The Penguins had two largely lackluster periods, but started to show signs of life during the last five minutes of period two. Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal helped turn things around as each player put forth an incredible effort on a late penalty kill.

Brooks Orpik finally got the Penguins on the board with 18 seconds remaining in the period. His goal was a prime example of what could happen when you shoot the puck. He put the biscuit on net and it deflected behind Joey MacDonald.

The Islanders have done a nice job of bottling the Penguins superstars thus far, but there are signs that the gunners are breaking through.

Dany Sabourin let up three less than spectacular goals and has been replaced with rookie John Curry. Sabourin can't be blamed for the first Islander goal, but the second and third were definitely savable pucks. Unfortunately Sabourin has never proven that he can play a consistent game on a night to night basis. It looked like he had broken that cycle, but tonight's showing proves that he still needs to work on that aspect of his game.

Evgeni Malkin has been a beast tonight...he has had several end to end rushes and had two great short handed opportunities. He looks so confident as he stick handles through opposing defenses these days.

Max Talbot left this game with an apparent foot or ankle injury. He took a pretty big shot off the foot on an Islanders dump in attempt. Let's hope that it is not a break...

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin just worked an awesome give and go. Sid carried the mail into the zone, dropped the puck to open space where Malkin could pick it up with his feet moving. Textbook, by the way! Just the way you would like to see it drawn up...Malkin took the puck with speed, chopped it past the defense to himself and cut in toward the net, shuffling a back hand pass across to Crosby, who had set up to the right of MacDonald. Sid banged it home... 3-2 Isles.

Crosby and Malkin just showed why they are ranked among the top players in the National Hockey League. The duo just combined for back to back goals by Malkin and the Pens are now leading the Islanders 4-3. Wow is all I can say about it...just a jaw dropping display by two players who have the ability to take over any game on any night. Each player has 3 points on the evening thus far.

Evgeni Malkin stole the show in Long Island as he scored a natural hat trick in the third period. It was an unbelievable turnaround for a team that can be lethal when all cylinders are firing. Malkin, who was probably the best player on the ice all evening long, finished the evening with 3G 1A.

Sidney Crosby looked pretty damn good himself during the third period as he picked up assists on two of the Malkin goals. He was creating opportunities and had a jump that has not often been seen from him this season.

John Curry came in and was very solid. He didn't have to do much, but it was more a matter of what he didn't do...make a mistake. He made all of the saves that he needed to make and from the time he entered the game you could see that the tide was turning for the Penguins.

Very impressive victory for the Penguins as they reeled off five unanswered goals from the 19:42 mark of period two. The win puts the Penguins record at 8-1-1 for the month of November.

This win will stick with me for a while and this game will go down as one of the best memories of the season. This along with the comeback in Detroit will definitely be on my list of top moments from the first half that Alex and I will discuss on the Buzzcast come the halfway point of the season.

More tomorrow...

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Thanksgiving Eve (at least in the States) On Long Island...Pens v Islanders

The Penguins are spending Thanksgiving Eve on Long Island to take on the Islanders in the second match up between the two teams this season.

The Penguins took the first tilt back on November 8th, a 4-3 shoot out victory. The game ended with some controversy, as the final Islanders shot lodged in Dany Sabourin's pad as he and the majority of his body slid into the net. The video goal judge determined that the puck which was somewhere around Sabourin's knee did not cross the goal line.

The Islanders are playing with a lot more confidence this time around, as they are 4-1-0 in their last 5 games and 6-3-1 in their last 10. Though the team is largely made up of youngsters, they have gotten major contributions from their veterans. Doug Weight leads the team in scoring with 21 points (4G 17A), followed by Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin who have each notched 15 points (8G 7A each) on the year.

They have also gotten their money's worth out of free agent acquisition Mark Streit, who has stepped right in as the quarterback on their power play and has notched 14 points (5G 9A) in 21 games thus far.

Though the Islanders have watched the injury bug bite several key players, such as goaltender Rick Dipietro, they have watched several youngsters step up and fill roles for thee team. Rookie goaltender Joey MacDonald has done a great job in posting a 9-7-2 record in 18 games this season. They have also watched some of their highly touted prospects take steps forward, such as Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, and Frans Nielsen.

