After two periods the Penguins seemed to be in control and ready to hang on for another win...A turbulent 3rd would follow, give Tampa credit they never backed down or quit and came close several times to narrowing the score. But, they didn't and the Penguins improve to 3-0 on this crucial five game road trip.
- Dan Byslma's magic improves to 6-1-1 with the team under his guidance.
- Marc-Andre Fleury was at his unconventional best using every part of his equipment to make 32 saves on 33 shots and stand tall in front of some serious traffic. At the other end, I thought Karri Ramo had a whale of an effort too.
- The Chris Kunitz takeover of the world continues! 2 more goals for the guy who's quickly going to become a fan favorite for going to the net and having the hands to finish. The Penguins haven't had a guy like that since....
- Ryan Malone! Malone did play that game, seemed quiet but at the end of the night he had an assist, two shots on goal, a hit, a blocked shot and two takeaways.
- Pascal Dupuis was named the second star of the game. He had one assist, a team high five shots on goal, two hits and two takeaways. More importantly, Dupuis showed a lot of speed and great moves with the puck. The move he made to get the pass to Matt Cooke was brilliant. Let's hope "Dupper" can keep that up when Sidney Crosby is back in the lineup.
- Wasn't all roses, Brooks Orpik had a rough night. The number one rule for a defensemen on a 2-on-1 is DON'T LET THE PASS THROUGH. Orpik's defending against Vincent Lecavalier and Vinny Prospal, and what does he do? Well he plays the pass for a while, but when it looks like Lecavalier commits to the shot Orpik waggles his stick to at once ruin the shooting and passing lane. Too bad it did neither and Vinny found Vinny who beat a helpless Fleury. Orpik also took an obvious penalty right in front of the net and just seemed a little "off" all around. Everyone is allowed a rough day now and then, but Orpik's got to be more stable.
- Even with resting two ex-Penguins (and probably soon to be ex-Lightning) Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts; Tampa still had 4 ex-Pens dressed. That is ca-razy!
Well, that's your pre-trade deadline Pittsburgh Penguins. Tomorrow surely will be a busy and crazy day around the league, who knows what Ray Shero has up his sleeve. His early move to acquire Kunitz has already paid early dividends, and Shero has an edge that no other general manager around the league has....Shero doesn't have to do anything and he's still going to add the guy who's second in the league in points-per-game (and 3rd overall in points).