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The Penguins, hockey and more, by the PG's Seth Rorabaugh. |
PREGAME
-First things first. Evgeni Malkin is a game-time decision with what Dan Bylsma labeled as "bumps and bruises." Bylsma claimed Malkin's current ailment isn't related to his right knee which underwent surgery last season.
-Malkin was shown on Root Sports' pregame show going through warm ups without a lot of energy. That certainly doesn't bode well.
-Oilers defenseman and former Penguin Ryan Whitney, who is out with an ankle injury, gets some face time. He's sporting some salt and pepper in his beard these days:

-Malkin is scratched due to a "lower-body" injury. He will be joined by Arron Asham and Brooks Orpik.
-The Penguins' starters are Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal, Deryk Engelland, Kris Letang and Brent Johnson.
-The Oilers starters are Eric Belanger, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Smyth, Tom Gilbert, Andy "Expert" Sutton and Devan Dubnyk.
-Their scratches are Lennart Petrell, Taylor Chortney and former Penguin Corey Potter.
-Richard Park and Steve MacIntyre each make their season debuts.
-Root Sports offers the lines and defensive pairings:


-Staal and Kunitz are the only listed alternate captains.
-Park's last game with the Penguins was a 6-2 road loss to the Stars, March 16, 1997. He had a shot and was a minus-1. Petr Nedved and Darius Kasparaitis had the Penguins' goals.
FIRST PERIOD
19:55: Right off the opening draw, Edmonton fans offer a roaring "LET'S-GO OIL-ERS!"
19:22: Off a turnover by Letang, Smyth is able to sneak up the left wing and blasts a slapper high of the cage.
18:04: Off a faceoff win by Letestu in the right circle, Letang booms a slapper from the top of the slot. Dubnyk eats it up.
18:00: Engelland snaps off a wrister from the right point. Dubnyk fends it off.
17:27: The Penguins catch an early break as the Oilers are nabbed for too many men on the ice. Linus Omark will serve the minor. Kunitz, Steve Sullivan, Letang, Kennedy and James Neal take the ice. Sullivan is on the right point.
16:47: The Penguins' power play keeps rolling. Sullivan controls the puck at the right point and slides it to Letang at the left point. Letang swats a one-timer which squeaks through Dubnyk's gear. What a shot. Sullivan and Kennedy each get assists. Penguins 1-0.
15:02: Joe Vitale tries to preform a version of the Heimlich Maneuver on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins along the left wing boards of the Oilers' zone. that's two minutes. Craig Adams, Staal, Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin take the ice.
14:15: Taylor Hall has a chance in tight but Johnson kicks it out.
13:53: Ales Hemsky fends off Matt Niskanen behind the cage and deals a little pass in tight. Taylor Hall is there but is robbed by Johnson.
13:01: Gilbert smacks a one-timer from the right point. Johnson gloves it.
11:37: Ben Lovejoy knocks over Anton Lander in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone. That's two minutes for cross checking. Martin, Michalek, Park and Cooke take the ice.
9:34: As the Lovejoy minor is killed, Hemsky coasts up the right wing and tosses a wrister on net. Johnson kicks it out. Hemsky recovers the rebound behind the cage and deals it to Nugent-Hopkins in front. Nugent-Hopkins snaps off a quick shot which Johnson eats up.
8:50: Letang slams Jordan Eberle into the boards on the left wing in the Penguins' zone.
8:44: Sutton snaps off a wrister from the right point. Johnson gloves it.
8:26: Off a two-on-one, Kunitz deals a pass from the right of the cage to Kennedy moving into the slot. Kennedy take the pass and snaps off a wrister. Dubnyk is in perfect position to eat it up.
6:16: Another penalty for the Penguins. Too many silly penalties. Letestu is called for cross checking Hemsky along the left wing boards of the Penguins' zone. Martin, Michalek, Staal and Cooke take the ice.
6:10: Cam Barker, the third overall pick in the 2004 draft behind Malkin and Alex Ovechkin, booms a slapper from the right point. Johnson kicks it out.
5:10: Hemsky, one of the most dangerous players in the NHL, gets some space off the right wing and attacks the net. Before he can pull the trigger, Niskanen appears to hook up his stick.
4:47: Hemsky draws a penalty as he gets Dupuis to hooking him in the slot. Two-man adavantage for 32 seconds. Cooke, Staal and Michalek take the ice.
4:31: Barker cracks a one-timer from the left point. Johnson eats it up despite traffic in front.
4:16: The Letestu minor is killed. The Oilers still have a five on for for 1:28.
3:39: Eberle has a chance on a one-timer in tight but Martin's right leg appears to break up his shot.
3:34: A loose puck slides to Jeff Petry at the left point. Petry immediately whips it on net. Johnson is right there for the save.
2:47: The Penguins kill off Dupuis' minor. Huge effort by the Penguins' special teams so far.
2:31: The Oilers were due to get a penalty. Petry is sent off for holding up Vitale on the right wing boards of the Oilers' zone. Sullivan, Kennedy, Letang, Neal and Kunitz take the ice. Sullivan is on the right point.
1:03: The Oilers generate a little heat in the offensive zone. Johnson covers the puck to settle things down.
0:30: Just as the Petry minor expires, Letestu swats a little shot on net from the slot. Dubnyk covers it. Cooke gets the business from Smid.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Oilers 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION

