Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Penguins Gameday #16 (Bruins)

Penguins (7-7-1, 15 pts)

Bruins (7-3-1, 15 pts)

Where: Consol Energy Center

When: 7:00 ET

TV: FSNPIT, NHLNetwork

Home Sweet Home. Back at last from their western road trip, the Pens face off against the Boston Bruins, who curiously have only played 11 games so far this year in comparison to the Pens' 15. The rivalry between these 2 teams was definitely rejuvenated after last year's Matt Cooke-Marc Savard fiasco, and I wouldn't be surprised to see another physical hard-fought contest. This will be the first time the Bs visit the new arena in Pittsburgh as well.

Opponents to Watch:

Nathan Horton- Possibly the best acquisition by any team of the offseason, Horton has been lighting it up so far this season. He already has 6 goals and 5 assists, and his physical play has been a cornerstone for his team's success thus far.

Zdeno Chara- We can pretty much expect his massive 6'9'' frame to be smothering either Sid or Geno for essentially the entire game. It is also important to note that he also has 2 powerplay goals already this season and he is very underrated for his blistering slapshot.

Tim Thomas- Resurrected his career from the backup role and has been putting up mind-blowing numbers so far this year. He stands at an undefeated 7-0-0 record with a .967 save % and a 1.05 GAA. Those kind of numbers are ridiculous, and his play on the ice has backed them up.

Notes:

-Comrie did not practice yesterday (no word why), and instead it was Eric Godard that was working with the 4th line.

-This has absolutely no backup whatsoever, but if Godard plays I think it also may be a good time to give Ben Lovejoy a sweater. Although, if this one is anything like the Pens-Bruins games of last year, they will need both Engelland and Godard to drop the gloves.

-Brent Johnson is battling some sort of illness, and did not practice yesterday. He is still listed as the potential starter for the game though, so apparently Bylsma is optimistic on his status.

-Staal is the only other injury of note for the Pens.

-The Bruins are also banged up. In addition to Savard and Sturm out, Johnny Boychuk is also out for today's game and David Krejci's status is unknown.

LIVE GAME UPDATES:

1-0:00: Brent Johnson gets the start. Ben Lovejoy and Eric Godard in the lineup. No Engelland or Comrie. Chris Conner called up but not in lineup.

1-1:05: SCORE!!!!!!!!! Arron Asham gets his first as a Penguin. Slammed home a juicy rebound. Assists from Malkin and Paul Martin. 1-0 Pens.

1-6:33: Fight: Eric Godard and Shawn Thornton. 2 heavyweights duking it out. I call it a draw.

1-6:35: Fight: Talbot and Campbell now going at it. Lots of punches landed for both guys. Talbot gets him to the ground!

1-8:31: Bruins tie it up. Mark Recchi bangs home a rebound after Johnson made the 1st save. Powerplay goal from a Letang hook. Tyler Seguin gets the assist. 1-1

1-16:24: Bruins score. Brad Marchand buries it after a Pens D-zone turnover. 2-1 Bruins.

1-16:58: WOW!!! Brooks Orpik answers right back with wrister. Not often you see him jump in the play! Assists to Sid and Geno. 2-2

1-20:00: Period 1 ends in a 2-2 tie. Pens have a 18-14 advantage in shots. (so much for defense) Both goalies getting quite the workout. Geno has 2 points. Both Brooks and Asham got their 1st of the season. With his assist, Sid tied Ovechkin for 2nd in the league in points and is 4 behind leader Stamkos. Also note that the Pens have already scored just about double the average that Tim Thomas usually allows. On the flip side, Seguin got his 6th point of the year with an assist on Recchi's goal. It was Recchi's first of the season for Boston.

2-4:00: Malkin caught a rut in the ice and got up very softly. He's favoring the left leg

2-5:50: Malkin just took a shift but didn't last very long.

2-6:21: Fight: Asham drops the gloves with 6'4'' Adam McQuaid. Great fight. I'd say it's a draw.

2-15:46: GOAL!! Kunitz blasts one through 2 Bruins and Thomas. By the way Malkin is back on the ice and looking ok. Assists Crosby and Letang 3-2 Pens!

2-16:45: Asham just sent Lucic flying into the Pens bench. Clean hit and a beauty at that.

2-19:37: GOAL!!!! Sid throws a pass in front for Malkin but instead it deflects off of defenseman Stuart's stick and through Tim Thomas's legs. AND IT'S A POWERPLAY GOAL TOO!!!!! 4-2 Pens!

2-20:00: Period 2 ends with the Pens up 4-2 and up 34-20 in shots. (WOW). Crosby now has sole posession of 2nd in the points race and also moves up to a tie for 2nd in the goals race. He has 3 points tonight. Kunitz gets his 4th goal of the season. Asham needs an assist for the Gordie. Geno has been on the ice for all 4 of the Pens' goals and is a +3 for the game.

3-3:50: Nathan Horton rips one past Johnson through traffic. 4-3 Pens

3-4:04: Uh oh, Chara now scores. 4-4

3-5:30: Malkin gets a faceful of Shawn Thornton's shoulder. He was down on the ice for a few minutes, then skated to the bench on his own power. The contact was not "dirty" but Malkin DID NOT HAVE THE PUCK! No call on the ice.

3-12:40: Shawn Thornton of all people scores to put Boston up 5-4.

3-15:10: Sid takes a stick to the face and is bleeding. No call. Pens current powerplay expires. Still 5-4 Boston.

3-16:18: Pass deflects off Blake Wheeler's stick. Really soft goal by Johnson. I guess there's no sense in pulling him now. 6-4 Bruins.

3-19:35: Lucic scores empty net goal. 7-4. Disgusting

Its over. 7-4. What a collapse

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