The Streak is Over....Long Live the Streak. Flyers take down Pens 3-2
by Hooks Orpik on Dec 14, 2010 10:18 PM EST
in Game Recaps
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PrintAll good things must come to an end, blah blah blah. The Pittsburgh Penguins came out a little flat early on the road against their most heated rival, and even though they temporarily righted the ship, you could just tell watching that - short of Marc-Andre Fleury- things were a little "off" tonight. You usually don't win many games in the NHL when things are off, especially in a barn against a team like the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the first period Penguin-killer Claude Giroux gathered a lose puck and was all alone from point blank range to beat a stick-less Fleury. MAF lost said stick when trying to fish out the puck, and the Flyers pounced on him and took advantage of the Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland pairing that couldn't bail the goalie out. It'd be a rare gaffe for Fleury on the night.
Later in the second period, Evgeni Malkin celebrated his return to the lineup with a monster slapper on the power play. A welcome sight to be sure, since for the past few games the PP has seemingly been the "Pass the puck to Sid and see what he does with it Show". The tie would be short-lived, however, when Nikolai Zherdev showed some fancy dangles and great patience to evade Brooks Orpik's 2-on-1 defending and beat Fleury up high. 2-1 Flyers after two.
After the jump the rousing conclusion, and why even though Evgeni Malkin came back, it was the guy who they didn't have tonight that seemingly was the difference...
In the third period Malkin would again draw the Penguins even, scoring his 10th of the year and again on the power play. Philly would pull ahead for good though when Scott Hartnell battled with Orpik in front of the net, gained position and put a perfect tip on a Chris Pronger shot over Fleury's head.
Some other thoughts on the streak-buster:
- Malkin was a beast in his return, scoring the Pens two lone and accounting for almost 35% of the team's total shots on goal (8 out of 23). But it was the guy he mainly replaced who's absence showed. This game was meant for Chris Kunitz. Lots of energy, skating, checking, positioning. Kunitz has sort of been an after thought playing with Sidney Crosby, but it's probably worth pointing out Crosby had one of his quietest games at even-strength in recent memory. Credit Pronger and Matt Carle? Sure. But the Pens team didn't find their legs early in the game, and that's one area where Kunitz shines.
- Also another repercussion of having Kunitz and Jordan Staal out of the lineup? Meet your new first line power play forward Matt Cooke!
- For only the second time since November 6th, Fleury gave up three goals. But don't be confused, he was easily the Pens best and most consistent player all night long, stopping 34 of 37 Philadelphia shots, including several big-time chances. Fleury played with confidence and aggression; he deserved a better fate on this night.
- Frustating. Brilliant. Emerging star. Prone to mistakes. Kris Letang brings no shortage of accurate descriptions of his game, sometimes multiple ones on the same shift! He's skating like the wind and playing physical, but he'll be out of position here or there too. And at the end of the game he twice shot the puck high and wide that killed the offense when the puck went to the line and out once, and saved (barely) the other time by a lunging Malkin. Still, chalk a team-high 26:10 of ice-time up for Letang, with 9 attempted shots (3 on target), 4 hits, 2 giveaways and 2 takeaways.
- A lot of fans like the "buzz line" of Chris Conner, Mark Letestu and Tyler Kennedy. Tonight I thought they had an uneven night. Conner, to me, played perhaps his worst game of the season. He seemed ineffective and took a penalty in the 2nd period just seconds after Malkin tied the game. Kennedy, however, had a better outing and was even rewarded with a few shifts with the Crosby-Malkin line. Early on in the game it seemed like TK was the Pens best forward and about the only one moving his legs....Probably not a good sign.
- Speaking of not a good sign, the playing with fire award goes to discipline. While the Pens were on a PP, Pronger pushes Cooke into the net after the whistle. It's what Pronger does, you have to let it go. How does Cooke respond? By punching Pronger in the face. Penalty. Brooks Orpik took a run at somebody named Darroll Powe when he ran Fleury, but luckily the refs only whistled the Flyer. Malkin tripped a guy and got called for it, then tripped another for good measure. All told, the Pens gave the Flyers six chances (and 10+ minutes) on the power play. Not a good recipe for success, and finally the PK betrayed them on the sixth and final time when Hartnell scored his game winner.