-If the Penguins are playing a slightly more talented team, they are probably trailing at this point. The Penguins took way too many penalties and spent too much time in their own zone.
-That said, the special teams have been absolutely wonderful. They get a pretty decent goal off the power play and have pitched a shutout thus far on the penalty kill.
-Brent Johnson has been the best player on the ice. He's seen plenty of rubber so far.
-Matt Niskanen continues to show off some skill in the defensive zone.
-Vitale had another strong period.
-Nugent-Hopkins was difficult to notice.
-Hemsky is scary at times.
-The Oilers have a 13-9 lead in shots.
-Kennedy and Hall each lead the game with three shots.
-Letang leads the game with 9:03 of ice time.
-Gilbert leads the Oilers with 8:15.
-Faceoffs are even, 14-14 (50 percent).
-Vitale and Park are each 4 for 5 (80 percent).
-Eric Belanger and Ryan Smyth are each 4 for 6 (67 percent).
-Niskanen leads the game with two blocked shots.
SECOND PERIOD
19:52: Right off the opening faceoff of the period, Paajarvi hustles up the right wing and chucks a wrister on net. Johnson kicks it away.
18:55: Off the left wing, Kennedy centers a pass to Kunitz in the slot. Kunitz puts a one-timer on net immediately. Dubnyk boots it out.
17:57: Hall is slammed to the ice in the left wing corner by Lovejoy.
17:49: Theo Peckham strikes a slapper on net from the left point. Johnson kicks it aside.
17:15: Craig Adams steals a puck in the Oilers zone and is tripped up by Nugent-Hopkins. Letang, Kennedy, Sullivan, Neal and Kunitz take the ice.
16:37: Kunitz chops a floater of a one-timer on net from the right half wall. Dubnyk traps it against his chest.
16:30: Sullivan cranks a wild slapper from the top of the slot weeeelllll over the cage.
15:22: Niskanen recovers a loose puck at the left point and rips a wrister which Paajarvi blocks.
15:15: The Nugent-Hopkins minor is killed.
14:56: One of the more unique aspects of Rexall Place is the placement of the cameras. The benches are actually at the bottom of the screen. This is the only NHL rink like this:

