Cross State Rivals Ramp Up For Second Meeting of the Season...
The Penguins are back on Versus this evening and with that comes another Versus game preview... however, I can't seem to find the preview I did on their site so I figured that I would post it here...
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Though the two teams have been heading in opposite directions as of late, Tuesday evening's game should be a treat for hockey fans on both sides of the Commonwealth. You see, when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers get together for a game of shinny, it is anything but friendly.
The records don't matter. The place in the standings? Usually an afterthought.
It pretty much comes down to emotions.
Emotions that have built up over years of battling each other just boil to the surface and ooze across the ice like a primordial sludge. There is no other way to say it...these two teams do not like each other and they don't do a good job of hiding that fact.
Over the more than forty years that these two teams have been battling, each side has had its moments of glory. The Flyers owned the early and middle years of the all-time series, while the Penguins have been very successful in recent years. But, as I mentioned above, the winning and losing tends to get lost in the dislike.
Penguins radio color commentator and former player Phil Bourque has been around the series for years and experienced the ups and the downs that come with it. He experienced part of a losing streak in the old Philadelphia Spectrum that went on for 15 years and is now experiencing a Penguins resurgence.
"We weren't the only team that got clubbed by the Flyers," said Bourque, "but, when we went to the Spectrum, as much as you wanted to believe you were going to win, you just knew something bad was going to happen. You had the feeling you were going to get beat up, and not just on the scoreboard. They never took their foot off the gas pedal. They kept hammering us. It wasn't enough to rub our noses in it, they grabbed by the hair on the back of our heads and shoved our faces into the pile. But those days are gone."
When the teams meet, you can all but guarantee that they will combine for a fight... or three. Pad their penalty minute stat line and play some good hockey. Especially these days... Though the hate still bubbles over, each team possesses some of the best young talent in the National Hockey League and they do not like to be shown up by "the other side."
The Penguins two-headed monster of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for 79 points in 49 regular season games against the Flyers, while the Flyers trio of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne have posted 73 points in 83 regular season games since the 05-06 season.
These two teams have also met in back to back Stanley Cup Playoffs series with the Penguins coming away with victories in both of them. Those series did nothing to take away from this amazing rivalry, in fact, it probably enhanced it to a great extent. Though the Penguins took the two series by a combined 8 games to 3, they were much closer than they appeared. I can also guarantee that the two will most likely meet again in the future...maybe not this season, but the time will come.
I think that Flyers tough guy Riley Cote, who has had more than a couple run ins with the Penguins, spoke for everyone involved last season when he summarized the rivalry like this...
"They have some guys who irritate you and get under your skin, and guys you'd like to rub their face in the ice sometimes. But that's just hockey. Emotions rise. You get caught up in the moment."
Caught up in the moment is what we will all be tomorrow night as the latest chapter between these bitter rivals unfolds starting at 7:00 pm right here on the Versus Network.
Penguins Malkin Getting Himself back on Track
Evgeni Malkin finally found the back of the net after going close to six full hockey games without a goal. His blast from the top of the circle beat Florida Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun in overtime to clinch the Penguins third consecutive 3-2 win over the Panthers. Malkin, who had 30 SOG during his goaless drought, finally put number 31 in the net. It was a long time coming for last year's Art Ross Trophy winner and one that will hopefully get him rolling again.
“I know how tough it is to not score for five or six games,” Malkin said. “I stayed focused and didn’t get nervous.
"I tried that shot a couple times [during] the game and every time it was blocked by a defenseman. This time, during a 4-on-3, there's wasn't a defenseman [in the way], so I [had a lane to shoot]."
Malkin has seemingly figured out why he wasn't as successful in the goal scoring department as he has been in the past and is looking to change things...
"My mentality is to make a perfect shot, not just to shoot," Malkin said. "I need to stop that."
Power Play Finally Gets Off the Schneid
The Penguins power play put a 0 for 22 streak behind them Saturday night with Malkin's overtime game winning goal. Head Coach Dan Bylsma was thrilled to see the goal and hopes that the team's woes with the extra man are behind them.
