Shea-ved Ice: Islanders Vs. Penguins Live Blog
Is it just me, or does this season seem to be flying by?
Tonight will mark the 50th game of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the final one before the NHL All-Star Game this weekend.
For the third straight game, the Pens will be without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. For the Penguins to be successful, they are going to need to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.
The New York Islanders are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The focus for them is to develop some of the young stars on the club as part of their rebuilding process.
As such, the Islanders are a scrappy bunch that have taken the Pens beyond regulation twice this season. The Pens emerged victorious in overtime on Oct. 15. New York got the better of the Pens in a shootout on Dec. 29 on Long Island.
Pittsburgh will need to continue to outwork the opposition to be successful without Crosby and Malkin. They will need to get in goaltender Kevin Poulin's kitchen and make him uncomfortable tonight. He's a young guy with a lot of promise, but if the Penguins can bury the first goal early, they may be able to rattle him.
So far this season Poulin is 2-1-1 with a 2.88 GAA and .917 save percentage.
Getting the first goal will be key for the Penguins who are 21-5-1 when scoring first.
Here are the offensive lines for tonight:
Kunitz-Letestu-Dupuis
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Conner
Adams-Jeffrey-Asham
And the defensive pairings:
Orpik-Letang
Martin-Michalek
Goligoski-Lovejoy
Marc-Andre Fleury is in goal.
FIRST PERIOD
20:00 - And we're underway in Pittsburgh with the Islanders winning the opening draw.
19:34 - FIGHT - Kennedy and Travis Hamonic throw down. Kennedy gets a couple nice shots in and is the clear winner of the scrap. Not a fan of Hamonic throwing punches with Kennedy down on the ice though. Goes against the gentleman's code of fighting.
18:17 - Poulin passes his first test of the evening by making a nice pad stop on a one-timer by Rupp from the high-slot on a feed by Talbot.
18:07 - FIGHT #2 - Asham vs. Konopka - Asham lands a few more punches on the NHL's league leader in penalty minutes and gets the edge in the bout. Two fights to start the game, which is not something I expected.
15:06 - Pens are coming in waves at the young goaltender, but he is standing on his head. He comes up with a big stop on a rebound shot by Talbot, who didn't get as much on the shot as he would have liked.
13:45 - We head to the first commercial break and the Isles still don't have a shot on Fleury.
13:18 - Bob Errey gives us a lesson on how hockey pucks are made and why they're frozen during games.
12:39 - PA Parenteau drives the net, gets a shot off and drives Fleury through the back of the cage which draws a goalie interference call. Pittsburgh heads to the power play.
11:48 - Pens look for the pretty slam dunk goal with a pass by Kunitz to Staal, but it was broken up by an Islander out front. Kunitz has to shoot the puck there.
10:43 - Goligoski skates over the bench in some pain and has a cut on his chin.
9:50 - Matt Moulson has a lane to the net, but Martin gets a stick in the way as he pulls the trigger to deflect the puck wide.
8:45 - Orpik heads to the box for tripping. Penguins will be looking to kill their 21st consecutive penalty here.
7:33 - The kill looks good so far and a high stick on the puck by the Isles brings the faceoff all the way back into their defensive zone.
7:03 - Fleury makes a nice stop on a bad angle shot by Parenteau and holds on for the faceoff.
6:26 - After the penalty ends, the Isles get a couple good chances down low, but Fleury slams the door and gets the whistle. New York is starting to come alive now after sleeping through the first part of the period.
4:18 - Lovejoy gets burned by Grabner, but Martin and Fleury team up to knock the puck off his stick.
3:06 - John Tavares limps off the ice after blocking a bomb from the point.
2:00 - FLEURY ROBS NIELSEN! Grabner skates around the net and throws the puck through the paint. Nielsen has a wide open net and Fleury gets over with the right pad to kick the puck away. You'll be seeing that save several more times this season.
:40 - Isles have been in control for the latter half of the period, but the hitting is starting to pick up on both sides.
:07 - Fleury makes another great save on a shot by Moulson in the high slot to keep the game scoreless.
END OF THE FIRST PERIOD - The Islanders lead 12-9 in shots after being dominated for the first 10 minutes of play. Their power play seemed to wake them up as they got several solid scoring chances in the final 10 minutes. Fleury is the only reason this game is still 0-0 after 20 minutes. Poulin made a couple nice saves early on, highlighted by the rebound save on Talbot. However, the Penguins need to get more pucks on net and get more traffic around the young netminder.
SECOND PERIOD
20:00 - The second period is underway with the Pens winning the draw.
19:00 - Cooke-Staal-Kennedy do a great job of applying pressure in the Isles' zone for much of the opening minute.
17:30 - Rupp feeds a pass through the crease that Talbot blindly got a piece of, but the puck goes wide of the net. Max can't buy a goal right now, but it's not for lack of effort.
15:47 - Okposo rings a wrist shot off the post from the high slot. He had Fleury cleanly beat, but all he got was the sweet sound of metal.
15:00 - Nielsen with another clear lane to the net, but fires the puck off of Fleury's shoulder. Fleury's doing a great job of making himself big in the net tonight.
12:40 - Fleury makes a good save on a quick one-timer by Colliton in the slot. Once again, no rebound. The first goal of the game is going to be huge at this point.
11:12 - Letang steps up on Tavares and he buries him into the boards. Both men go down to the ice, but Tavares definitely got the worst of the exchange.
10:00 - Talbot is the beneficiary of an absolutely horrid turnover by the Islanders and gets a good backhander off. Poulin makes the save, the puck pops up into the air and is knocked out of danger. Max has got to be frustrated that these chances aren't ending up with the red light going on, but he's got to keep working. They'll start going in soon.
