The 3-2 victory over Atlanta puts the Penguins record at 12-4-3, which is good for 27 points and tied for second best in the team's 42 year history.
The only better start through 19 games was turned in by the 1994-95 Penguins, who went 14-3-2 for 30 points. The 1992-93 team also went 12-4-3 for 27 points.
Last year's team went 8-10-1 through the first 19 games but still managed to win the Eastern Conference Championship and a trip to the Stanly Cup Final.
BEST STARTS (19 games) BEST STARTS (20 games)
94-95 14-3-2 30 points 94-95 14-4-2 30 points
08-09 12-4-3 27 points 92-93 13-4-3 29 points
92-93 12-4-3 27 points 95-96 12-5-3 27 points
95-96 11-5-3 25 points 86-87 12-6-2 26 points
86-87 11-6-2 24 points
Post Game Update:
Sidney Crosby played a game high 24:13 and picked up 3 points (1G 2A) in leading the Penguins past the Thrashers at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. The Penguins captain was flying throughout the evening and seemed to be on a mission. He was moving his feet, making slick passes and stick handling through the defense with ease. There were times late in the game where he wheeled around the ice eating up large chunks of clock as the Penguins were trying to preserve the victory.
This was one of the first games where Crosby has really looked like the guy we all know and love. Something just hasn't been right with him over the past month and I think he is finally working through it. I am not sure if he is injured, frustrated, sick or just in a rut, but the Kid just hasn't been himself...until today. It was great to see that spark again. That burst that always tends to have Sid one step ahead of the competition. He just seemed to bring his game to the level that we have come to expect of him...let's just hope that that level is now locked in.
In picking up his three points, Crosby also launched 6 shots and went 9 up and 9 down in the faceoff circle. The offensive output ties the number 87 with Marc Savard for 3rd in the league's scoring race with 25 (7G 18A) points. Evgeni Malkin is still leading the league with 31 points (7G 24A) on the year.
Matt Cooke had another very good game for the Penguins. He is not doing exactly what Jarkko Ruutu used to do for the team, but he is definitely drawing penalties with his agitation factor, has a lot more offensive upside and is bringing another physical presence to the Penguins line-up. He has been a nice compliment up front to the physicality that Brooks Orpik is bringing from the blue line. Cooke had 1 shot on goal, 3 hits and finished +1, as he again skated on a line with Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal. The trio has been a great combination for the team and the offensive pressure that they are generating is opening things up for the Penguins other lines.
Phillipe Boucher didn't look as strong as he did in his first go around with the team, but that is probably a matter of not completely knowing the Penguins system. He got 3:30 on the power play and took 3 shots on goal. He also missed the net with 3 additional shots and had 1 blocked. It is nice to see a Penguins defenseman launching shots at that pace and Boucher's shot is lethal enough that he could make an impact on the score sheet soon. He was whistled for two penalties this evening. Neither was particularly great, but they were not the kinds that are called when a player isn't moving his feet. The first involved his stick sort of getting caught in the Atlanta players jersey...bad luck. The second was a situation in which he seemed to catch a rut and fall to the ice, while his stick sort of flailed forward and tripped a Thrasher.
Keep your eyes on Petr Sykora. He has been a bit sluggish to start the year, but he could be heating up. He took 7 shots on goal tonight and deflected in the winning goal. He is always a bit streaky and it looks like he may be finding his groove.
The ice did not seem to be particularly good this evening. I don't think I have ever seen a puck stop on a dime as often as I did during this game. It just seemed to get caught up and stop. The guys also seemed to have some trouble keeping their feet in certain areas.
Speaking of conditions in Atlanta...it was disappointing to see how many empty seats there were. I know that TV doesn't always do it justice, but there were entire pockets of wide open space and not just up in peanut heaven, but down in the bowl. Is this backlash for trading away Hossa last year and potentially trading Kovalchuk this year? Or is it just an example of what happens in the ATL?
Bryan Little was very impressive for the Thrash. I had been looking forward to seeing him in action and he did not disappoint. The youngster seems to have adapted to the wing just fine and uses his speed to create a ton of space and opportunities for himself. If Kovalchuk stays in town, these two will form a lethal duo moving into the future. However, The Crusher - Erik Christensen is not the answer at center for them. He seems to be at his underachieving best in Atlanta. Neither he nor Colby Armstrong did anything tonight that made me regret the trade Ray Shero made last season.
Todd White took a huge hit from Kris Letang that seemed to knock him into dreamland. It was a slightly scary moment, until it was obvious that he had bounced back. Letang seemed to be upset about the play as he skated to the bench and it is obvious that no harm was intended. White's head unfortunately seemed to hit the boards as he was falling backwards and that caused the blackout moment.
