Missed the first two periods of this one - power outage. Brrr... good thing it came back on - we're expecting lows in the single digits and wind chill 10-15 below zero.
The Pens keep playing with fire and still haven't been burned. Tonight they had the Blackhawks on the ropes, 3-1, and couldn't put them away. The Hawks tied the score at 3-3 and took the lead on what seemed to be a blatant too many men on the ice penalty that wasn't called. It resulted in a Ruutu (Tuomo, not Jarkko) breakaway. He beat Fleury and gave the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead with only 6:50 to play.
The Pens didn't waste any time, and Recchi, Malkin and Crosby turned on the jets and tied the score just 1:11 later. It stayed that way until OT.
Just 12 seconds into OT, Fleury made an incredible save. Havlat had an open net to shoot at and Fleury came across from his right to his left and stopped the puck (literally) with his toe / tip of his skate. Find the video of this one tomorrow on nhl.com - it was an incredible save.
Crosby did his best at the end of the OT, taking over the game single-handedly and carrying the puck. He rifled off several tough shots, getting his own rebound and working for another shot. It's been a long time since I've seen someone that possessed. Unfortunately, Khabibulin was up to the task of stopping him.
In the shootout, it was almost predictable. Christensen scored (he's 5 for 8 this year on the shootout) and Fleury made the saves. The only diversion from the norm is that Malkin relieved the Blackhawks of the need to shoot a third time by putting the Pens up for good at 2-0.
Great game - the Pens found a way to win. They're not playing the same dominating hockey they were just a little while ago, but they have enough confidence to find ways to win games. I don't think they'll be able to get away with that on Friday in New Jersey, however.
Next up: at New Jersey on Friday.
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F.Y.I - I'm watching the Flyers vs. Leafs game and they just reported that Forsberg has been traded to Nashville! Glad to see him out of the east but I'm kinda surprised he went there, I thought maybe up north or something.
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