- One streak may be over, but another trudges on: Crosby recorded two assists on the night and ties his career high with a 19 game point streak. As mentioned, El Capitan had a quiet night for his lofty standards, but still rattled off 21:20, took a game high 25 faceoffs (winning 56% of them), with 2 hits, 1 takeaway and 1 blocked shots. Throw in the 2 PP assists and that's a hell of a night for 99% of the league, but not for the ridiculously unfair heights Crosby's held to with his recent outings.
- Finally, fans talk that having Crosby-Malkin together should be good to get Geno on the right track. But don't forget about #87, who may be deferring too much, Sid was held without a shot on goal, the first game all season he hasn't had at least one. In one instance, Crosby tried to force a backhand pass to Malkin on a 2-on-1 that Pronger put himself in a position to easily defend. It's not a big-time concern, but definitely something to keep an eye on if the 87/71 connection stays in tact.
So that's the streak. On one hand, a disappointing effort against a divisional opponent who's now jumped the Pens for the points lead. On the other hand, the weight of the winning streak is over, which could be spun as a good thing for a team that has a big enough spotlight (and target) on its back already.
And the best news of all is the boys get the chance to wash the losing taste right out of their mouths tomorrow night when they get back at it against the New York Rangers. Surely NYR won't be feeling sorry for the Pens winning streak coming to an end, so now it's time to salvage the week and head into the season high 4 day break on a high note...
....And maybe even start a new streak in the process.
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My Thoughts
-So the Pens win streak came to an end. So what? It’s one game. In this situation, it might actually be beneficial that the Pens have back to back games—they can try and forget this one quickly.
-Honestly, you’ve got to give most of the credit to the Flyers here. The Pens didn’t play a bad game; the Flyers forced them to make some mistakes and outplayed them overall.
-If there is one complaint: it’s about the penalties. Some of them were ticky tack, but some were not. The stupid penalty by Geno cost us the game tonight.
-If the Pens weren’t so undisciplined they would’ve won this game.
-Flower was pretty solid. My feed was kind of weird but none of the goals looked soft. He kept the Pens in this game in the third while the Flyers were attacking.
-Geno played a great game in his return. He looked really, really slow in the first but shook off the rust in the intermission and came back and had a great last two periods. Looks as if he has regained confidence in his shot again which is a welcome sight.
-Sid quietly had a fantastic game. The Flyers held him without a shot on goal (he should’ve been credited with one, but whatevs), but that’s more of a testament to the Flyer’s than Sid. Nevertheless, he was making great passes all night and was fantastic along the boards. If anyone wants to know why Sid decided to really work on his shot, tonight is a prime example. The Flyers overplayed his shot, so he made them pay with great passes. What impressed me most, though, was his play in his own zone. He’s really turning into a two way forward and it’s amazing to see. I might catch some flak for saying this, but he was the best Pen on the ice tonight. Geno deserves all the attention after this game because of the two goals, but Sid played fantastic.
-Keep Sid and Geno together at least until Staal comes back. I think it gave Geno some confidence tonight. He knows Sid is there to help, so he doesn’t feel like he has to do it all himself (even though we all know that he doesn’t have to do it all himself on the second line, he sometimes just chooses to).
-The Buzz line was one of our bright spots. It took them a little while, but they had some phenomenal shifts.
-The second and fourth lines created zero.
-What was really disappointing was the D. They weren’t all that bad defensively, but they couldn’t get it out of their own zone to save their lives. Once again, though, the Flyers really were aggressive on the forecheck and forced the D to make mistakes.
-The Pens special teams were, without a doubt, a big bright spot tonight. The PK gave up a goal, but there’s only so many "big kills" that they can handle.
