Pens v Oilers (W 5-4)
It may be an oxymoron, but MAN what a frustrating win! The recap follows Friend of The Show Moriah W.'s photos from the unveiling of the 3rd jersey:
FIRST PERIOD
Back to back giveaways to Miroslav Satan led to chances for Mad Max Talbot and Siddo respectively, but Mathieu Garon stopped them both. The Oilers developed a 3-on-2 early, but Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Fernando Pisani in front of the goal. Mad Max and the Saint looked amazing together. (At this point in my notes, I actually wrote a reminder that I needed to mention that I thought that something big was about to happen for them...) Max fired a shot that Garon was able to block but not cover. He went down on the play, and the puck was in front of an open corner with Sid right there on the doorstep. Ordinarily, I'd be telling you about a goal, but tonight, Garon stunned the world with his wrist strength when he reached our behind himself, put his stick down, and swept the puck off the goal line and down to his side. O_o Shortly thereafter, Eric Godard and the larger Steve MacIntyre decided to do the man-dance:
Advantage: Godard. :)
The Oilers got their first power play when Daryl Sydor was called for holding. The Pens looked great on the penalty kill and prevented the Oilers from scoring on their advantage. After the Pens had something like 137 chances on one particular shift, Satan scored the most beautiful goal I've seen all season. As he skated past the near goalpost, he put the puck between his own legs and angled the puck into the net from behind himself. UNREAL!!! [Pens 1, Oilers 0]
Jordan Staal made a key save just as Kris Letang was called for slashing. Remember, the PENGUINS were shorthanded as Siddo stole the puck and went 2-on-1 with Mad Max. Sid shot the puck, Garon made a pad save, and the rebound went right to Mad Max, who promptly scored the shorthanded goal. [Pens 2, Oilers 0] Upon watching the replay, Bob Errey seemed convinced that Sid purposely aimed for Garon's pad hoping for it to do exactly what it did. What a player! The Oilers didn't score on their power play.
Sydor made a nice diving poke check to clear the puck to center ice. Then MacIntyre leveled the MUCH smaller Letang, knocking his helmet off and cutting the bridge of his nose. He made his way to the bench where he doubled over in pain. And while it was a douchey move, it wasn't illegal, so no penalty was issued. Godard immediately hit the ice and went after MacIntyre for a rematch, but Sheldon Souray (who is a much braver human being than I am) would not remove himself from between the two giants. As a result, Godard was given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct with 2 minutes left in the period. Hal Gill made a great save that Staal then cleared, and Letang returned to the ice to help keep the Oilers scoreless through the end of the first period.
SECOND PERIOD
Can I just say it right now? The 81-87-25 line is absolutely brilliant. The three of them are unbelievably good together. :) Gill was called for tripping. Shawn Horcoff fired a wicked shot that forced Flower to make another great save. Mad Max has shown he is MORE than worthy of his self-imposed nickname - he really is a Superstar! He went for two more shorthanded chances. Both were denied, but he definitely earned an E for effort! Sid made a few sick stick handling moves and drew a delayed penalty on an Oiler. MAF was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. As the Pens launched an assault on Garon, there was a second penalty called against the Oilers. Geno Malkin fired a shot on goal that Satan redirected into the net. [Pens 3, Oilers 0]
The goal negated the original penalty, but Erik Cole went to the box for tripping. The Pens didn't score on their power play. As Cole came out of the box, the Oilers had a 2-on-1, but Flower made a big save. Matt Cooke took a run at Dustin Penner but missed and went flying. Right off a faceoff, Geno got the puck and quickly sent it to Petr Sykora, who scored with a quick wrister. [Pens 4, Oilers 0]
Flower made another great save. Siddo backchecked and stole the puck. In doing so, he drew a slashing penalty on Sam Gagner. Just as Paul Steigerwald was explaining that Syko was getting himself to the front of the net, Geno again fired a shot that Syko finished off with another wrist shot. [Pens 5, Oilers 0] Garon was then pulled and replaced by Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (who will henceforth be known as JDD for obvious reasons).
Errey mentioned that Syko has never scored a hat trick before, which, in my mind, effectively jinxed him. (For anyone who doesn't know, Syko is the scoringest NHLer to never have gotten a hat trick in his career.) With just 1:27 left in the period, Pisani broke Flower's shutout. [Pens 5, Oilers 1]
THIRD PERIOD (Yes, there is actually a third period in hockey.)
Hmmm... I wonder if I can recap the third period without using profanity? Well, I'm going to try...
