Thursday, November 19, 2009

Senators 6, Penguins 2

So what happened?
The Pens had some key chances early and couldn't covert. The power play also was unable to come through when it mattered (the power play goal they scored was after the game was decided). Fleury didn't play very well either - he was screened on a few shots, but there were a few that had no business going in.

Who scored?
Staal (6), Malkin (5)

Any surprises?
I thought the less experienced D were exposed a bit tonight. Engelland was a -4, and the Sens were able to keep the puck in the zone for extended stretches. The surprise was that a Kovalev line was able to cycle and dominate. I didn't know that Kovie still had that much fire.

Any change in the standings?
Yep - the Devils lost in a shoot out, so:
Division: 2nd (one point behind New Jersey)
Conference: 3rd
League: 5th (tied with Los Angeles)

Who's next?
At Atlanta on Saturday night. The Thrashers have been decent so far this year.

Notes:
  • The power play is becoming a serious issue for the Pens (they have just 2 power play goals in their past 10 games). Hopefully Gonchar getting used to game action again will improve that.
  • Despite Gonchar returning, the Pens still were missing 4 of their top 6 guys on the blue line. That's going to take a toll, and we saw that tonight.
  • These games will happen sometimes. Tomorrow is another day.

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