Fear the Fu: Talbot Scores a Shorty, Pens Drop Canucks 3-1

Canucks Blog: Nucks Misconduct

Max Talbot tallied one and a helper, Arron Asham tipped in a ridiculous shot and Sid was just being Sid. Meanwhile back on the other end Marc-Andre Fleury played like a real goaltender and the defense put in a strong effort to win by the final of 3-1.

Isn't winning fun?

It's funny what 60 full minutes of hockey can do for a team.  Seriously.  From start to finish the Pens were the ones dictating the speed of this game.  If not for Sid's first-period goal and Kevin Bieksa and Craig Adams squaring off it would've been another slow 20-minute intro to the "real" game, but thankfully that just set the Pens up for a stronger second period.

If you're forcing me to take a negative aspect from a Penguins win then it will obviously fall on the power play.  Not only did the special teams fail six times Monday against the Rangers, but they also added another 0-for-2 tonight.  But let's pretend for at least tonight that the penalty kill helped hide that monkey on the back, particularly Max Talbot and his short-handed goal in the second.  I still get flashbacks to Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals any time he shoots from outside like that, but the save and deflection made him work a little harder for this one with a nice wraparound goal.

Arron Asham's goal was indescribable, or maybe I'm just too tired to consider typing out the entire thing.  If you saw it, you know it.  If you didn't, you'll see it soon on game highlights.  If Asham's stick didn't sneak in there the way it did, odds are the puck would've either been stopped somewhere in the crease or Evgeni Malkin's skate would've likely kicked it in.  Watch it again.

Kudos to Fleury, who stopped 29-of-30 shots to earn his fourth win of the season.  More flattering is his recent stat line: 3-0-1 in his last four (I'd include five but as you probably remember he was yanked against the Coyotes). 

Flower.  Power.

Oh and the Pens can't buy an empty netter either.

Comment of the night goes to BobPurkey34 (as voted on by you):

Uhh Mike Comrie?

You had to be there...