Penner douched Letang by knocking him down over Flower after the whistle. He was penalized for roughing, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage AND as Penner emerged from the box, he got the puck and set up Tom Gilbert for the goal. [Pens 5, Oilers 2]
Twenty-eight seconds later, Ales Hemsky stole the puck. Flower didn't get his right pad out far enough, so Hemsky was able to angle the puck around the goalie and into the net. [Pens 5, Oilers 3]
"What is happening?" I shouted at my screen, not yet realizing that things were still heading downhill. Cooke did his best Brooks Orpik impression. He drilled Gilbert and then Gagner. Theo Peckham took exception to it and decided he wanted to prove something to his teammates by going after Cooke. FAIL. Peckham kept hitting Cooke even after the refs stepped in to separate them. Both men kept shouting at each other all the way to and while they were in their respective sin bins. After the dust finally settled, Cooke was given 2:00 for roughing, while Peckham 2:00 for instigating, 5:00 major for fighting, and 10:00 for misconduct. WHOOPS! Somebody went too far! So as a result, the Pens had an opportunity to score as much as they wanted for 5 minutes. A melee broke out in the middle of Peckham's penalty. Tyler Kennedy and Cole were each given roughing minors, and Souray was given 2:00 for refusal to play. So now, the Pens had a full 2:00 5-on-3. And they did not score. Both Max and Sid hit the post. But somehow, the Oilers used the disadvantage to their advantage: Souray came out of the box and took a lead pass for a breakaway. He didn't mess around. [Pens 5, Oilers 4]
With 2:43 left in the game, Lubomir Visnovsky was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass. The Pens didn't capitalize on their advantage. As soon as Visnovsky was out of the box, JDD was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. Despite fighting all the way to the end (including a last ditch effort from Horcoff in which he plowed into and knocked down MAF), the Oilers were unable to tie the game. As Jay Caufield remarked, "The Pens escaped with the win."
Oy. I've never been so upset with the Boys following a win before. They came thisclose to blowing it. They were lucky this time. Hopefully they learn something from this as they move forward. I just don't know what it is about the third period! >:(
Big thanks to Moriah for sharing the pictures from the jersey reveal at Dick's Sporting Goods! Oh, and Syko can thank Errey for jinxing him and keeping his hat trick-less streak alive. Geesh.
GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So today (11/05/08) they premiered the new 3rd jersey. Godard, Goligoski, Kennedy, Letang and Bissonette were the "models". They answered questions and did trivia with the crowd and rewarded correct answers with $25 Dicks gift cards.
Steigy emceed the event. The guys were very personable. When a girl yelled out "Kennedy's my future husband" he totally blushed and Biznasty didn't miss a beat in teasing him about it. Godard surprised me with how interactive he was (I just have it stuck in my head that the fighters are tough guys off the ice); he stayed afterwards for quite awhile signing things for the crowd-which was massive!
FIRST PERIOD
Back to back giveaways to Miroslav Satan led to chances for Mad Max Talbot and Siddo respectively, but Mathieu Garon stopped them both. The Oilers developed a 3-on-2 early, but Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Fernando Pisani in front of the goal. Mad Max and the Saint looked amazing together. (At this point in my notes, I actually wrote a reminder that I needed to mention that I thought that something big was about to happen for them...) Max fired a shot that Garon was able to block but not cover. He went down on the play, and the puck was in front of an open corner with Sid right there on the doorstep. Ordinarily, I'd be telling you about a goal, but tonight, Garon stunned the world with his wrist strength when he reached our behind himself, put his stick down, and swept the puck off the goal line and down to his side. O_o Shortly thereafter, Eric Godard and the larger Steve MacIntyre decided to do the man-dance:
Advantage: Godard. :)
The Oilers got their first power play when Daryl Sydor was called for holding. The Pens looked great on the penalty kill and prevented the Oilers from scoring on their advantage. After the Pens had something like 137 chances on one particular shift, Satan scored the most beautiful goal I've seen all season. As he skated past the near goalpost, he put the puck between his own legs and angled the puck into the net from behind himself. UNREAL!!! [Pens 1, Oilers 0]
Jordan Staal made a key save just as Kris Letang was called for slashing. Remember, the PENGUINS were shorthanded as Siddo stole the puck and went 2-on-1 with Mad Max. Sid shot the puck, Garon made a pad save, and the rebound went right to Mad Max, who promptly scored the shorthanded goal. [Pens 2, Oilers 0] Upon watching the replay, Bob Errey seemed convinced that Sid purposely aimed for Garon's pad hoping for it to do exactly what it did. What a player! The Oilers didn't score on their power play.
