Penguins 5, Islanders 1

That was the most dominating performance we've seen out of the Pens all year. They beat the Islanders in just about every facet of the game. Their power play was good, their penalty kill was better, and they scored three times at even strength. DiPietro made some amazing saves, or it could have been even more lopsided.

The youngsters continued their amazing play. Christensen notched his first NHL goal, was a plus two, and won eleven of his seventeen faceoffs. Whitney had a three point night, was plus three, and logged more ice time than anyone on the team, due to his role on the PK as well as the PP.

Crosby had his first two goal night, and they were trying to get him his third. Didn't happen, but it was nice to see him break out a little bit.

The biggest thing I noticed tonight was that the skill players really started playing like skill players. We saw much more in the way of nice moves in open ice with sharp passes. Crosby's second goal, on a pass from Lemieux, was gorgeous. Lemieux, from above the left circle, put a sharp pass on the tape of Crosby's stick. Crosby didn't just tip the puck - he lifted it over DiPietro, who had gone down. Beautiful.

It was also nice to see some chemistry on the Talbot / Murley line (not sure who was out there with them, whether it was Fata, Koltsov or Pirjeta?) but Talbot and Murley seem to have something going. At the very least, they play with energy and forecheck vigorously.

What was the attendence at the arena? They announced during the broadcast that it was about 10,700. Not very good, but with the game the Islanders put on, maybe the fans were psychic...

One other fun fact while I'm still going... do you know who logged the most ice time at even strength? Brooks Orpik. While I'm sure part of that is a function of his lack of playing time on the PP and PK, it's still interesting to note. He seems to be skating a lot better.

Boy, it's much easier to write when the Pens win.

Next up is Boston on Saturday.