What a turn of events at Mellon Arena. The Arena press box was in the process of emptying out and we were all on our way down stairs to discuss a fifth consecutive loss with the Penguins players and coach.
I paused in view of the ice with a couple of cronies to see Evgeni Malkin flying up ice with a head of steam... There was roughly 8 seconds on the clock when Malkin picked the puck up behind the Penguins net. The clock sat at 4 seconds as he crossed center ice and I said to a friend, "They don't have enough time..." Well, Malkin and Bill Guerin proved me wrong in combining for a goal that found the back of the net with .04 seconds remaining in regulation. Malkin passed the puck cross ice to Guerin who one timed it inside the far post.
The eruption of the Penguins and their fans practically blew the roof off of the old barn...
Then came overtime and the Penguins came out flying for the extra period. They dumped the puck into the zone, which forced Tim Thomas out to play the puck behind his net. He seemed to forget that opposing players might be baring down on him and sort of stutter stepped allowing Jordan Staal to get to the puck in his feet. Staal pushed it to the front of the net, where Pascal Dupuis was waiting to dump it into a yawning cage. The goal went as Dupuis's second of the game and the 100th of his career.
It was amazing to see the impact that Evgeni Malkin has on this team. It is easy to lose sight of what he and Sidney Crosby bring to the table, until they are not around for a while. Malkin came out flying and playing with an insane amount of energy...that rubbed off on his teammates.
That energy also forces the opposing defense to play back on their heels and to make quicker decisions. He bares down on defenders better than many others in the league. He showed that skill against one of the best defensemen in the league tonight in Zdeno Chara. Malkin blew past Chara on more than one occasion tonight, something that you just don't see happen often.
The Penguins got goals from Jay McKee and Mark Eaton, which is one of those events that causes you to check the horizon for the horsemen of the apocalypse considering that it must be one of the signs... I mean it just doesn't happen. A goal from one in a game, maybe... but both? Never...
Though the defense was tested and the goaltending wasn't great, the team played a pretty good game... at least in the offensive zone. It was very entertaining and the boys finally stopped the bleeding.
One note to keep an eye on... it looked as if Alex Goligoski might have tweaked a leg or muscle, as he had some trouble getting up ice and on to the bench right before the Guerin goal. It is also worth noting that he was on the cover of the Penguins in game iCETime magazine... could the curse be rearing its head again? We will find out in the morning...
More tomorrow...
Third Period:
The Penguins are getting some great chances, but have yet to beat Thomas for the go ahead goal. The Two-Headed Monster has been at the forefront of most of the offense and that is to be expected. However, the rest of the team has shown some signs of life thus far.
Mike Rupp is a guy who has been firing the puck from all over the ice. He has been working hard in both ends and it would be great to see him rewarded with a goal.
Evgeni Malkin is playing like a guy who was fired up to get back in the line-up and I wouldn't be surprised to see him rewarded with a goal either. He has been flying...
* * * * *
Mark Eaton just cashed in for the Penguins from about the same area that Jay McKee did earlier. He took a cross ice feed from Sidney Crosby and one timed it past Thomas. Thomas did get a blocker on the puck, but it still got behind him.
Nice reward for Eaton, who has played a nice game thus far. He also had a shot hit the post earlier in the night.
4-3 Penguins...
* * * * *
The Bruins just got their chance to tie this game... Matt Cooke was whistled for high sticking... a four minute penalty.
During the first minute of the PK, Sidney Crosby was called for tripping, giving the Bruins the two man advantage for a full two minutes.
This will be a daunting task to be sure... Boston has taken its time out to maximize their chance...
* * * * *
The Penguins are doing an admirable job in killing this penalty, but the Bruins have gotten themselves some nice chances.
The Bs finally got themselves set up and working the puck around very efficiently. Getting shots from their points and getting men in front of Johnson. They finally got a big shot from Zdeno Chara, Johnson kicked a juicy rebound out and David Krejci deposited it behind Johnson.
4-4
* * * * *
Sidney Crosby got himself a break away moments after getting out of the penalty box... he wasn't able to cash in on the short handed opportunity, as Thomas got his glove on the attempted backhand.
It was a chance that might have resulted in a goal had Crosby gotten his shot off a second sooner... unfortunately, Thomas was able to follow the forehand backhand move and was in perfect position.
* * * * *
The Bruins just pulled ahead 5-4 on a Zdeno Chara goal. He got the puck at the point and just let a snap shot go... It didn't have much mustard on it, but it found the back of the net behind Johnson. Chara seemed pretty surprised that it found pay dirt...
5-4 Bruins...
Second Period:
The Bruins needed only four three plus minutes to knot the score at two... the Penguins struggled to get the puck out of their zone and Michael Ryder popped it behind their defense and came down the wing. He fired a nicely placed wrist shot past Brent Johnson...picking the short side.
2-2
* * * * *
Mark Eaton just threw a nice screened shot on the Bruins goal, getting it past Thomas, but it deflected off of the far post and out.
Moments later, Jordan Staal showed how snake bitten he really is right now and had a glowing chance right in front. He threw a one timer on net low along the ice, but Thomas kicked it aside as Staal was tackled.
* * * * *
Sidney Crosby just put the Penguins up 3-2. Evgeni Malkin made a nice pass to the point from below the goal line and Alex Goligoski one timed it along the ice and at the net. Crosby glided into the path of the puck and got his stick on it, tipping it over Tim Thomas who was sliding across to make the save.
