Nice win.  Ugly game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins looked pretty stale on defense tonight, allowing the Thrashers to amass a 12 shot third period that came within inches of changing the tides of the game.  If not for the crossbar behind Dany Sabourin, it's likely Jason Williams would've given the Thrashers a 3-2 third period lead and perhaps even the win.

Sidney Crosby dished an assist on the first goal by Miroslav Satan in the first period, later adding another helper on a shot that was redirected for the game winner by Petr Sykora.  But it was the second period goal that Pensburgh users Dayna and Angela MC labeled "flashy" that will no doubt make an appearance on every hockey highlights package for months to come.  Sliding down, nearly on his back, Crosby sent a Tyler Kennedy goal home for his seventh of the year.

Dany Sabourin played a phenomenal game in net.  He stopped Ilya Kovalchuk point blank on a breakaway, followed it up later with two or three more similar saves on two other Thrashers that saved the Penguins power play from looking like a flashback fto the Flyers game earlier this month.

And who knows?  Maybe there's some bad blood developing between these two teams.  If Kovalchuk and Crosby don't already have some, there's a good chance some tension is brewing between Colby Armstrong and Eric Godard.  If not for a mandatory line change it's likely the two would've dropped mitts.  There's more a chance that Atlanta's Todd White and Kris Letang will have something rearing to go on December 18 when the teams meet again, but White will have to get his head screwed on right before that can happen.

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Check out the Wild perspective at Hockey Wilderness

Let is be said here and now - Nicklas Backstrom is an incredible goaltender.  Whatever term you use to label the Minnesota Wilds' 'system' doesn't negate the fact that it works effectively and it works for him.

And to think - if it weren't for Michael Zigomanis' choppy face-off win in the first that took a Wild bounce past Sabourin, this would've been a 1-0 Penguins win and Sabu's first shutout of the year.

But whose making excuses?  It's not like we're Flyers fans.  Real teams come back to even the score and that's exactly what the Penguins did 10 seconds later.  The stalemate carried both teams to overtime, followed by the subsequent shootout.

On paper the game can easily appear as a boring end-to-end match.  Scoring chances were minimal but that's what made the intensity level so much higher.  Minnesota plays a very disciplined, defensive game that cancels out the Penguins' offensive onslaught.  On the other hand, Minnesota's D was pressured effectively by the Pens all night but were obviously up to the task.

Unfortunately a lot of things came to an end tonight.  Evgeni Malkin was held pointless on the night, thus bringing his 13 game streak to its untimely end.  The Penguins' six game win streak also came to an end, but their point streak is still alive.  13 points over seven games, 6-0-1 for the month of November.  I don't know about you, but I can live with that. 

And hey, even Jordan Staal dropped the mitts for only the second or third time in his career.  Dunman will no doubt have something on that later, although I'll tell you now it's not Laraque/Godard quality.

In the end there's no denying both teams earned their point, but Minnesota just barely edged out over the Pens for the extra one.  Let the Pens take this one to heart.  Who knows where the playoffs will lead them?

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Lately any game the Penguins play looks more and more like a basketball game.  Why watch the entire thing when all you need to do is tune in for the last 15 minutes?

Well the Penguins rallied a four-goal third period over the Buffalo Sabres to steal a 5-2 win, their sixth in a row.  Despite a lack of action in the first two periods it was still an exciting game to watch from beginning to end.  Luckily it wasn't one of those give-up-the-lead sort of games.  Here's to hoping those are a thing of the past.

The night started slow for the Pens but they were able to gain some momentum behind the solid goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury.  Going 2-for-6 with the man advantage didn't hurt much either.

Malkin's 13-game point streak continued with a stellar three-point game where he netted one and helped on two others.  For a team that had to 'settle' with him on the point during the power play, I'd say it's been working out pretty well for the Penguins.  And while Malkin will occasionally watch a puck skip over his stick, you can't rag on him for it.  More often than not the positives will outweigh the negatives with a guy like him working the point.

Also have to give some credit to Alex Goligoski.  Even though he slipped the game-winner past Marty Biron in the Flyers game Thursday night, he didn't play the best of games - he said so himself.  But tonight GoGo bagged the tying goal that started the Pens' rally off in the third while also getting an assist on Malkin's second period goal.  I think it's safe to say we have ourselves a franchise defenseman in the making.

The Penguins will test out the undefeated luck of the blue jerseys Tuesday night against the Wild.  Until then they remain 2-0 when sporting the baby blues.

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What would a Pittsburgh Penguins game be like without an overtime?  Fact is the Penguins were lucky to just get there.  In all honesty you can say the Penguins stole this game away from the Flyers.  Then again, the Flyers nearly stole it away from the Pens.

Let's recap, shall we?  The Penguins netted three quick goals in the first to jump out to an early and commanding lead.  But for all you readers and fans out there who watched the Edmonton Oilers game, you know three goals isn't enough for the 2008/09 Penguins.  Heck, five was just barely enough in that game.

Sure enough the Flyers charge back.  How is it the league's third best power play is held to a moderate 1-for-4 on the night but their penalty kill scored on two out of four chances?  The sheer thought of it nauseates me.  After a rough second period, Marc-Andre Fleury was benched in favor of Dany Sabourin.  This would ultimately pose as the best move of the night.

Alex Goligoski was well on his way into the coach's dog house.  He looked as if he gave up on the play when Simon Gagne busted in on Fleury.  He made a few blind, erratic passes that nearly led to Philly chances and he stumbled a bit on the transition game from blue line to blue line.  Things weren't looking so good for GoGo early on. 

Sidney Crosby sent it to overtime for his second goal on the night and the shootout quickly followed.  Goligoski eventually posed as the only player to score in the sixth round of the shootout.  After Sabu stoned Hartnell and 'Sabu Slammed' him to the ice in a light collision, Goligoski skated off as the hero for the night. 

Mark it: five in a row for the Pens, who remain undefeated in the month of November.

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For the Red Wings' view check out Winging It in Motown

Was that not the greatest game you've seen all year?  It's not exactly payback for losing in the Finals, but hey, we'll take it.

Midway through the second when the Penguins were down 3-1 I reached for the ol brown-bagged whiskey bottle for salvation.  Yet as the clock wore down in the third and the bottle neared emptiness, I had no choice but to resort to that same bag in order to prevent myself from hyper-ventilating.

I say again, was that not the greatest game you've seen all year?

Fleury stoned Hossa on countless chances and the rest of the Penguins squad kept him relatively quiet on the night, save a few assists.  That right there is bitter sweet.

Jordan Staal had one of the best games of his career as he started AND finished a hat trick all in the third period.  Tag on his assist to Ruslan Fedotenko for the game winner and Jordan had himself a four point night.

Let's face it, this game was not a defensive standoff.  When the final score ends 7-6 it is anything but.  Yet the Penguins stayed neck and neck with the Red Wings later in the game and showed that they weren't about to give up on anything.

What can you say about a final score like this anyways?  Was it an ugly game?  A lights out win?  Hardly either.  The Penguins loused up a few times with penalties, five times total in fact that led to three Detroit goals.  Stupid penalties taken at inopportune times led to near heart attacks for everyone in the Open Thread.

But they did it.  They came back and cycled the puck, controlled the zone and followed up on their shots.  You have to, HAVE to give major credit to an unsung hero in this game, and that man is none other than Michael Zigomanis.  Without his key face-off wins, the goal that sent it to overtime would not have happened.  He is an animal in the circle and deserves every penny of his contract, contrary to what may show in the points category.

To think, I needed to relax midway through because I was losing my mind at how poorly the Pens were playing.  Now I have to relax at the end of it because of how insanely good they played towards the end.

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Where...is...the puck?

Jeez, talk about a cloudy call.  If I had to compare this to anything else, I'd say this is comparable to a batter coming up to the plate with bases loaded, two outs, a full count in the bottom of the ninth with his team down by a run (before the MLB decided to use instant replay).  His hit rockets to the outfield.  It's high, it's deep it's...was it off the foul pole?  Did it hit the wall?  Is this a home run?  Umpires say no and on the next pitch he strikes out.  Tough break, rough game, what can you do?

All week Dominik and I from Lighthouse Hockey have been sharing pointers on the Pens and Islanders.  The one conclusive point Dominik and I made was that both teams decide to stop playing in the third.  Even the boys on Hockey Night on Long Island said the team has fallen into an awful habit of giving up on the game. Tonight, much to the Penguins' advantage, the Isles chose to let up on the attack.  They didn't record their first shot of the period until there was three minutes left ticking down on the clock.  The scariest part is, they nearly scored.

And to think; the third period was the trying period for both teams tonight but overtime proved to be the trying test for the referees. 

So we focus on the shootout. 

Heading into the Islanders' last chance following Sykora's shoot-out goal, Sabourin makes what appears to be the game-winning save off of the Islanders' Trent Hunter.  Here's where the questions that start this post come into play. 

Black and gold glasses not withstanding, I feel this puck literally planted itself inside Sabourin's pads down by the knee.  I think that was more than obvious to anyone watching.  At the same time it's absolutely impossible for the goal judges to make a definitive decision on this thing, regardless as to whether or not Sabu's leg was over the line or past it.

Now some would argue it doesn't matter.  Sidney Crosby was up next with the game on his stick, yada yada yada, game, set, match.  I can't believe that.  This was a tough break for the Islanders, no doubt.  But if I'm going to beat a team I want to know straight up that I beat them.  It'll be interesting to see the takes from different blogs on this one.

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You know, when your team gets a 5-0 lead after two periods of play, you should at least feel moderately comfortable with that effort, right?  I mean, you should have confidence that nothing could possibly go wrong to cause a team to lose a 5-0 lead.

Well, thankfully the Penguins didn't drop the lead, but they did let the Oilers come close to stealing this one out right from under their noses.  It's a shame too because Petr Sykora and Miroslav Satan both combined for a tremendous night of goals, but those will now be overlooked in light of the near collapse.

