike Smith five-hole.
Just minutes later Tyler Kennedy jumped on a Stars turnover, and scored his 3rd of the season. Kennedy has seen increased playtime due to his solid play and the injury of Maxime Talbot, and rounded out the 3rd line with Gary Roberts and Jordan Staal.
Five minutes into the 2nd period Dallas pulled within one on a Mike Ribeiro shot that deflected of Daryl Sydor and beat Fleury high. The goal ended Fleury's shutout streak of 85 minutes and 31 seconds since he was pulled in the first period against the Ottawa Senators on November 22nd.
Crosby scored his second of the game, and 14th of the season, putting a Sydor rebound behind Smith and increasing the lead once again to 2.
Evgeni Malkin put the game away in the 3rd period when Petr Sykora found Malkin streaking down the wing, who made it 4-1.
Mark Reechi was a healthy scratch once again, further fueling trade rumors. Surely Reechi must be frustrated, but his poor performance has dictated the Penguins position. Rumors have it that Reechi is pursuing a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reechi played under Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock in Philadelphia.
I'm a little skeptical about whether the Penguins will find a trade partner for Reechi, but even if they do, I can not imagine anyone valuing him to the point that Pittsburgh receives in return anything that would be of use this season. Perhaps a draft pick.
Maxime Talbot and Sergei Gonchar were both scratched due to nagging injuries. Talbot's high ankle strain has kept him out of service since the 17th of November, but he has been skating with the Penguins in practice and should return to the lineup shortly.
Iron Man Gonchar left Saturday night's game against Atlanta with a groin injury, and saw his 105 game starting streak end. He is listed as day to day and is not expected to start on Saturday when the Penguins (11-11-2) take on the Maple Leafs(9-11-6) in Toronto.
Monday, October 29, 2007
10/25/07: Game 9: Penguins 2 - Toronto 5
I find myself falling behind in Penguins game reviews when I don't get them up immediately following the game, which is why thanks to the World Series and a Halloween outing Saturday night, I'm back 2 games. But it seems a shame not to say anything, so I'll get in a brief little something-something.
Let's see, which games was this. Oh, that's right, now I remember another reason I wasn't so eager to get into this game. We sucked.
The Pens got the early lead with Sidney Crosby goal, assisted by Reechi and Malkin, and took the 1-0 lead into the 2nd.
After numerous opportunities, the Leafs finally tied in up in the 2nd, with an Alex Steen goal.
Heading into the 3rd, the Penguins were being severely overplayed, and yet somehow maintained in the game. It looked like one of those ugly games that a good team knows how to win. But then the 3rd period happened.
2 minutes into the 3rd the Penguins allowed two goals Jiri Tlusty in 35 seconds, giving the Leafs the 3-1 lead.
Later in the 3rd near the 10 minute mark the Leafs scored another couple goals, this time in only 33 seconds (Tomas Kaberle, Boyd Devereaux). 5-1
The Penguins made it somewhat more respectable, picking up another goal, this one on the power play (Goncahar assisted by Malkin and Crosby). But that was the game 5-2.
Its easy to blame Fleury for a 4 goal 3rd period, but it comes down to the Penguins not doing what they need to do, especially in the defensive and neutral zones.
Following the game Michel Therrien sounded somewhat befuddled in the post-game conference. He called it "a game that you have to win." Considering how the Leafs have been playing, I'd say he's right.
Let's see, which games was this. Oh, that's right, now I remember another reason I wasn't so eager to get into this game. We sucked.
The Pens got the early lead with Sidney Crosby goal, assisted by Reechi and Malkin, and took the 1-0 lead into the 2nd.
After numerous opportunities, the Leafs finally tied in up in the 2nd, with an Alex Steen goal.
Heading into the 3rd, the Penguins were being severely overplayed, and yet somehow maintained in the game. It looked like one of those ugly games that a good team knows how to win. But then the 3rd period happened.
2 minutes into the 3rd the Penguins allowed two goals Jiri Tlusty in 35 seconds, giving the Leafs the 3-1 lead.
Later in the 3rd near the 10 minute mark the Leafs scored another couple goals, this time in only 33 seconds (Tomas Kaberle, Boyd Devereaux). 5-1
The Penguins made it somewhat more respectable, picking up another goal, this one on the power play (Goncahar assisted by Malkin and Crosby). But that was the game 5-2.
Its easy to blame Fleury for a 4 goal 3rd period, but it comes down to the Penguins not doing what they need to do, especially in the defensive and neutral zones.