``I hope it's what we needed,'' Bylsma said. ``We've had some good power plays but not scored... Sometimes the only thing we hadn't done was score a goal. Tonight, I think you saw us squeezing our sticks a little bit more on the power play, and sometimes you need a goal to release that. We were pretty happy to see that slap shot go in.''
Bylsma and company are hoping that the league's third highest scoring offense (101 goals for) can add to its paltry total of 19 PPGs this season in the coming games.
Injury Update
The Penguins are once again 100% healthy. Chris Kunitz was the final missing piece and he made his return from a lower body injury Saturday evening. Here is hoping that the Penguins can make it through the rest of December unscathed.
Penguins Quotable
The Penguins Mike Rupp discusses what has been a career year for him to this point...
"It's a bonus for me, I feel like. I like the way I've been playing. I like the way I've been used. I like the way our team's playing.Those things just kind of happen in the process. I'm not setting out every night thinking, 'I've got to score.' We've got those guys in place who, over time, are going to win us hockey games each night. I'm happy to be able to contribute."
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Interesting that Scott Hartnell and Dan Carcillo were wearing toques during the warm up...not sure what the motivation was... I guess getting ready for the Winter Classic is as good a guess as any.
It is neat to see the toques come out for things such as the Winter Classic, as it just takes you back to a time when we were all kids playing in the streets and or ponds with our friends during a snow day. Always great for some nostalgia...
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Dan Bylsma has made Max Talbot his healthy scratch tonight along with Martin Skoula.
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I just had a horrible flashback to the days when Brian Boucher used to kill the Penguins... in the playoffs!! He is in the same crease in which he won an historic overtime match-up against the Penguins!! The horror!
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The Penguins are on the power play after Matt Carle was whistled for holding...
The new look power play his the ice and looked a bit out of sync...at least for the first few moments. Evgeni Malkin even passed up a great opportunity in favor of a drop pass to Sidney Crosby, who wasn't expecting it. Once the boys got back into the zone, they set up and Malkin/Gonchar played catch at the point before Gonchar took a one timer that deflected off of Rusland Fedotenko in the high slot and to Crosby who buried it...
1-0 Penguins... is the power play already back on track??
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Three fights for a buck!
Mike Rupp and Arron Asham, Eric Godard and Riley Cote and Craig Adams all fought within a fourteen second span... all six of them getting five minute fighting majors... unbelievable. I don't think I have ever seen back to back to back fights off of three consecutive face-offs...sure, three fights at once happen from time to time, but not on separate face-offs... wild!
There was one despicable act during the fights and it was Arron Asham taking a swing at Mike Rupp while he was down... Rupp was in the same situation earlier in the bout when Asham fell down and he waited for AA to get his feet back under him...
The Penguins answered the fight fest with an almost immediate goal. Sidney Crosby carried the puck into the zone on the right wing... slowed up and launched a shot into Boucher. Guerin went to the net found the loose puck and directed it in...
2-0 Penguins...
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It is almost too hard to keep up with everything that is going on down on the ice, as every player is engaged. If you follow the puck, you might miss something....follow the guys behind the play and miss something else.
Jeff Carter just rung a wicked wrist shot off of the post to the left of Marc Andre Fleury, but Mike Richards was unable to get good wood on the rebound. They are pressing though...
Dan Carcillo left the penalty box to get attended too in some way... maybe some hand work... not sure. He is back on the ice now.
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Evgeni Malkin was just called for tripping and the Flyers scored almost immediately off of the faceoff...
Mike Richards won the face-off back to Matt Carle, who flipped the puck towards the net. It hit Richards, who threw it towards the net. Dan Carcillo was in front waiting for the rebound...glided across the crease and tossed the puck into the open cage with his backhand...
2-1 Penguins...
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Evgeni Malkin was again whistled in the offensive zone, this time for holding. I am not sure I saw it from where I am sitting, but they are calling this game pretty close since the fight....
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Jordan Staal just scored a short handed goal. He took the pass and walked into the zone...Matt Carle sort of backed off and tried to stick check as he glided towards the slot. Staal ripped a wrist shot past Carle and Boucher...
3-1 Penguins...
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You can just feel the Springtime meeting between these two teams for a third consecutive year... let's hope that the Fly guys can continue to get back on track...