The Penguins would be wise to jump on these youngsters quickly, as they tend to struggle against the Islanders anyway. If the Isles get a lead in the game, they may be able to bottle the Penguins up in the neutral zone. Plus, Joey MacDonald proved in the last meeting that he has the ability to single handedly steal points for this team. He was the main reason the Penguins weren't able to complete their comeback in regulation time back on November 8th.

The Islanders seem to have used to the same formula over the years to get to the Penguins: 1. Create turnovers 2. Turn those turnovers into goals 3. Hit everything that moves. Brendan Witt has a long standing relationship with Evgeni Malkin and isn't afraid to show him by knocking him around. When it isn't Witt, look for Andy Sutton to be a physical presence.

The Penguins are hoping that their power play will get back to being the difference maker it was earlier in the year for them. Michel Therrien has made some changes to the units, adding Tyler Kennedy to the top grouping and Matt Cooke to the second. The first unit will also go back to featuring Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski on the points with Sidney Crosby, Kennedy and Satan down low. Unit two is filled out by Phillipe Boucher, Kris Letang, Cooke, Jordan Staal and Petr Sykora. These units look pretty formidable on paper, but seeing them in action tonight will tell the tale...let's just hope that they shoot the puck...A LOT!

Dany Sabourin, who has been great for the Penguins, gets the nod once again this evening.

I will be watching the game as I make some Thanksgiving preparations and will be checking in periodically throughout.

Game Notes:

Evgeni Malkin leads the NHL in points (31) and assists (25).

Sidney Crosby is tied for eighth in the NHL with 25 points and fifth in assists with 18 as of Nov. 24. Crosby is averaging 22:39 minutes of ice time per game, a team high, and ranks third in the NHL among forwards.

Mike Zigomanis currently leads the NHL in faceoff percentage at 65%. He has won 29 of 41 faceoffs (70%) over his last three games.

Tyler Kennedy has points in four of his last five games, including points in two consecutive games. The Penguins have played nine games this month with Kennedy registering points in all but three of them. Kennedy is a plus-5 over his last five games, and leads the team with a plus-8 rating overall.

Alex Goligoski leads all rookie defenseman in points with 10, ranking third among rookie defenseman in average ice time with 19:26 per game.

Dany Sabourin has a 1.66 goals-against average with a .932 save percentage in seven games this season. He ranks second in shootouts with a .875 save percentage among goalies with at least two shootout appearances.

17 of 18 Penguins skaters registered a hit in their Nov. 22 game versus the Canucks. Brooks Orpik, who ranks second in the NHL with 77 hits led the way, registering five hits. The Penguins rank ninth in the NHL in hits (227) in nine road games this season.

The Penguins rank sixth in the NHL in faceoff percentage with 52%. They have won 53% over their last four contests.

The Penguins have trailed after two periods in 10 games this season. In those 10 games, the Penguins have come back to defeat their opponent six times, an NHL high. The last time they accomplished this feat was Nov. 15 versus Buffalo when they scored four goals in the third period.

The Penguins and Islanders have gone to a shootout five times. Three of those five have taken place on Long Island, where the Penguins are 1-2 in those games. Their only victory was Nov. 8 with Petr Sykora tallied his second game-deciding goal in a shootout this season.

Milestone Watch:

Pascal Dupuis is eight assists shy of reaching 100 in his career.
Petr Sykora needs three 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’ goaltenders.
Mark Eaton is two games shy of 400 games in his career.
Jordan Staal is two goals shy of reaching 50 in his career and 17 games shy of playing in his 200th career game.
Rob Scuderi needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 in his career.
Miroslav Satan is four goals shy of reaching 350 in his career.
Philippe Boucher is nine goals shy of reaching 100 for his career.
Kris Letang is 10 games shy of playing in his 100th NHL game.
Michel Therrien is 10 wins shy of winning his 200th NHL game.


Penguins Youtube of the Day: