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The Penguins, hockey and more, by the PG's Seth Rorabaugh. |
PREGAME
-Welcome back hockey:
-Hard to believe the season is here huh?
-First things first, we're setting the over under on the broadcasters mentioning the Sedins being twins at 14 1/2:

-EN reader philmatt24 sends in a few jersey sightings. Here's a classic, Stan Smyl:

-This is amazing. Jan Hrdina:

-The Penguins' starters are Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek and Marc-Andre Fleury.
-Their scratches are Steve MacIntyre, Brooks Orpik, Richard Park.
-Alex Burrows, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alexander Edler, Sami Salo, Roberto Luongo.
-Their scratches are Andrew Alberts, Andrew Ebbetts and Alexander Sulzer.
-Staal is interviewed before the game and shows off the new helmets with numbers on the front:

-Yea or nea?
-Mark Donnelly handles the anthem. He's a pro:
x2
-Brent Johnson is on the bench looking pretty mad already:

-Evgeni Malkin, Staal and Chris Kunitz will serve as alternate captains.
FIRST PERIOD
19:02: From the right circle of his own zone, Kris Letang fires a pass up to James Neal on the right wing. Neal pushes the puck up the wing against would-be Penguin Dan Hamhuis. He flicks a backhanded pass to Steve Sullivan. Sullivan is there but can't get a clean shot on net. Great play by Letang and Neal.
18:06: Deryk Engelland sneaks up the right wing and swats a shot on net. Luongo kicks it away.
16:15: A puck hops to the right point. Ben Lovejoy is there and chops it on net. Luongo eats it up.
15:14: Cooke and Kevin Bieksa race for a puck behind the Vancouver net. Bieksa hooks up Cooke who slips and falls back-first into the boards. Bieksa heads to the box. Neal, Sullivan, Letang, Malkin and Kunitz take the ice. Sullivan is at the left point.
14:56: Greatest. Power. Play. Ever. Greatest. Scoring. Winger. Ever. Neal gets a pass on the goal line on the right wing. he move towards the net and simply throws the puck into Luong's leg. It hits off his right pad and deflects into the net. That looked stunningly simple. Malkin and Letang get assists. Penguins 1-0.
11:57: Chris Higgins flicks a wrister from a tough angle on the left wing on net. Fleury shrugs it off with a shoulder.
10:33: Versus reviews the Matt Cooke-Ryan McDonagh hit:
9:22: Jannik Hansen is sent off for elbowing Zbynek Michalek. Sullivan, Letang, Neal, Malkin and Kunitz take the ice. Sullivan is on the right point.
8:04: Off a little give an go play out of the left wing corner, Letestu deals a pass to Kennedy in the left circle. Kennedy grips and wrips a wrister off the near post.
7:30: Time to re-write the power play records. Dupuis gets a puck behind the net and immediately backhands it too Cooke approaching the net. Cooke snaps off a wrister by Luongo's left shoulder. Some great work down low. Dupuis gets the only assist. Penguins 2-0.
7:15: Cooke used to be a Canuck:

4:55: Malkin coasts up the left wing on a two-on-one with Letang against Hamhuis. Malkin deals to Letang who snaps off a rising wrister. Luongo fights it off as Letang slides into him. Luongo covers the rebound to cover play.
4:35: Kunitz taps a pass from the left wing to Staal int he left circle. Staal swats it on net. Luongo kicks it out.
3:40: Put in Charlie Batch! Maxim Lapierre controls the puck in the right wing corner and just chucks a shot at net from a tough angle. It slides up Fleury's left leg and jumps into the net. Oof. That's a brutal one to give up. Fleury is disgusted as he reached into the goal and throws the puck out. The goal is unassisted. Fleury could claim one. Penguins 2, Canucks 1.
2:03: Maybe this Fleury guy is okay. Daniel Sedin controls the puck behind the net, roams around the right side and snaps off a wrister. Fleury does a split and snags it with his glove. What a save. A video review confirms the puck didn't go in.
1:57: A loose puck slides to the right point. Sami Salo booms a slapper on net. Fleury kicks it out.
1:34: From the right circle, Letestu snaps off a wrister to the far side. Luongo punches it away with his blocker.
0:32: Ballad coasts into the offensive zone and chucks a wrister on net. Fleury gloves it.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Canucks 1.
FIRST INTERMISSION

