These west coast recaps are normally a bit shorter than others. Combine that with this obscene daylight savings action and I still don't know whether I'm up late or not. At any rate, here goes...
On a night where Steve Sullivan finally netted his first goal as a Penguin, Chris Kunitz went right ahead and took the reigns to not only force overtime but also seal the win in the shootout.
Strong game from Marc-Andre Fleury, especially since the defense spent the first period and a half of the game getting a feel for LA. Always weird when you play a team only once during the season. Never know what they'll throw at you, although admittedly some of LA's players have spent time in the East over recent years (Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Rob Scuderi, to name a few).
Kris Letang picked up his 12th assist on the year on Sullivan's early go-ahead goal. That not only places him in a three-way tie for second most points by a defenseman, but it also adds to his streak of five points in four games. So long as he stays on the ice and out of the league's dunce corner (see also: suspensions), we should be looking at another season in which he's a top consideration for Norris Trophy honors. PS - he also led all Pens in ice time with nearly 33 minutes. Really gets you thinking about those offseason workout videos that surfaced this summer...
James Neal has now gone three games without a goal, amazingly the longest he's gone all season without lighting the lamp. Much to his credit though, even when he's not finding the back of the net he is finding teammates. The Real Deal has four assists over the last three games.
Saturday's win halted a potential three-game losing streak for the Pens, who now receive a nice long break before returning home Friday night to host the Stars. They might as well get the rest while they can, because the rest of the month allows only two to three days of rest between games.