Following the game Michel Therrien sounded somewhat befuddled in the post-game conference. He called it "a game that you have to win." Considering how the Leafs have been playing, I'd say he's right.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
10/13/07: Game 4: Penguins 6 - Maple Leafs 4
Well its a good thing the Penguins have had a really light schedule so far this season, because I've been off my game with these game reviews. Lately I've just been completely exhausted from training for the Philadelphia Marathon. 7.5 miles in 1 hour and 33 minutes today.
Anyways, let's all pause and take something really big in right now. Maxime Talbot is leading the Pittsburgh Penguins in goals right now. And that is no fluke. Sure, Crosby and Malkin, and probably a handful of other Pens, will eventually pass him, but that's nothing to discredit Talbot. He is a hard worker, and probably the most underrated player I've ever seen.
I have to say I'm not really sure what Michel Therrien was thinking starting Dany Sabourin in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has not preformed well so far this season, but he is our starting goaltender and a potential franchise tender. When the schedule picks up there will be plenty of time for Sabourin to get in some starts, but right now Fleury needs to be between the pipes.
It turned into a shootout Saturday against the Maple Leafs. Erik Christensen buried one in the first, beating Toskala off of a offensive zone face-off win.
Sabourin let in two goals on the first 5 shots he faced. He looked very shaky, but some responsibility lays with the defensive play. Far too often the Penguins were caught standing still in their own zone. If they want to cut down on the amount of quality opportunities they allow, they are going to have to step up to players who are moving into the slot.
Later in the 1st Brooks Oprik forced Darcy Tucker of the Leafs into the net, crashing into Sabourin, and forcing him to leave the game.
Less than a minute into the 2nd Mats Sundin took an Antropov pass from behind the net and beat Fleury, giving the Leafs a 3-1 lead.
A Crosby pass intended for a breaking Petr Sykora deflected of a Toronto defenseman and into the net. Only 19 seconds later Maxime Talbot tied the game, beating Toskala on a Gary Roberts cross crease pass.
Ryan Malone gave the Penguins the 4-3 lead, scoring off the rebound from a Evgeni Malkin shot with 4 minutes left in the 2nd. But the lead was short lived, as Jason Blake scored only moments later to take the game into the 2nd intermission all locked up.
With less than 5 minutes remaining in the game Sidney Crosby picked up his second of the game, giving the Penguins the lead for good.
Talbot picked up his second of the game, throwing a shot from the Penguins defensive end into the empty net down ice.
The Penguins take on the Devils on Wednesday at home.
Anyways, let's all pause and take something really big in right now. Maxime Talbot is leading the Pittsburgh Penguins in goals right now. And that is no fluke. Sure, Crosby and Malkin, and probably a handful of other Pens, will eventually pass him, but that's nothing to discredit Talbot. He is a hard worker, and probably the most underrated player I've ever seen.
I have to say I'm not really sure what Michel Therrien was thinking starting Dany Sabourin in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has not preformed well so far this season, but he is our starting goaltender and a potential franchise tender. When the schedule picks up there will be plenty of time for Sabourin to get in some starts, but right now Fleury needs to be between the pipes.
It turned into a shootout Saturday against the Maple Leafs. Erik Christensen buried one in the first, beating Toskala off of a offensive zone face-off win.
Sabourin let in two goals on the first 5 shots he faced. He looked very shaky, but some responsibility lays with the defensive play. Far too often the Penguins were caught standing still in their own zone. If they want to cut down on the amount of quality opportunities they allow, they are going to have to step up to players who are moving into the slot.
Later in the 1st Brooks Oprik forced Darcy Tucker of the Leafs into the net, crashing into Sabourin, and forcing him to leave the game.
Less than a minute into the 2nd Mats Sundin took an Antropov pass from behind the net and beat Fleury, giving the Leafs a 3-1 lead.
A Crosby pass intended for a breaking Petr Sykora deflected of a Toronto defenseman and into the net. Only 19 seconds later Maxime Talbot tied the game, beating Toskala on a Gary Roberts cross crease pass.
Ryan Malone gave the Penguins the 4-3 lead, scoring off the rebound from a Evgeni Malkin shot with 4 minutes left in the 2nd. But the lead was short lived, as Jason Blake scored only moments later to take the game into the 2nd intermission all locked up.
With less than 5 minutes remaining in the game Sidney Crosby picked up his second of the game, giving the Penguins the lead for good.
Talbot picked up his second of the game, throwing a shot from the Penguins defensive end into the empty net down ice.
The Penguins take on the Devils on Wednesday at home.
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