-If not for a junk goal by Lapierre, this is a pretty one-sided game.
-The Penguins dominated things for the most part. They controlled play for the most part and kept the puck in the Canucks' zone.
-Evgeni Malkin looked good. He controlled the puck like it was glued to his stick.
-James Neal was a force. Even if you took away his goal, he looked like a weapon.
-Where did this power play come from? How refreshing is this to see?
-Did anyone tell the Sedins the season began?
-The Penguins have a 10-9 edge in shots.
-Staal, Higgins and Edler each lead the game with two.
-Letang and Paul Martin each lead the game with 8:09 of ice time.
-Bieksa leads the Canucks with 7:33.
-The Canucks have an 11-10 lead in faceoffs (52 percent).
-Staal is 5 for 8 in faceoffs (63 percent).
-Manny Malhotra is 3 for 5 (60 percent).
-Salo leads the game with two blocked shots.
SECOND PERIOD
19:18: Daniel Sedin goes wide on the right wing against Letang and flicks a backhanded pass to the opposite side of the crease. Burrows is there and punches it on net. Fleury is able to slide to his right and kicks it out.
18:26: And the Penguins head to the box. It took them a while. Malkin sticks an elbow into the face of Higgins while battling for the puck. That was pretty careless. Staal, Martin, Michalek and Dupuis take the ice.
18:11: From the right point, Henrik Sedin tries to feed a pass to Burrows in front of the crease. Zbynek Michalek is able to poke check it away.
16:51: WHAT?!?! Matt Cooke?!?! Cooke glides up the right wing one-on-one against Bieksa. He gains the offensive zone, uses Bieska as a screen and snaps off a wrister by Luongo on the far side. What?!? A bad goal for Luongo to give up. Ouch. A huge momentum shift for the Penguins. Staal and Letang. Fire Dave Nonis. And Cooke used to be a Canuck. Penguins 3-1.

16:21: As Malkin's penalty expires, Edler whips a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury knocks it down and covers despite traffic. Daniel Sedin jabs Fleury's glove hoping for a rebound. Fleury punches his leg with his blocker.
13:31: Kennedy attempts a wraparound on his forehand from the left of the cage. Luongo's right foot denies him. Before Kennedy can do anything with the rebound, Edler runs him over.
12:40: Daniel Sedin controls the puck in deep on the right wing and deals a pass to Hamhuis trailing on the left point. Hamhuis is in the clear but the pass is in his skates and he can't control it.
11:19: Ballard is in deep on the left wing and whips a wrister at Fleury's chest. Fleury doesn't handle the shot cleanly and allows the the puck to trickle through the crease. He lunges out to cover it.
8:47: A quick slapper by Chris Tanev from the left point is blocked by Kunitz.8:01: Letang is called for hooking Daniel Sedin. Cooke, Michalek, Staal and Martin take the ice.
7:54: Edler rockets a one-timer from the right point. Fleury traps it against his body and freezes play.
7:23: Burrows and Martin chase after a puck in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone. Burrows hooks Martin on the hands. Martin falls a little too easily. Officials send Burrows to the box. Four on four for 1:23.
6:31: Salo gets a little space on the right half wall and booms a slapper wide to the far side.
6:19: Letsetu flips a cross ice pass to the Staal on the left wing. Staal gets some space and whips a low wrister on net. Luongo knocks it dead and covers to freeze play.
6:01: The Letang minor is killed. The Penguins will get 37 seconds of power-play time.
5:03: Off a sloppy three-on-two, Marco Sturm whips a puck wide to the left of the cage.
4:56: Ben Lovejoy gains the offensive zone on the right wing and pounds a slapper on net from the point. Luongo eats it up.
4:32: Michalek chucks a wrister on net from the right point. Luongo eats it up.
3:14: Joe Vitale hustles up the left wing and flips a backhanded shot on net. Luongo keeps it out.
2:44: Off a faceoff win in the left circle, Michalek chucks a wrister on net from the left point. Luongo fights it off.
2:26: Burrows flips a backhander on net from the slot. Fleury boots it out.
2:13: Keith Ballard on the rush off the left wing? Okay. Henrik Sdein enters the offensive zone off the right wing and deals a pass to Ballard flying down the left wing. Ballard attacks the net and clunks a wrister which hits off the bottom of Fleury's blocker and into the cage. Great play by Sedin to identify Ballard. Daniel and Henrik Sedin each get assists. Penguins 3-2.
(Yes, we know that's an old song. We haven't found an update version yet.)
0:48: Neal glides up the slot and snaps off a low wrister. Luongo knocks it dead and covers. Neal sniffs around the net for a rebound but is knocked to the ice by Aaron Volpatti for his troubles.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Canucks 2.