14:05: Play is halted as the puck sneaks into Petry's equipment. Kennedy whacks him with a few slashes. He's lucky he didn't get called there.
12:39: Michalek chucks a wrister on net from the right wing. Dubnyk punches it away.
9:52: On a delayed penalty, Sullivan deals a pass from the left corner to Neal in the left circle. Neal swats a one-timer on net. Dubnyk boots it out.
9:46: Gilbert is called for hooking Sullivan. Kunitz, Neal, Kennedy, Sullivan and Letang take the ice. Sullivan mans the left point.
8:57: Letang booms a one-timer from the left point. Smid blocks the shot and staggers to his knees. Ouch.
8:27: Niskanen strikes a slapper from the top of the slot. It hits Sutton in the slot. The rebound hops to the right. Letestu is there and tries to tuck it into the net. Dubnyk dives ot his left to fend it off.
7:46: The Gilbert minor is killed. The Penguins had a few chances there.
5:56: Neal pushes the puck up the right wing and leaves a drop pass for Letestu trailing. Letestu smacks a one-timer no where near the cage.
5:28: Eberle snaps off a wrister from the right circle. It catches the lower part of Johnson's lid. Play is halted. Johnson is stunned a bit but appears fine.
4:13: After a little cycling in the left corner, Vitale turns and deals a pass to Dupuis above the left circle. Dupuis strikes a one-timer which Dubnyk fends off.
3:43: Sutton collects a loose puck at the left point, looks up and booms a slapper which Johnson kicks out with his left leg.
3:17: Big saves. Ryan Jones snaps off a wrister from the left circle to the far side. Johnson kicks it out with his right leg. Eberle is there to chop at the rebound but can't beat Johnson.
2:54: Lander floats a wrister on net from the left point. Johnson fends it off. Jones is called for goaltender interference. That's a bogus call. Neal, Kennedy, Michalek, Martin and Kunitz take the ice.
2:08: Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Belanger pushes the puck into the offensive zone. Staal reaches back and hooks him p a bit. That's two minutes. Four on four for 1:14.
1:51: Cooke steals a puck in the offensive zone and booms a slapper from the left wing. Smid blocks it and crumples in a heap to the ice. He's slow to recover but seems fine.
1:00: Dupuis pushes the puck from his own zone into the offensive zone and blasts a slapper on net. Dubnyk gloves it.
0:54: Jones' minor is killed. The Oilers will have 48 seconds of power-play time.
0:08: Staal's minor is killed.
0:01: Hemsky controls a puck on the left wing, surveys the ice and deals a pass to Hall deep on the right wing. Hall unloads a one-timer from a tough angle. Johnson is able to slide to his left and fight it off.
0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Oilers 0.
SECOND INTERMISSION

-We're doing it. We're letting her make her season debut:

-Erika the EN yawn baby is here to officially declare that a boring period of hockey.
-That said, it was a pretty hard-fought period of hockey. There's not a lot of free space on the ice.
-The Penguins' special teams continue to be stellar. Even if the power play has only clicked once tonight, its generating some solid chances.
-We love this Dupuis-Vitale-Cooke line the more we see of it. It's a terror on the forecheck.
-Smid is a real battler. He'll need a few ice bags after tonight.
-Both goaltenders have been solid. Johnson has had to bail his team out a few times tonight. And Dubnyk has kept his team in this contest.
-The Oilers have a 21-18 lead in shots.
-Kennedy and Hall each lead the game with four shots.
-Letang leads the game with 16:02 of ice time.
-Gilbert leads the Oilers with 15:27.
-The Penguins have a 27-25 edge in faceoffs (52 percent).
-Shawn Horcoff is 9 for 13 (69 percent).
-Park is 6 for 8 (75 percent).
-The Oilers lead in blocked shots, 20-5. Yeesh.
-Smid leads the game with five himself.
-Niskanen leads the Penguins with two.
THIRD PERIOD
18:56: Nugent-Hopkins pulls up on the right half wall and deals a pass to the slot. Smyth is crashing in and re-directs the pass juuuuust wide of the cage.
18:30: Andy Sutton is apparently not an expert on delay of game penalties as he flicks the puck out of play from the defensive zone. Kennedy, Kunitz, Neal, Letang and Sullivan take the ice. Sullivan is on the right point.
17:54: Letang jabs a slapper on net from the left point. Dubnyk knocks it dead. Gilbert clears the rebound down ice.
16:36: Shorthanded, Paajarvi pushes the puck up the right wing and snaps off a wrister. Johnson punches it away.
16:30: Sutton's minor is killed. That was a pretty unimpressive effort by the Penguins.
15:27: Hemsky booms a slapper from the right point on net. Johnson kicks it out despite traffic.
14:57: Eberle races up the right wing and snaps off a wrister wide on the near side.
14:51: Eberle hustles off the left wing boards towarsd the slot and flings a wrister on net. Johnson gloves it despite having Smyth right in his grill.
14:11: Paajarvi challenges Martin one-on-one off the right wing. Martin keeps up and pokes the puck away. What a play.
13:55: Neal golfs a loose puck towards the net from the left wing wide to the far side.
12:50: Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze is in a hurry to get home by the looks of things. We're assuming he DVRed "Bored Too Death":