Sydor made a nice diving poke check to clear the puck to center ice. Then MacIntyre leveled the MUCH smaller Letang, knocking his helmet off and cutting the bridge of his nose. He made his way to the bench where he doubled over in pain. And while it was a douchey move, it wasn't illegal, so no penalty was issued. Godard immediately hit the ice and went after MacIntyre for a rematch, but Sheldon Souray (who is a much braver human being than I am) would not remove himself from between the two giants. As a result, Godard was given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct with 2 minutes left in the period. Hal Gill made a great save that Staal then cleared, and Letang returned to the ice to help keep the Oilers scoreless through the end of the first period.
SECOND PERIOD
Can I just say it right now? The 81-87-25 line is absolutely brilliant. The three of them are unbelievably good together. :) Gill was called for tripping. Shawn Horcoff fired a wicked shot that forced Flower to make another great save. Mad Max has shown he is MORE than worthy of his self-imposed nickname - he really is a Superstar! He went for two more shorthanded chances. Both were denied, but he definitely earned an E for effort! Sid made a few sick stick handling moves and drew a delayed penalty on an Oiler. MAF was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. As the Pens launched an assault on Garon, there was a second penalty called against the Oilers. Geno Malkin fired a shot on goal that Satan redirected into the net. [Pens 3, Oilers 0]
The goal negated the original penalty, but Erik Cole went to the box for tripping. The Pens didn't score on their power play. As Cole came out of the box, the Oilers had a 2-on-1, but Flower made a big save. Matt Cooke took a run at Dustin Penner but missed and went flying. Right off a faceoff, Geno got the puck and quickly sent it to Petr Sykora, who scored with a quick wrister. [Pens 4, Oilers 0]
Flower made another great save. Siddo backchecked and stole the puck. In doing so, he drew a slashing penalty on Sam Gagner. Just as Paul Steigerwald was explaining that Syko was getting himself to the front of the net, Geno again fired a shot that Syko finished off with another wrist shot. [Pens 5, Oilers 0] Garon was then pulled and replaced by Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (who will henceforth be known as JDD for obvious reasons).
Errey mentioned that Syko has never scored a hat trick before, which, in my mind, effectively jinxed him. (For anyone who doesn't know, Syko is the scoringest NHLer to never have gotten a hat trick in his career.) With just 1:27 left in the period, Pisani broke Flower's shutout. [Pens 5, Oilers 1]
THIRD PERIOD (Yes, there is actually a third period in hockey.)
Hmmm... I wonder if I can recap the third period without using profanity? Well, I'm going to try...
Penner douched Letang by knocking him down over Flower after the whistle. He was penalized for roughing, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage AND as Penner emerged from the box, he got the puck and set up Tom Gilbert for the goal. [Pens 5, Oilers 2]
Twenty-eight seconds later, Ales Hemsky stole the puck. Flower didn't get his right pad out far enough, so Hemsky was able to angle the puck around the goalie and into the net. [Pens 5, Oilers 3]
"What is happening?" I shouted at my screen, not yet realizing that things were still heading downhill. Cooke did his best Brooks Orpik impression. He drilled Gilbert and then Gagner. Theo Peckham took exception to it and decided he wanted to prove something to his teammates by going after Cooke. FAIL. Peckham kept hitting Cooke even after the refs stepped in to separate them. Both men kept shouting at each other all the way to and while they were in their respective sin bins. After the dust finally settled, Cooke was given 2:00 for roughing, while Peckham 2:00 for instigating, 5:00 major for fighting, and 10:00 for misconduct. WHOOPS! Somebody went too far! So as a result, the Pens had an opportunity to score as much as they wanted for 5 minutes. A melee broke out in the middle of Peckham's penalty. Tyler Kennedy and Cole were each given roughing minors, and Souray was given 2:00 for refusal to play. So now, the Pens had a full 2:00 5-on-3. And they did not score. Both Max and Sid hit the post. But somehow, the Oilers used the disadvantage to their advantage: Souray came out of the box and took a lead pass for a breakaway. He didn't mess around. [Pens 5, Oilers 4]
With 2:43 left in the game, Lubomir Visnovsky was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass. The Pens didn't capitalize on their advantage. As soon as Visnovsky was out of the box, JDD was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. Despite fighting all the way to the end (including a last ditch effort from Horcoff in which he plowed into and knocked down MAF), the Oilers were unable to tie the game. As Jay Caufield remarked, "The Pens escaped with the win."
Oy. I've never been so upset with the Boys following a win before. They came thisclose to blowing it. They were lucky this time. Hopefully they learn something from this as they move forward. I just don't know what it is about the third period! >:(
Big thanks to Moriah for sharing the pictures from the jersey reveal at Dick's Sporting Goods! Oh, and Syko can thank Errey for jinxing him and keeping his hat trick-less streak alive. Geesh.
GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Labels: recap, third jersey
posted by snoopyjode at 6:58 PM
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