-The Canucks quietly controlled that period. They settled their play down and kept play in the Penguins' zone for the most part.
-Letang didn't exactly have a great period. He needs to settle down.
-Cooke is kind of key to the Penguins' special teams, huh?
-Luongo just looks shaky. If some Penguins fans don't like Fleury, imagine what they would be like with Luongo.
-The Sedins picked up things a bit in that period and created a few chances.
-The Canucks are clearly a lesser team without Kesler.
-The Penguins have a 19-21 edge in shots.
-Edler leads the game with four.
-Lovejoy and Staal each lead the Penguins with three.
-Martin leads the game with 17:59 of ice time.
-Bieksa leads the Canucks with 16:24.
-The Penguins have a 23-22 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).
-Staal is 9 of 16 in faceoffs (56 percent).
-Lapierre is 4 for 6 (67 percent).
THIRD PERIOD
19:53: Kennedy chops a slapper on net from the right point. Luongo kicks it away.
18:54: The Penguins catch a BIG break. Hansen hustles through hip check by Engelland and up the right wing after a puck. Letang chases after him and leaves the crease wide open. Hansen centers a pass to Higgins all alone in the crease. Higgins taps the puck wide to the right of the cage. Oof. Brutal play by Letang.
17:05: Burrows whips a wrister on net from the left circle. Fleury boots it out.
16:50: Kuntiz hustles up ice through the neutral zone, gains the Canucks' blue line on the left wing and whips a wrister to the far side. Luongo gets a piece of it. The puck trickles in the crease. Luongo falls back and covers to freezes play. Yeesh.
13:55: Kennedy collects a loose puck in the crease and tries to jam on in but is denied by Luongo's right foot.
12:35: Off a give and go, Neal deals a pass to Malkin trailing in the crease. Malkin guns a shot wide.
12:19: Burrows attemps a wraparound from the right of the cage and is hooked by Martin. Fleury denies his shot. The puck is lose in the slot. Salo steps up and hammers a slapper high of the cage.
12:09: On a delayed penalty, Henrik Sedin backhands a pass from teh left wing boards to the left circle. Daniel Sedin takes the pass and picks the corner on the near side by Fleury's glove hand. What a shot. The Penguins were way too sloppy in their own zone. Henrik Sedin and Salo get assists. Canucks 3, Penguins 3.
11:05: Edler rockets a slapper from the right point. Fleury traps it against his chest.
10:01: Lovejoy takes a pass at the right point, shows a shot and chops a pass to the slot. Sullivan is there and attempts to re-direct it but does so wide to the far side.
9:50: Neal has a chance in tight but can't beat Luongo.
9:18: Henrik Sedin has a chance in the right circle and whips a backhander to the far side. Fleury kicks it out with his right leg.
9:17: Michalek is nabbed for holding against Higgins. Martin, Staal, Adams and Letang take the ice. Big two minutes here.
7:52: Bieska snaps off a wrister from the right point. Sturm fights it off despite traffic.
7:21: Salo booms a one-timer from the left point. Fleury boots it out.
7:17: Michalek's minor is killed. The Penguins dodged one there.
6:48: Engelland controls a puck along the left wing wall of the Penguins' zone but falls down. Lapierre jumps on the loose puck and has a wide open chance but he whips a shot no where near the cage.
5:37: Kuntiz grips and rips a wrister off the left wing. Luongo fight sit off.
4:37: Tanev pushes the puck up the right wing and chucks a wrister on net. Fleury snags it and freezes play.
4:04: Staal leaves the ice and retreats to the locker room for unclear reasons.
3:13: Malkin has a chance in tight but Bieksa ties him up enough to force a turnover. Great play by Bieska.
1:45: AAAAhhhhhhhh!!!! Cody Hodgson cuts across the slot with Martin challenging with a poke check. Fleury challenges too but he's jammed up and out of position. Hansen releases a wrister. Martin and/or Fleury get a piece of it and force the puck to bounce wide. That was close.
0:50: Bieska chucks a puck towards the net. It hits a body or two and bounces in on net. Fleury nudges it out with his right leg.
0:43: Sullivan goes wide on the right wing and deals a pass to Neal near the cage. Neal snaps off a quick wrister which hits a body in front.
0:00: End of period. Canucks 3, Penguins 3.