11:52: Tyler Kennedy grips and rips a wrister on net. Dubnyk knocks it dead and covers as Staal throws Peckham into the net. A scrum develops but nothing comes of it.
11:27: Petry booms a slapper from the right point. Johnson sees it all the way and eats it up. Engelland and Belanger mix it up after the whistle. Both players are sent off for roughing. Four on four.
11:08: Letang races up the left wing on a two-on-one with Dupuis against Barker. Barker slides down to take away the pass. Letang curls and drags the puck around him and snaps off a wrister. Dubnyk fights off the shot. Letang crashes into the boards.
10:48: Big chance here fo the Penguins. Barker interferes with Staal behind the Oilers' net. That's two minutes. The Penguins will have a four-on-three power play for 1:21.
10:16: Neal boom a one-timer from above the left circle on net. Dubnyk fights it off despite having Kunitz crash in.
9:28: Just as Belanger and Engelland return to play, Neal whips a wrister from the right circle wide on the right side.
9:17: Belanger cranks a slapper from the right point. Johnson eats it up.
8:49: Barker's minor is killed.
8:34: Nugent-Hopkin grips and rips a wrister from the right circle. Johnson punches it away.
8:05: Hemsky goes deep on the right wing and whips a wrister on net. Johnson kicks it out.
6:09: Kunitz deflects a pass out of play.
5:53: Big saves! Horcoff collects a puck behind the cage and tries to tuck it into the left side of the cage on a backhand. Johnson is there to kick it out with his right leg. He save the shutout there.
4:55: Hall backhands a pass to the slot. It hits off the skate of Niskanen and bounces loose in the slot. Nugent-Hopkins picks it up and backhands it by the left foot of Johnson. What an effort by Nugent-Hopkings. The first overall pick of this year's draft gets his first career goal. Hall and Petry get assists. Oilers 1, Penguins 1.
4:25: HUGE chance here for the Penguins. Smyth pushes the puck up the left wing as Kunitz pressures. As Kunitz arrives, Smyth puts an elbow into his face. Smyth is given and elbowing major and a game misconduct. Wow. Huge chance for the Penguins. They'll have the rest of regulation to score a power-play goal. Hall will serve the major. Kennedy, Staal, Neal, Sullivan and Letang take the ice.
3:40: Neal chops two shots from in tight on net. Dubnyk kicks them out.
3:02: Martin ropes a wrister from the left point. Dubnyk eats it up.
1:49: Belanger has a chance in tight but a diving poke check by Letang knocks the puck away.
1:02: Martin cranks a slapper from the left point wide to the far side.
0:31: Staal chops a backhander from in tight. Dubnyk kicks it out.
0:00: End of period. Oilers 1, Penguins 1.
THIRD INTERMISSION
-The Oilers have a 34-31 lead in shots.
OVERTIME
5:00: The Penguins will have 35 seconds left on Smyth's major. It will be a four on three in overtime. Staal, Neal, Sullivan and Letang take the ice.
4:42: Neal zips up the right wing and snaps off a wrister which clacks off the goal post.
4:13: Hall rips a wrister from deep on the left wing. Johnson kicks it out.
3:24: Kunitz deals a pass from behind the net to Letestu above the crease. Letestu swats a one-timer on net. Dubnyk is there to kick it out.
2:09: Letang flies into the offensive zone and sweeps a backhander on net from the left circle. Dubnyk closes the gates and freezes play.
1:35: Horcoff jabs a loose puck in the slot juuuustttt wide to the left of the cage.
1:03: Lander controls the puck on the right wing and deals to the slot. Petry is there and sweeps a shot on net which hits off the left post. The goal horn goes off momentarily but officials signal no goal.
0:24: Hemsky challenges Letang and Niskanen one-on-two but has the puck stripped.
0:00: End of period. Oilers 1, Penguins 1.
FOURTH INTERMISSION
-The Oilers have a 35-34 edge in shots.
SHOOTOUT
-Eberle is up first. He comes in with a little speed and snaps a little wrister by the glove hand of a falling Johnson. Oilers 1-0.
-Letang comes in directl, dekes a handful of times and goes with a forehand shots. Dunbynk holds his ground and kicks out the shot.
-Hemsky, who is veyr dangerous, coasts in, ignores a bad poke check attempt by Johnson and lifts a wrister over his glove hand. Ouch. Oilers 2-0.
-Neal has to score here. Neal goes sligtly to the right, moves in and rips a nice wrister through Dubynk's five hole. Oilers 2-1.
-Linus Omark, who has a million moves, is up. He flies in, slows down and tries to float a little trick shot over Johnson's right shoulder but misses the net. Oof.
-Sullivan needs to score also to keep this alive. Sullivan goes sliglty to the right, approaches the net and shoots five hole. Dubnyk closes the gates and wins the game. End of shootout. Oilers 2, Penguins 1. End of game. Oilers 2, Penguins 1.
POSTGAME

