Friday, October 20, 2006

Penguins 4, Islanders 3 (OT)

Another game for Evgeni Malkin leads to another win for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I'd like to see this trend continue!

This is another game that the Pens would have lost last year. The Pens were trailing 3-2 going into the third period. According to the guys on the radio, the team didn't win a single game last year when trailing going into the third. It's nice to see that the players are learning how to win these games. They're also now 2-0 on the road, which bodes well if they can keep the good stuff going.

Malkin had a goal and an assist, and his goal was the game tying goal in the third period. It was created by a great effort on the part of he and Crosby. Sid the Kid had three assists. Nils Eckman had a goal and an assist, but took some bad penalties. Sarge had the game winner, which was great to see. Getting Gonchar going has to be a priority for this team.

Now onto the (slight) controversy - we have another whining coach:

"I think for a world class player, for a guy of his caliber, he's diving every time someone touches him," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "No question in my mind, he should have been called for a slash before Yashin had a chance to hook him.

"I'm not saying Yashin's wasn't a penalty, I'm just saying there should have been a penalty before. If Yashin maybe acted like Crosby and dove, maybe he would have gotten that call."

And to think I liked Ted Nolan. This is the first game he's coached against Crosby, and he's already crying. Hopefully the Pens can beat the Isles the next 7 times with Crosby diving each game.

The power play was 3-8, which was nice to see. The PK allowed two goals in the span of 1:09. In fact, all of the Islanders goals game in a 3 minute time frame in the second period. The Pens have to avoid lapses like that. They also have to work on not allowing 37 shots.

Anyway, good win on the road.

Next up: Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at home

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