-(If you don’t want to hear me talk compliment the Flyers, don’t read) I tell you what, the Flyers did a fantastic job in their own zone. The Pens love to cycle the puck along the perimeter: the Flyers cut of the along-the-boards pass. The Pens love to crash the net: the Flyers keep the Pens out of their own crease. The Pens didn’t have their best game, but they would’ve won had the Flyers not played in their own zone so well. I know that they are a hated rival, but they deserved to win tonight.
-It was puzzling to see the Pens get zero shots on goal during the final 2 and half minutes with the PP and 6 men on the ice. Watch the replay of those last two minutes and there are 2 or three Flyers guarding the crease with no Pens able to get within 5 feet. As a result the Pens D tried long range shots, but had to actually shooting for the net instead of shooting for a deflection; therefore the missed the net on more than a few chances. Basically, because of the Flyer D in front, the Pens couldn’t crash the net OR try and set up deflections. Don’t get me wrong, the Pens didn’t exactly have their best two minutes there, but the Flyer’s wouldn’t let them do anything.
-This team is pissed. You know it. The Rangers are in for it tomorrow night. If Crosby plays again like he did tonight it’s 20 games for sure. I’m hopeful that Geno can keep it up and the Pens blow them out of CEC. See you guys then.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
I agree with just about everything you said Allie. The Pens gave Philly all the chances they needed to win. Hopefully Disco Dan isn’t outcoached again tonight. Take it to the Rangers and no stupid penalties. We all knew the Pens could have played even better even though the streak was going well. Letang has to stop giving the puck away. Max played pretty well. Let’s “play the right way” guys.
"Elvis has now left the building!!"
Nittany Lions 4 Life
Great analyses by both Hooks and Allie.
I agree that Sid looked terrific, but also agree that he did defer to Geno too often. I’m sure he’ll see the video and pick out some times he would like to have made better decisions, so I’m not too worried. He made some terrific passes, but we could have used a shot on that 2 on 1.
The Flyers played well. They slowed the game down to a speed they wanted for much of the game, putting the Pens off their stride a bit. The Pens adjusted, but I thought showed that they haven’t been off that stride often lately and it took a while to adjust. They didn’t play badly, though, just some mistakes here and there, and coming out (suprisingly) a little flat. Sometimes too much energy waiting for a game to start can wear you down before the game begins. And, sometimes it leads to dumb penalties. There were definitely a few tonight as described above. Pronger is predictable. We need to stop reacting to the gamesmanship.
I thought the Buzz line looked good in the third and had some great cycles. More of the cycles with a few shots would be better.
Go get those Rangers now. They were the last team we lost to before winning 12 straight. Let’s make them the first one we win against to restart a new streak.
but also agree that he did defer to Geno too often.
I think he did that more out of necessity. I can only think of one time where he probably should’ve shot the puck; other than that, the Flyers over played his shot, so he passed all night, but I only saw one time where he forced it. I mean, think about it. Sid gets most of his shots/goals 5 feet from the net. One of the best things the Flyers did tonight was protect their own crease.
The Flyers played well. They slowed the game down to a speed they wanted for much of the game, putting the Pens off their stride a bit. The Pens adjusted, but I thought showed that they haven’t been off that stride often lately and it took a while to adjust. They didn’t play badly, though, just some mistakes here and there, and coming out (suprisingly) a little flat. Sometimes too much energy waiting for a game to start can wear you down before the game begins. And, sometimes it leads to dumb penalties. There were definitely a few tonight as described above. Pronger is predictable. We need to stop reacting to the gamesmanship.
Very well said, I completely agree.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 14, 2010 11:05 PM EST up reply actions
thanks for the recap and analysis guys. lunch break and i find out the pens lost. oh well. hope this would be geno’s breakout game.
hey allie, do you know if someone is streaming the 24/7 tomorrow? obviously, hbo asia wont be showing it here. hehe
I think someone is streaming it (not totally sure though), but the same guy also streams the Pens games but in order to not get the steam shut down, he has to keep it on the DL and doesn’t want anyone sharing the link. I don’t blame him for that. As someone who doesn’t have VS in her dorm, he can be a life saver.
