Pens v Lightning (W 4-1)

The Boys are back in town! :) The Pens will host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at the Mellon. I'm feeling better (thanks for all the well wishes!), so the recap will be up shortly after the end of the game.

FIRST PERIOD

• Today is the 25^th anniversary of Mario Lemieux's Civic Arena debut. In honor of the occasion, we were shown footage from that night of Lemieux's fight with Lupul.



• Orpik crushed Downey, who had his head down, with a hit so big it took both men down. Afterward, Brooksie was shown reinserting his contact lens.
• Miller took the night's first penalty. He was sent to the box for high-sticking. On the ensuing power play, Geno fired a shot from which the rebound went straight to a waiting Guerin, who promptly put the puck in the wide open net. [Pens 1, Lightning 0]



• Shortly after that, Gogo was called for tripping. The Pens successfully killed it.
• A bit later, an icing call against the Lightning lead to a faceoff win that enabled the Pens to get the puck to Gonch at the blue line. Only ex-Pen Malone stood between him and the long distance to Nittymaki. Malone inadvertently screened his goaltender, allowing Gonch's shot to cross the goal line. [Pens 2, Lightning 0]



• In the last 2 minutes of the period, Gronk failed to capitalize on a near perfect setup, and the Pens brought an offensive onslaught that lasted until the clock hit 0:00.

FIRST INTERMISSION

• FSN PGH has been giving us the opportunity to see what the players did with the Cup when they had it for a day. Today, we saw how Geno celebrated in Magnitogorsk. He went to a steel mill, had a parade, and played a preseason game with his old team.

SECOND PERIOD

• Siddo was penalized for holding the stick. While talking about the powder blue third jerseys, FSN showed highlights from the 01-01-08 Winter Classic. I never, ever get sick of reliving that moment. :) The Pens killed the penalty.
• Steigy and Errey mention Gogo's mustache. They were reluctant to give specifics, but evidently Gogo lost a bet and must wear it for 15 days. (Maybe it was a drinking bet?)



• Super Duper was called for slashing. A shot on goal took a fortuitous bounce towards Stamkos, who then knocked it out of the air and into the net. [Pens 2, Lightning 1]
• Just under 2 minutes later, Gonch, again from the blueline, fired a shot into the back of the net as Geno drifted through the blue paint in front of Nittymaki. Nitty cried foul to the refs (for, like, the next 10 minutes!), but to no avail. [Pens 3, Lightning 1] Later, it would be revealed that Duper just got his stick on the puck and deserved credit for deflecting in this goal.
• Geno was hit hard by Downey. Frustrated, he took a hooking penalty seconds later. The Pens killed it.
• Halpern was called for holding the stick, but the Pens failed to score on their advantage.



• Konopka was called for slashing. After Nitty made a great toe save on Gogo, Walker was called for slashing Geno. The Pens had 1:47 with a two man advantage. They got even more time on the 5-on-3 when Ranger was called for delay of game for using his fist to punch the puck up into the protective mesh and out of play. The Lightning held the Pens off through the 5-on-3, and on the power play until the end of the period. Geno ran into the men coming out of the box as the period ended; luckily, no one was hurt.

THIRD PERIOD

• Just prior to the start of the third, FSN showed footage of Sid giving Phil Pritchard the Penguins' Stanley Cup ring for the Hockey Hall of Fame prior to the start of the game.
• The Pens began the period with just over 1:30 left on their power play, but they were unable to add to their lead.



• In quick succession, Adams drilled Downey followed by another big hit on Downey from Brooksie. (You know what they say about paybacks...)
• Wright was called for hooking. On the power play, Hedman was called for interference. The Pens again failed to capitalize on their two man advantage.



• Cooker hit the post.
• The Lightning gave the puck away to Siddo, who was standing right in front of Nitty. Sid released a quick shot, but the goaltender made the save.
• Later, Siddo stole the puck behind Nitty. He centered one for Rupp, who banged it home. [Pens 4, Lightning 1]
• Tank was called for slashing, and the Pens killed it.



• Guerin served a too-many-men penalty, and the Pens killed it.
• Eaton was called for tripping, and even though the Lightning pulled their goalie in favor of the extra attacker, the Pens killed it.
• Despite the succession of Penguin penalties at the end of the game, the Lightning were unable to get another one past Flower. Our netminder's record is now 7-0! :)

POSTGAME THOUGHTS

• Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like both Geno and Siddo were a little off tonight. Perhaps they are sick too?
• The Pens as a whole are looking less like a team and more like a well oiled machine. I might even go as far as to say they look better now than they did in the playoffs last season!
• Lecavalier looks like a very frustrated man.
• McKee is a warrior.

FYI: Tuesday's game is on Versus. As a DirecTV customer, I will have to find a way to watch it online. God, I HATE corporate greed.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!