-The Canucks have a 34-27 lead in shots.
x3
OVERTIME
4:25: Bieksa attacks the net from the slot and taps a backhanded pass to Daniel Sedin to the left of the cage. Sedin sweeps a one-timer wide on the near side.
3:32: Neal stickhandles in a crowd and snaps off a wrister which Luongo punches away with his blocker.
2:02: Malkin pushes the puck up the right wing and challenges Hamhuis one-on-one. Hamhuis holds his ground and forces the puck off Malkin. Nice play.
0:54: With an icing call, the Penguins call a timeout to get a rest.
0:00: End of period. Canucks 3, Penguins 3.
FOURTH INTERMISSION

-The Canucks have a 36-28 lead in shots.
SHOOTOUT
-Former Penguin Mikael Samuelsson is up first. He's 1 for 8 in his career. He coasts in slowly, approaches the net and rips a wrister five hole. Fleury boots it out.
-Letang gets the call for the Penguins. He approaches with a little speed, flips his wrists a few times, dekes a few times, gets Luongo to commit and flips a backhander over his right leg. Penguins 1-0.
-Burrows goes right at Fleury with speed, shoes forehand, goes backhand and is robbed by Fleury's glove.
-Malkin can win it. He goes to the right slightly, lifts his right leg, cuts across the front of the crease and gets Luongo to commit to a poke check. Malkin calmly flips a forehand shot over Luongo's body. End of shootout. Penguins 1, Canucks 0. End of game. Penguins 4, Canucks 3.
POSTGAME

-Welcome back hockey. What a fun game.
-From a Penguins perspective, it would have been nice to see them win this cleanly in regulation. But the Canucks have a dangerous offense. Giving up three goals to this team is hardly a crime.
-The Penguins controlled play for the first 25 minutes or so, but it seemed like once Matt Cooke scored his second goal, the Canucks slowly took control.
-Cooke clearly made a statement. He scored two important goals and wasn't involved in anything even remotely close to a bad hit. At the same time, he didn't sacrifice his bread and butter, defense and hitting.
-How foreign is it to see the Penguins get something out of their power play?
-James Neal got his goal and that's huge for him on many levels. But it was hardly a beauty and he didn't do much the rest of the game. That said, he still had a goal. It's something to build on.
-Evgeni Malkin looked strong with the puck, but he had some inconsistencies. He just made a few bone-headed plays on occasion. That said, it was nice from a Penguins perspective to see him back.
-Per Penguins stat god Bob Grove, Malkin was held without a shot for the 13th time in his career.
-Kris Letang was brutal at times tonight. He made some bad choices and was caught of position.
-Fleury allowed one bad goal. But he shut things down when the Canucks pressed the attack late.
-Jordan Staal's last shift listed in the shift charts came with 4:37 left in regulation. That can't be good.
-UPDATE: Per Yahoo's Nick Cotsonika, Dan Byslma said Staal left the game due to dehydration.
-It took them a while, but once the Sedins got things going, they were scary. It's hard to imagine them not being in conversation for a scoring title again.
-Even with the loss of Christian Ehrhoff to free agency, the Canucks can generate quite a few offensive chances from the blue line. Alex Edler, Sam Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Keith Ballard all created some opportunities.
-Roberto Luongo is so talented, yet he appears as if he absolutely no confidence at times.
-The Canucks led in shots, 36-28.
-Edler led the game with six shots.
-Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin, Mark Letestu, Staal, Chris Kunitz and Neal each led the game with three shots.
-Paul Martin led the game with 27:43 of ice time.
-Bieksa led the Canucks with 26:27.
-The Canucks led in faceoffs, 32-27 (54 percent).
-Maxime Lapierre was 5 for 7 (71 percent).
-Staal was 12 for 21 (57 percent).
-Engelland led the game with three blocked shots.
-Salo and Cody Hodgson led the Canucks with two.
-Letang (131 points) moved past Al McDonough (130) for 60th place on the team's all-time scoring list.
-Cooke moved past Brooks Orpik and Bob Woytowich for 89th place. All three have 93 points, but Cooke (42) has more goals than Orpik (9) and Woytowich (22).

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I'm not sure what the point of this game is, because the Leafs have already won the Cup as of a few minutes ago ... *eyeroll*
Let's Go Pens!!!!!!!!