This is the one time I wish SBN had private messaging…
Is there any way I can contact you? Like in some form that you’re comfortable sharing on here?
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 14, 2010 11:31 PM EST up reply actions
You need to follow me, so that I can send you a message.
Lol you’re welcome.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 1:26 AM EST up reply actions
Also…you might be able to buy HBO’s channel online (not sure of the name). It might not be available in Asia and I don’t know if you want to spend the money.
I won’t be able to watch the show because I have an exam at that time tomorrow, but my parents are recording it for me and I’ll be able to watch once I get home to TX Friday night.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 14, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
exactly, Hooks
But it was the guy he mainly replaced who’s absence showed. This game was meant for Chris Kunitz. Lots of energy, skating, checking, positioning. Kunitz has sort of been an after thought playing with Sidney Crosby, but it’s probably worth pointing out Crosby had one of his quietest games at even-strength in recent memory. Credit Pronger and Matt Carle? Sure. But the Pens team didn’t find their legs early in the game, and that’s one area where Kunitz shines.
that said, I’m glad he is taking the time he needs to get right.
its only 1 game. “the streak” is just media hype anyhow.
Apparently, it doesn’t look good for Kuni in the next game either.
The scary thing is,even though Sid was quiet tonight, he still had a brilliant game. One might have to watch the game over to see all the subtle things he did or how hard he worked along the boards to get a play going. Malkin was the star tonight, but Sid still drove the Pens.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 12:16 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
As a general question to Diomedes and Hooks, what would Kunitz have actually done this game that was something more than what Malkin gave Crosby? Sure he skates hard, but how does that free up a ton more space, or at least more space than what Malkin frees up?
Hockey Blogger at Pensburgh.com
Having Kunitz tonight would have given the Penguins a 2nd scoring line led by Malkin
The Pens didn’t play their best game tonight, but were still in it until that last penalty
Kunitz could have made the difference
That said, I’d STILL rather him get healthy than worry about 1 game
or, even worse, a freaking streak
Allie mentioned that Kunitz might be out again for the Rangers game — and he SHOULD be
If he wasn’t ready for the Flyers, I doubt 24 hours more is going to do it
Let him sit. And that gives him 4 more days b/w games. As Hooks noted, the longest break of the year.
Hopefully he’ll be back then.
Having Kunitz tonight would have given the Penguins a 2nd scoring line led by Malkin
We will never know for sure but I think thats a huge plus. HCDB always puts Sid and Geno out there together for periods of time anyways, so it would have been nice for Geno to be on the 2nd line IMO.
Get in the fast lane Grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!
by PensForTheWin on Dec 15, 2010 9:07 AM EST up reply actions
looked a little flat out there,
surprising for how big the game is, but whatevs, it had to end sometime. The big thing will be rebounding against the Rangers, huge game tomorrow (er, I guess tonight).
"So put 2 on, put 10 on, WHAT DO YOU CARE IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE PAYIN' FOR 'EM!!!!?"
-Doug Heffernan, in regards to Arthur and his stamp needs
Speaking of the NYR game...
Can we count on BJ being in net? Been a while since Fluery’s had a day off and back to back and etc etc etc.
Our crappy lucky team *WAS* better than your good unlucky team.
I’m gonna go with no. After this game, the Pens have 5 days off. I think DB gives the start to Flower since there’s such a long rest after.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Great recap Hooks, very in depth and professional.
I want to touch on one thing I think you especially hit the nail in the head on.
This game was meant for Chris Kunitz. Lots of energy, skating, checking, positioning.
