
PENS LINEUP
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Malkin-Talbot
Kennedy-Letestu-Conner
Rupp-Adams-Asham
Orpik-Letang
Martin-Michalek
Goligoski-Lovejoy
Fleury
THRASHERS LINEUP
Ladd-Peverley-Stewart
Kane-Burmistrov-Little
Eager-Cormier-Modin
Boulton-Slater-Thorburn
Byfuglein-Enstrom
Oduya-Bogosian
Sopel-Hainsey
Pavelec
SCORING
Penguins- 6
-Sidney Crosby (Letang) 1-10:34
-Sidney Crosby (Goligoski) 1-18:34
-Craig Adams (Cooke) 2-11:38
-Chris Kunitz (Crosby, Dupuis) 3-0:09
-Mark Letestu (unassisted) 3-13:00
-Matt Cooke (Crosby, Michalek) 3-16:16
Thrashers- 3
-Evander Kane (Little, Burmistrov) 1-0:47
-Dustin Byfuglein (Enstrom, Little) 1-15:18
-Eric Boulton (Slater, Thorburn) 1-16:51
FIGHTS
(none)
GOALTENDING
Pens- Fleury
W- Fleury (31-34)
Thrashers- Pavelec
L- Pavelec (30-36)
POWERPLAYS
Pens- 1/3 (4:24)
Thrashers- 1/8 (13:20)
1st Period

-Pens get a powerplay. Nothing cooking except a legitimate shorthanded attempt by Atlanta.
-Pens spend the next 5-7 minutes constantly forcing passes that just aren't there. About 5 long head man home run attempts that end up as turnovers.
-Chris Kunitz finally breaks through the Thrashers D midway through the period. He is hooked from behind but somehow manages to get the shot off. Pavelec stops the shot, but the Pens are awarded a powerplay.
-Few seconds later the Pens get to work. Great keep in by Letang and he dishes it to a wide open Crosby who had half the cage to shoot at. 1-1. Streak at 25.
-Fleury with 2 incredible saves in a matter of a minute. First one on Slater, and then again on Little.
-Thrashers powerplay (common theme of the night). After some average PK work by the Pens, Enstrom dishes it across to a wide open Dustin Byfuglien who blasts it 150000 mph into the back of the cage. 2-1 ATL.
-Pens respond by taking another penalty (Goligoski hooking) but they kill it off nicely.
-After coming out of the box, the puck comes to Goligoski and he dishes it up ice for Sid. Crosby splits the 2 defenders, regains his footing, and buries it. 2-2
Notes: Pens are lucky to be tied after 1. If Sid wasn't there to bail them out after all that penalty trouble than this one may have taken a totally different turn early. Thrashers came to play hockey, and some locker room adjustments were needed.
2nd Period

-Peverley with a good opportunity 5 minutes in but Fleury was there to deny it.
-Malkin with a great chance to score a short while later but just missed the net.
-Pens dominating the shots 9-1 through the midway point of the period.
-Tyler Kennedy with a golden opportunity to score (especially considering he was playing with 87 and 71) but he whiffs.
-More penalty trouble for the Pens, but they respond in a big way. Matt Cooke works the puck away from his man behind the net and places it in front for a charging Craig Adams to put it home. Great work by both! 3-2 Pens.
-Paul Martin with a backhand chance that barely catches Pavelec's pads. It would have given Pittsburgh a 2 goal lead with 3 minutes to go in the 2nd.
Notes: Much better. It was clearly visible that the Pens were wearing down the Thrashers as the period went on and they managed to capitalize on a great opportunity to seize the game. These penalties are still a cause for concern.
3rd Period

-But that doesn't mean the penalty woes are over. Pens stuck killing an extended 5 on 3. Max Talbot takes control of the first shift, and then Adams and Cooke take care of the 2nd. Penalty killed.
-Malkin with a breakaway to make it 5 but he is unable to get a good shot off. Hainsey takes out his own net to avoid any rebound. No call.
-Arron Asham checks Evander Kane on the side boards. Kane comes up slowly and hobbles off the ice. Absolutely nothing wrong with this hit by Asham. Must have just been a fluky injury.
-Cooke in the box again shortly after (3rd time of the night). Thrashers get some shots but nothing even close to beating Fleury.
-Burmistrov struggles to take a drop pass from a teammate and Letestu pounces all over him. Letestu actually muscles Burmistrov out of the way before regaining his footing, patiently juking out Pavelec, and stuffing the puck into the net. 5-2.
-And the fun continues a few minutes later. Crosby takes a long shot that deflects off the stick of Cooke before beating Pavelec. Fans throw hats because they thought it was Sid's. But he still got 4 points. 6-2.
-Eric Boulton scores a late goal for the Thrashers but by that point nobody cared.
-Pens Win 6-3.
Notes: The Kunitz goal took absolutely all the air out of the Thrashers and pretty much destroyed any hopes they had of a comeback. Plus, the Pens were clearly the better conditioned team in the 3rd.
Final Thoughts and Notes:
-Matt Cooke played a hell of a game, but something needs to be done about those 3 penalties.
-Craig Adams and Max Talbot were the unheralded MVPs.
-Zbynek Michalek is a brick wall.
-Letang was doing what he does best and that's make plays.
-Byfuglien really only had 1 or 2 quality chances, so the Pens did a pretty good job limiting him.
-Kennedy needs to play smarter. Shoot if you have the shot.
-Goligoski needs to learn defense.
-Individual members (well actually just 10 and 18) of the buzz line did well but the line as a whole just didn't seem to be clicking tonight.
GRADES:
Line 1: A
Line 2: A-
Line 3: B-
Line 4: A-
D1: B
D2: B+
D3: B-
Fleury: B
Powerplay: A-
Penalty Kill: A
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
"I don't need to say any secrets, he's the best..."
-ATL goalie Ondrej Pavelec about 87
GAME CHANGING PLAY:
-Atlanta may be leading the league in 3rd period comebacks but they were completely sunk by Kunitz's early put-away goal at the 9 second mark.
My 3 Stars:
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Matt Cooke
3. Craig Adams
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