And what - what attributed to this?  Mistakes and poor play.  When Pitt was on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period, Sheldon Souray busted out of the box and put away a short-handed goal to bring the Oilers within one.  At that very moment you have to admit your stomach was churning, your insides were decaying and your brow began to sweat.  I for one glance at the clock and allowed for Operation Countdown to begin.

We've all played that game before.  And frankly you can play from home.  All you have to do is have a team, preferably the one you root for on a regular basis, and have them drop a tremendous lead.  From there you watch the clock, counting down every second till the final horn and hope for the win.  It's an exciting game, with first place walking away with what they should have received with a surmountable lead anyway - the win. 

It's a good thing the Pens were able to jump out to such a lead because this had the makings of a spoiler.  Then again, if the Penguins didn't have the lead and actually had to come back and earn it then maybe they would have played the rest of the game with a little heart. 

I know one thing.  I don't want to be the fly on the wall in the Pens' locker room after this game.  Therrien is probably going on a tangent, and if I'm stuck to the wall eavesdropping I run a good chance of being hit by a flying object.

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Admit it - when the Penguins headed into the third period up 4-2 you looked at the clock more than the play.  I know I was giving it its fair share of attention; and why not?  Next to the Carolina game two weeks ago, the third period hasn't been the best of times for the Penguins this season (see also games against Capitals, Rangers).  The faster it goes by with the less damage done the better for everyone.

Your heart may have skipped a beat even when the Blues' Patrick Berglund netted one in the third to make it 4-3.  But no worries.  Max Talbot, back from a banged up foot, was sure to open up the lead again with a rocket past Chris Mason to put the Pens up again by two. 

The Blues pulled Mason with just over two minutes remaining in the game.  Amazingly they kept the pressure on well enough to avoid an empty-net goal.  That is, until Jordan Staal netted one with 20 seconds left to put the final at 6-3.

It may be far fetched to say, but the Blues played a dirty game tonight.  Two slashes - one on Kris Letang and the other on Rob Scudeiri - went unnoticed by the referee even when it was more than evident that the players were in bad shape from it.  Fortunately the injuries weren't serious enough to warrant a trip to the locker room, but I can't imagine both guys will have the best of days tomorrow.  In the end though, at least the Blues' tomahawk chops were outdone by Pittsburgh's goals.  So much for that - better luck next time.

Great backcheck by the Pens.  I'm looking at Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby in particular.  The best way to make chances for your team is to get that puck at center ice and turn momentum the other way.  There were a couple of instances like that tonight and it definitely helped in the third period.

And how bout them shots?  For all the recent recaps where I've picked on the Pens for not putting the puck on net, they did outshoot the Blues tonight 28-22.  Definitely an improvement from the lackluster efforts in the previous game against the Coyotes.

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Residential Coyotes fan OdinMercer provided a solid recap for last night's game directly below this post.  Check it out, and thank him in advance for being humble in our moment of disarray.  If you're looking for additional Coyotes coverage then shoot over to Coyotes Hip Check blog.

What a road trip this is turning out to be, huh?  Starting with the Rangers game on Saturday, the Penguins have now dropped three straight, salvaging only a single point from the shootout loss in New York.

But that's not the real issue here.  In fact, there are many.  For starters,  Sidney Crosby left last night's game against the Coyotes in the third period with what is being called *surprise* an undisclosed injury.  Phoenix reports say it's his ribs, Pittsburgh reports deny it.  Chances are it is and they're just looking to protect their star.  Can't blame them there.

Read on for more, plus [horrid] video highlights from last night.

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For a Sharks perspective, check out Fear the Fin.

FYI - I don't normally do this, but I know a lot of us missed this one because of the Pacific start.  I've attached full video highlights courtesy of NHL.com after the jump.

I guess the Penguins didn't have to worry about Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo or Joe Thornton.  What they did have to worry about were mistakes in their own end, lack of shots (11?!) and the Sharks' depth.

The Penguins didn't really muster up an attack until the third period with less than five minutes remaining.  In a 2-0 game I guess all hope is not lost by that point, but for a team that has recorded less than a dozen shots over the ENTIRE GAME?  Yeah, I'd say you can write it off as a loss.

Was this a matter of quality over quantity?  Yes and no.  Yes, because Evgeni Nabokov was forced to make a few ridiculous saves, much to his credit.  But the Pens can't expect to go up against a team like the Sharks and get nit picky with shots.  Quantity over quality - get the rebounds and hope for good things.  That's more or less what the Sharks did with all 34 of their shots.  Must be nice...

Gotta give a nod to Sabourin as well.  He played an extremely disciplined game for a guy who hardly had any help on the other end.  I'd imagine it's frustrating, and rightfully so.  Then again, he also had some help from the crossbar on a few chances as well.

This shot thing HAS to change.  Three shots in the first, five in the second and three in the third.  Disgusting.  They're lucky this wasn't a shutout.  Even the only goal of the night was an ugly one.

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