I remember when they traded for Kunitz. If memory serves it was after a few brutal games and the forewords were getting pushed around. They played Philly recently in that streak if I recall correctly. I think Philly is a reason why we traded for him, and I agree I think we needed a puck holding physical wing last night. (Nothing against my boy Geno, but he just isn’t that mold)
Now that the PK has shown the world it isn’t perfect (I think we all knew and expected it wouldn’t be) I am more excited than ever to see #11 skate.
Get in the fast lane Grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!
I mean, geez, they’re not perfect, but the PK is pretty damn good. I don’t know how much better Staal can make them—and that’s not a dig at Staal, that’s just how well the PK is playing this season.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 11:11 AM EST up reply actions
Good reading, Hooks
I will definately say that I really wanted the Pens to win, especially against the Flyers.
The Flyers controlled and dominated through most of this game but it’s the dumb
dumb dumb stupid penalities that did us in. The one on Cooke and Geno.
Come on guys, you know better!
It was nice to see Geno back with the two goals (a hat trick would have been icing on the cake.)
But I have to give credit to the Flyers who are so well coached now and they
play a very well disciplined game. These are not the old Flyers we are all used to
hating and playing against: I think that team is long gone.
I hate the Flyers now more then ever. But I respect what they did last night.
Next time, the Pens win. Payback time.
What you see is what you get: and with Sidney Crosby:
He is God's gift to Hockey.
Any questions?
by PensFanInDenver on Dec 15, 2010 9:48 AM EST reply actions
Bad from the start
As mentioned above, the pens had no legs in the first. Thus, they only played 2/3 of the game the way they could.
But the worst was seeing three icings to start the game. Right away this was an indication that they came out flat, forcing the puck out of the zone without making heads up decisions.
Overall the flyers played great antagonizing hockey and were repaid with the pens taking those dumb penalties. However, I did think there were a couple from behind hits that were never called. A little disappointing but the refs are human.
What happened to the PK
The PK goes to stopping 30 some straight penalties to giving up a pp goal in 6 straight games now.
You can not blame for this game. They played an outstanding game. With as many penalties that were called, they were bound to give up one.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 11:13 AM EST up reply actions
There’s a lot of luck involved in the penalty kill. There’s also a skill component, but after the Penguins killed off like 35 in a row, you should expect them to give up quite a few more to bring them back in balance.
Hockey Blogger at Pensburgh.com
EGAD! I miss one game and this is what happens? Our beautiful streak is ruined! Ah, well, all good things and so forth. On the plus side, Sid’s point streak lives to score another day.
Q: Are we not men?
A: We are Penguins!
I think his stache is living too.
My Thoughts on the Pens & Twitter
"A player's game is a composition. Sometimes it's a line, sometimes a paragraph. Right now, Crosby's game is a novel." -Scott Burnside
by AllieLXXXVII on Dec 15, 2010 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
I got into it with idiotic posters on the ESPN message boards, Pens and Flyers fans both. I need to come somewhere where there is intelligence and logic and common sense. lol.
I think Flower starts tonight. Time off for a bit after this game. He played really well last night, so I say give him another start. Geno looked pretty awesome last night. One of my favorite things is his PP slapper from the face off dot. But he needs to not take boneheaded penalties. Flyers’ D played pretty damn good last night, credit to them. And my 2nd favorite goalie, Boosh, did well also. (Don’t judge: been a Boosh fan for 10 years. Met him, talked to him, really nice guy. I have a personalized happy 21st birthday autograph on a Phantoms jersey from him. Dude is awesome lol)
"Get in the fast lane grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!" - Mike Lange
by CammieBuckeye33 on Dec 15, 2010 11:58 AM EST reply actions
Grand Company
Sidney Crosby tied a career-high by extending his point streak to 19 straight games. He is the seventh player in NHL history to have multiple 19-game point streaks in their careers.
Player Streaks
-————————-
Wayne Gretzky* 8
Sidney Crosby 2
Brett Hull* 2
Guy Lafleur* 2
Mario Lemieux* 2
Adam Oates 2
Steve Yzerman* 2
* Hall of Famer
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