7:50 - Michalek pinches down and comes up with the puck. He skates around the net and gets a good shot off through a screen that Poulin got a pad on. He's another guy that deserves a goal. Personally, if he doesn't score a single goal this season, I won't be upset at all. He's been an absolute rock on defense this season, which is something the Pens sorely missed last year.
6:20 - The Penguins are all around the net. Cooke fires one wide from in tight and Poulin makes another couple saves off the ensuing scramble to keep the game scoreless.
5:08 - It's Fleury's turn to come up huge. Parenteau breaks into the zone with Comeau, who had a step on the Penguins' defense. Parenteau fires the puck toward the net and Comeau deflects it, but Fleury comes up with a better save.
3:30 - Poulin makes a nice glove save on Letang busting into the zone after Staal's line pinned the puck in the zone for almost a minute.
2:27 - Letang leads the rush and gets around an Isles' defenseman, but Poulin makes the save and covers up for the whistle.
2:07 - Kunitz races into the Isles' zone and tracks down a loose puck along the far wall. As he pulls the trigger, the puck bounces and he ends up getting off a knucklepuck that almost fooled Poulin, who just barely got the blocker on the shot.
END OF THE SECOND PERIOD - Pittsburgh turned the tide in the second period and started to take control of the game. They outshot the Islanders 14-7 in the period and hold a 23-19 edge for the game. It's also worth noting that the Penguins hold a 21-14 edge in faceoffs without their best center in the lineup. Pittsburgh did a better job of getting bodies to the front of the net and taking Poulin's vision away. If they continue to play with this kind of effort, they will break the ice and light the lamp. With 20 minutes to play, the first goal is more important than ever and could very well determine who wins this game.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00 - The third period is under way with New York gaining control of the draw.
18:46 - Both teams with some harmless chances on net so far. Nothing eye-popping yet in the period.
17:08 - Konopka launches a slapper into Fleury's chest, but the rebound is cleared away.
16:10 - Michalek's slapper from the blue line hits something in front, pops into the air over Poulin and off the back bar on the top of the net. That's the best chance of the period so far.
14:51 - Jeffrey dances through a crowd of Islanders and draws a hooking call on Tavares. This will be the second power play for the Pens and it comes at a big moment in the game.
13:54 - Nothing is working so far on this power play with one minute left on it. Not that the power play has been great this season, but this is one of the areas where the absence of Crosby and Malkin is really felt.
12:54 - The penalty is over and we're back to 5-on-5 hockey.
11:34 - Conner lets a slapshot go from the top of the faceoff circle that Poulin deflects into the glass with his stick. The question now is will the teams be content with going to overtime for a third time this season, or will one side make a big push to get a goal?
11:24 - SCOOOOORRRRRREEEEEE!!!! Dustin Jeffrey wins the draw back to Lovejoy, who blasts a one-timer through a crowd. Poulin kicks it out and Asham fires the rebound back toward the net. The puck comes to Adams, who buries it behind Poulin. 1-0 Pens!
9:15 - Letang rushes to the net again and gets a decent chance, but Poulin denies him. Immediately after, Letang gets called for hooking while trying to get back into the play. The Isles will now have a chance to tie the game with 9:02 left.
7:50 - Fleury makes a stop and has the presence of mind to not cover it and calmly move it to Michalek, who rips it up the ice to kill more time.
7:02 - After a big block by Cooke, he fires it down the ice to kill off the rest of the penalty That's 22 straight kills for the Penguins.
6:11 - Letestu takes an elbow from Matt Martin and the Pens get their third power play chance of the game. A goal here would give the Pens complete control.
5:11 - Yet again pucks aren't getting to the net on the power play. You can't score if the puck isn't making its way to the cage.
4:34 - Finally the Pens get a shot on Poulin that results in good zone time and a couple chances around the net. The power play is now 0 for 3 tonight.
3:10 - Pens are buzzing and starting to finally throw everything at the net. It only took 56 minutes of action, but at least it's happening. I wonder if Red Wings' goaltender Chris Osgood is watching this game after calling the Islanders terrible the other day. They haven't played a bad game here tonight at all. There's a difference between being terrible and being a young team going through growing pains. Let's remember what the Penguins went through not all that long ago.
1:30 - The Penguins are cycling the puck in the Isles' zone, which is preventing New York from pulling Poulin.
:58 - Poulin is out of the net.
:26.1 - Timeout Islanders with the faceoff outside the Penguins blue line after an offside call.
00:00 - The Islanders had one last gasp with four seconds to play, but Fleury makes the save and earns his second shutout of the year and the 18th of his young career.
END OF THE GAME - Well, it wasn't pretty, but the Penguins earned a hard-fought two points tonight. This is exactly the kind of effort they needed to put forth to head into the All-Star break with a win.
Fleury finished the game with 29 saves and kept the Penguins alive when the Isles took control in the final half of the first period. The save on Nielsen was monumental in this game.
If you would have told me at the beginning of the game that it would be a 1-0 game, I probably would have seen that as a feasible outcome. Had you said that the lone goal would go to Craig Adams, I may have asked if you were feeling okay. Adams' third goal of the season proved to be the difference as the Pens notched their 31st win of the season.
As I stated on Sunday, this is the type of game the Penguins are going to need to play without Crosby and Malkin in the lineup. They are going to have to outwork the other team on every shift to put themselves in a position to win.
Now, the Penguins will get a much-needed break. Their next game will be on the road against the Rangers on Tuesday.
Hopefully, we'll see No. 87 and No. 71 back on the ice to begin the stretch run to the playoffs.
Thank you for joining me tonight and for more thoughts on the Pens you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CaseySheaPens.