Dany Sabourin turned in another impressive performance, though I was not particularly impressed with either goal that he allowed. It seems that for as much as he has changed from seasons past, a little of the old him still lingers. Of course I mean the part that has to allow one or two bad goals per start. He is the king of turning in a Royesque performance only to tarnish it a bit with a stinker like the one Jim Slater scored in the second period. Slater took a loose puck from behind the net, walked out in front and sort of turned and threw the puck at the net. I am not sure he got of the shot he wanted, but it was enough to have it slide under Sabu's pads and into the net. Moments like that make me regret statements I have made in the past such as he could start for someone next season.
Overall, the Penguins express rolled into the station with another victory and at this point of the season that is all that counts. I will be out of touch with my computer tomorrow, so look for an update Saturday.
More later...
Talking Thrash! Pens v Thrashers…
The Penguins head into Atlanta to take on the Thrashers having gone 6-2-2 in their last ten games. The Thrashers have gone 5-5-0 in their last ten but are in the middle of a 4-1-0 streak over their last five games. Atlanta may not be amongst the league’s elite, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t found recent success against the Penguins, especially at home. The Thrashers have posted a 5-1-0 record at Phillips Arena in six games since the lockout.
This is the first of four meetings between the two teams this season and it should be an exciting one. As I mentioned above, each team is playing some good hockey over it’s past five to ten games. Look for this game to be a lot more wide open than the one we witnessed Tuesday night at Mellon Arena against the Minnesota Wild.
The Penguins may come into this game with most of the star power in the form of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but Atlanta has a handful of dynamic forwards who can put the puck in the net. That all starts with one of the league’s best goal scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian superstar had a much-publicized run in with Crosby a couple seasons back, but that isn’t how he hurts you. Sure he occasionally comes across as cocky on the ice, but that’s because he can be! He has a Rocket Richard trophy under his belt and has six seasons of 29 goals or better, including twice scoring over 40 and twice scoring 52. He is a very dangerous player and has single handedly won games for his team.
Brian Little, the team’s 2006 first round draft pick, has broken onto the scene in a big way this season. He is currently leading the team in scoring with 17 points and he has combined with Todd White and Slava Kozlov to form a pretty impressive trio.
The Penguins will also have to contend with a couple former mates. Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong skate a regular shift for the Thrashers, with Christensen spending much of the time on the top line alongside Kovalchuk. The duo went over to Atlanta in the Marian Hossa trade last February. Each will want to show their former team exactly why the Atlanta Thrashers wanted them as part of the package.
Look for Phillipe Boucher to play an even bigger role for the Penguins tonight. He did a fine job in all situations Tuesday evening and brought a nice dimension to the power play. His big shot will most likely be on display this evening, along with his crisp break out pass and attention to detail in all facets of the game.
Dany Sabourin will once again be in the cage for the Penguins, as Marc Andre Fleury is still out with an undisclosed lower body injury. Look for him to turn in another strong performance, as he watched what could have been a 1-0 shut out victory on Tuesday turn into a 2-1 shoot out loss.
Speaking of Fleury, his injury may keep him out of action through the weekend. At this point, Sabourin is capable of filling in for a couple games and the Penguins should allow Fleury time to get back to 100%.
I will be back later tonight with post game analysis and information.
Game Notes:
Matt Cooke’s five-game point streak (2G-3A) is a new career high. His previous points streak was four games which he accomplished five times in his career while playing with Vancouver. Cooke ranks seventh in the NHL with 56 hits.
Dany Sabourin stopped 24 shots in the 2-1 loss to the Wild, marking his fourth start of the season. He has stopped 14 of 16 (.875%) shooters in four shootouts this season, ranking second only behind Henrik Lundqvist’s .917 percent.
Rob Scuderi leads the team in blocked shots (50) and averages 4:08 in shorthanded ice time.
Mike Zigomanis currently leads the NHL, winning 64.2 percent of his faceoffs. He has won 25 of 39 faceoffs (64%) over his last three games. The Penguins are currently ranked seventh in the NHL, winning percentage of 52.2 percent.
The Penguins are off to their best start since the 1992-93 season. The Penguins have posted an 11-4-3 record with 25 points through 18 games. Their 25 points this season ties them with the third best start in franchise history. The ‘92-93 team, who won the Presidents’ Trophy, started the season 12-3-3.
Milestone Watch:
Pascal Dupuis is nine assists shy of reaching 100 in his career.
Petr Sykora needs four power-play goals to reach 100 in his career
Marc-Andre Fleury is four wins away from tying Denis Herron for third all-time in wins (88) among Penguins’ goalies.
Mark Eaton is two games shy of appearing in 400 games in his career.
Jordan Staal is two goals shy of reaching 50 in his career and his 19 games shy of playing in his 200th career game.
Rob Scuderi needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 in his career.
Miroslav Satan is five goals shy of reaching 350 in his career.
Matt Cooke is three games shy of playing in his 600th career game.
Philippe Boucher is nine goals shy of reaching 100 for his career.
Kris Letang is 12 games shy of playing in his 100th NHL game.
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