3-2 Penguins...
* * * * *
Tim Thomas just made an excellent stick save on Mike Rupp. I am not sure that he knew that he would get it, but his quick stick work definitely saved a goal. The puck came off of the back boards to Rupp, who one timed it at the goal. Thomas reached with his stick behind himself and knocked the shot away. Great save...
* * * * *
Alex Goligoski just broke a pane of glass behind the Bruins net. It looked like his shot might have been deflected, which gives you some idea as to the velocity that was behind that one...
* * * * *
Derek Morris took a pass at the point and threw it to the net. The puck deflected off of Deryk Engelland's stick and changed course, before finding the twine behind Brent Johnson.
3-3...
* * * * *
Moments after the goal, Evgeni Malkin turned on the speed and blew by Zdeno Chara at the right point. He got in behind the defense and tried to pick the corner over Thomas. TT made a nice save, but the puck just laid in front of him. A pile up ensued and the Penguins got a power play as Blake Wheeler was whistled...
The Penguins were not able to cash in on the opportunity...
First Period:
Brent Johnson is in goal for the Penguins. Most of my press box cronies are just as surprised about that as I was. There was no talk about his getting the call earlier today...however, I wasn't at Mellon Arena for the skate.
Crosby and Malkin are taking their first shift as I type this and they have already produced a goal.
The THM worked to stay onsides as the puck was brought into the zone and Malkin flipped the puck to Jay McKee who was in behind the defense...yes, you read that correctly. McKee went forehand, backhand and threw the puck over the shoulder of Tim Thomas...
1-0 Penguins...
* * * * *
Malkin's assist was the 100th of his career. Nice to see him get that out of the way...
* * * * *
Deryk Engelland just took a dance with Byron Bitz... it was a pretty spirited fight and Engelland got the better of Bitz. The fight energized the team as well as the building...
* * * * *
Brent Johnson just had a "where's the puck moment" and was on the other side of his crease when a pass came to Blake Wheeler in front. Wheeler took the feed from Krejci on the right side of the crease and it was in before he could make more than a fleeting attempt at getting over...
1-1...
* * * * *
The Bruins just got called for holding the stick... Brad Marchand and Alex Goligoski got tied up and Go Go's stick sort of got caught under Marchand's arm. Pens on the power play... will Malkin's presence end the PP drought?
* * * * *
The drought lives on... thought the team did have a couple of chances.
* * * * *
Pascal Dupuis just picked up his fourth goal of the season. Ben Lovejoy took a shot from the point that deflected around in front. Dupuis picked up the rebound, made a nice play in waiting and sliding to his left before flipping the puck into the top of the net.
2-1 Penguins...
* * * * *
Steve Begin was just called for slashing... Penguins will have a carryover power play...
One period in the books...
Two-Headed Monster Returns as Injuries Continue to Mount...
The situation is actually getting laughable -- the Penguins injury situation, that is. They cannot catch a break these days, as they can barely make it through a game without losing another regular. I mean, you can deal with a four game losing streak, but losing contributor after contributor eventually gets to be too much to overcome.
The latest bad luck Bird...Chris Kunitz.
Dan Bylsma broke the news this morning following the Penguins game day skate...Kunitz will be out for two weeks to rest and recover from a lower body injury. Apparently this injury is nothing new and has been bothering Kunitz for a while now. The team decided to pull him from the line-up rather than have him go on being a game to game decision.
"Chris has been dealing with a lower-body injury for a while now," Bylsma said this morning. "At this point in time we're going to take two weeks off for a rest period to try and get him healthy, get him back to focusing on playing the game and not worrying about how healthy he is when he gets out there.
"It's not something that has happened in the last two days. He's been dealing with this for a while and now he'll have a rest period for a bit."
The team recalled forward Mark Letestu from it's Wilkes Barre-Scranton AHL affiliate and he will make his debut this evening against the Boston Bruins at Mellon Arena. Letestu was called up earlier in the week, but didn't get into the line-up. His time is finally here...
If there is a silver lining to the injuries, it is that the team is getting an opportunity to see what they have in Wilkes Barre-Scranton. They had previously called up two of their top defensive prospects in Deryk Engelland and Ben Lovejoy and now Letestu on the front end. All three are sure to see extensive action this evening and beyond.
The team will also get a boost from expected return of Evgeni Malkin. Geno will be back in the line-up tonight as reported on Thursday. Here is hoping that he can get the offense rolling, as another issue caused by the injuries has been a huge drought in the goal department. The team has scored only one over it's last three games.
Malkin will skate with Sidney Crosby this evening in a hope to generate offense. The two headed monster has succeeded in these situations before and it is something that Bylsma has been thinking about doing leading up to Malkin's return.
"I thought this was a good time," Bylsma said. "I had been thinking for about a week this would be a good time to put them together and see the spark it creates."
Malkin and Crosby will be joined on a line by Ruslan Fedoteko, a guy who could use some jump starting of his own. Fedotenko has struggled as much as anyone on the roster offensively as of late.
Hopefully this new look line-up will be the key to scoring some goals and getting the Penguins back on the winning track. Though the team's hot start has given them some wiggle room in the standings, they don't want to leave too many points sitting on the table.
I will be live at Mellon Arena this evening bringing you all of the action. Please join me here and in the comments section...
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