Monday, December 03, 2007

Penguins 3, Coyotes 1

I thought this was going to turn into a game from 03-04, with the Coyotes playing the role of the Penguins.

The Coyotes are clearly challenged offensively, especially on the power play. They managed only nine shots through the first two periods, and 18 for the game. They managed to finally get a power play goal, but they were unable to generate any kind of sustained pressure throughout the entire game.

The Pens, for their part, were unable to convert on numerous power play chances during the first two periods. The thing is, they weren't unable to score because of their own play. I think it was largely the play of Bryzgalov. He was really good tonight. I'm surprised he wasn't one of the three stars.

The Pens finally did break through on the power play in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. Crosby faked a shot, freezing just about everyone in the building, and threw a pass across to Letang. The most impressive part about the shot by Letang was that he didn't try to one-time the puck. He took a split second to settle the hard pass before firing it into the empty cage (Bryzgalov got a stick on it anyway, amazingly).

Great win for the Pens. They stuck with their system and kept working. They received scoring from three guys that aren't counted on to score. They also received some great goal tending. Most of all, they received a win.

Next up: To the West Coast! The Pens play Edmonton on Wednesday night.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Pens have been playing great lately. The division standings are still really tight; they need to start winning in bunches here

Recchi's tenure with Pittsburgh seems all but finished now. If he's not dealt away by the end of the week I'll be very surprised. I have all the respect in the world for Recchi, but during his absence the Pens have been playing some of their best hockey of the season.