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The Penguins forwards are outworking the Flyers defense in the slot and corners... they are just moving around the Flyers defense and coming in unabated on Boucher... I don't think I have ever seen that with this team. Especially with some of the guys on that blue line.... what gives?
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If you were just looking at the stats for the period, you might be led to believe that the Flyers were actually the ones who were ahead 3-1. They have done better in the face-off circle, outhit the Penguins and blocked more shots. The two teams are tied in shots with nine... but it is the Penguins who are currently sitting on the two goal lead.
I think a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that guys like Dan Carcillo are still skating around yapping and trying to start scraps instead of playing the game. I thought the "three for a buck" that we had earlier in the first period would get that out of each team's system, but it hasn't stopped Carcillo from trying to get both Matt Cooke and Bill Guerin to go with him.
The Penguins are doing a nice job of controlling the puck in the neutral and offensive zones, which has translated into three first period goals. They need to keep that up. The Flyers defense just looks out of sorts and hasn't been able to keep the puck when they get it.
Brian Boucher has made some nice stops through one period, but the Penguins have confused him on several occasions by flipping the puck to the net. When it has been bouncing, he seems to lose the puck a bit.
Overall, a good period of hockey for the Penguins... more as it happens.
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The Penguins were just whistled for another offensive zone penalty, this time Ruslan Fedotenko.
The PK has looked pretty impressive thus far... with Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal and Jay McKee just combined to wipe out roughly 45 seconds...
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Peter Laviolette just used his time out... I think he was noticing his team's frustration and wanted to settle them down a bit. Scott Hartnell had just clubbed the end board with his stick after getting beaten for an icing call.
Also interesting to point out that Brian Boucher has started back to back games 18 times in his career...he has won both of them only three times...
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Evgeni Malkin just drew a penalty as he was trying to move to the net. He came down the left wing and was impeded by Kimmo Timonen...he kept his feet moving and went down. Penguins on the power play...
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The Birds are back in the box, this time it was Mike Rupp who was whistled for roughing. The Flyers swarmed the net, but weren't able to chip away at the Penguins lead... in fact, they finished the power play and found themselves down by another goal...
Scott Harnell tried to force a pass back to Matt Carle and the puck came out of the zone as the penalty expired... Sidney Crosby picked it up and was off to the races on what amounted to a 3 on 1. Crosby found Kris Letang, who put a shot off of Boucher's left pad...Jordan Staal followed the play perfectly and went to the net where he was rewarded with a big rebound, steering it into the cage.
4-1 Penguins...
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After two periods the Penguins are ahead 4-1...
The Penguins outshot the Flyers 16-9 in the second period and had plenty of chances... the Flyers got a bit better in their own zone, but ultimately they again struggled to control the puck and the Penguins were able to control the play in the zone...
Marc Andre Fleury has looked sharp when he has had to be.
Jordan Staal is flying...amazing what a couple of goals can do for a guy's confidence. This could bode well for the next stretch of games, as Jordan tends to stay hot for a while once he catches on fire...
Sidney Crosby has 3 more points tonight (1G 2A) and is really looking like a guy who can make a run at the Art Ross this season.
More as it happens...
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The period is underway and the Penguins immediately administered a wake up call in the form of a big hit on Jeff Carter by Chris Kunitz. Carter came around the boards and Kunitz just went in and lined him up with a clean check...
One trip down the ice and the Penguins found themselves back in the box after Ruslan Fedotenko was whistled for boarding Dan Carcillo. Carcillo may have embellished the call a bit, but the Flyers are on the power play...
The Flyers managed to get a puck in behind Fleury, but it looks as if Dan Carcillo might have kicked it in with his right skate...
After further review... it was ruled no goal...
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The Penguins went back on the power play when Scott Hartnell was whistled for holding the stick. They didn't get much going with the extra man, but Dan Bylsma did give Jordan Staal a look in front of the net. He was creating some havoc out there with his size, but the boys couldn't take advantage of the fact that he had planted himself there...
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Ruslan Fedotenko just put the Penguins up 5-1... he and Malkin worked the play that was so successful for them in the playoffs last season. Malkin carried the puck into the zone and dropped the puck between his legs to Tank where he could one time it... nice shot right under the crossbar...
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