-Well... they weren't going to win them all. The Penguins got five points out of a possible six on a tough road trip. No shame in this effort.
-The Penguins clearly don't have the same offensive punch without Evgeni Malkin. Hopefully for the Penguins' sake, his ailments are minor.
-Just when you want to have faith in the power play again, it fails in the clutch. The Penguins had an aboslute gift in the form of Smyth's major and failed to do much with it. This power play is better, but it still has some work to do.
-Brent Johnson did more than enough to win this game. He didn't fight any shots or offer any bad rebounds. He deserve a much better fate.
-Devan Dubnyk earned his win. The Penguins put plenty of pucks on net, including some quality shots. Dubnyk kept his team in this game.
-The Oilers have a ton of young talent. It needs to mature a bit, but Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and others can flat-out skate.
-The Penguins have found something with the Pascal Dupuis-Joe Vitale-Matt Cooke line. Regardless of anyone's health, that trio should stick together for the time being.
-Kris Letang had a strong game. Even if you take away his goal, he was all over the ice and was a force in all three zones.
-James Neal had several chances offensively but didn't really deliver. With Malkin and Sidney Crosby sideline, the Penguins need to lean on him.
-Richard Park was okay in his debut. He contributed on several penalty kills.
-The Oilers had a 35-34 edge in shots.
-Letang led the game with six shots.
-Hall led the Oilers with five.
-Steve MacIntyre, Vitale, Ladislav Smid, Darcy Hordichuk and Ryan Smyth were the only skaters who failed to record a shot.
-Letang led the game with 29:16 of ice time.
-Gilbert led the Oilers with 26:33.
-The Penguins had a 39-38 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).
-Vitale was 10 for 15 (67 percent).
-Shawn Horcoff was 17 for 26 (65 percent).
-The Oilers blocked 25 shots to the Penguins' eight.
-Ladislav Smid led the game with six blocked shots.
-Niskanen and Lovejoy each led the Penguins with two.

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