Penguins 5, Thrashers 2

So what happened?

Knowing that they had nothing to gain from a victory today other than pride and / or momentum, the Pens chose to rest Staal, Kunitz, Martin and Neal.

The team, to its credit, didn't miss a beat.

Yes, they were out shot badly (38-20), but most of that was after they had built a three goal lead heading into the third period. You'd like to see things be a bit more even in the third, but the truth is that this was much more similar to the playoffs - build a lead and then hang on for dear life.

Godard, Comrie, Conner and Tangradi were inserted into the lineup, and Niskanen and Engelland both played.

Who scored?

Kennedy (21), Dupuis (17), Rupp (9), Letestu (14), Comrie (1)

The Good?

• Mike Comrie had a few good chances and managed an empty-netter to get his first goal of the season. He may be needed in the playoffs, so it was nice to see him involved.
• Matt Niskanen was your ice time leader for the Pens. He played well, with two assists and a +1.
• The power play managed a goal for the third straight game for just the second time since November. They're getting pucks on the net and setting good screens right now.

The Bad?

• Getting out shot 16-3 in the third period is never a good thing.

The Ugly?

• Three more minor penalties in the third period while protecting a lead. If they do this in the playoffs, they'll be bounced out of the first round.

Any Surprises?

• Eric Godard had his second-highest ice time total of the season. Combine that with Niskanen being the leader in ice time and you have a big surprise.

What's their record now? Any important move in the standings?

The Pens finished the regular season with a record of 49-25-8, good for 106 points. It is the second-highest total in franchise history. They also tied the record for road wins with 24. This truly was a remarkable regular season by any standard you'd like to use.

Who's next?

The Bolts come to the Igloo later this week to open the playoffs. Beard-a-thon anyone?

Game #82 - at Atlanta Thrashers

Game 82

Penguins (48-25-8, 102 points) at Thrashers (34-35-12, 80 points)

Why does it matter?
It doesn't matter. This game has no bearing on the playoffs at all. The Pens are locked into the 4th spot in the East and will play Tampa Bay in the first round. Obviously a win today would be nice, but I'd expect lines to be rolling and anyone that gets bumped the wrong way to be pulled from the game.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - An amazing job of finishing with 106 points despite missing Sid and Geno for the stretch run. That is a testament to the job that HCDB has done, along with the heart and determination of the other guys on the ice.
• Thrashers - On January 5th, the Thrashers were 22-15-6 and in good playoff position. Over the next two months, they were 4-13-5. Season over right there, essentially.

Questions to be answered

• Only one, really - can the Pens avoid injury to keep everyone as healthy as possible for the playoffs?

Keys to the game

• Nothing dumb. No need for any fights from guys like Asham, Kennedy or Engelland - the last thing they need is for someone to break their hand in a fight.
• Work on the game - get the puck in deep and get shots on net. Start the playoff-style hockey a game early.

Penguins 6, Thrashers 3

So what happened?

The Pens dodged a bullet tonight to be sure. They put the Thrashers on the power play eight times (killing off seven of the chances), somehow escaping the first period with the game tied at 2-2. They earned a shorty in the second with a great individual effort by Matt Cooke, setting up Craig Adams. Sid pushed it out to a two goal lead just 9 second into the third, and the rout was on.

Any time you allow the opposition eight chances on the power play and still win, you're pretty lucky.

Who scored?

Crosby 2 (31,32), Adams (2), Kunitz (10), Letestu (8), Cooke (8)

The Good?

• Letestu's goal was fantastic. He took advantage of Burmistrov by muscling him off of the puck and then waited for Pavelec to make the first move, sweeping the puck past him.
• Evander Kane got knocked around a bit. I don't mind seeing that with the way he liked to throw his weight around in the first meeting.
• The penalty killers were really good when they needed it most. They also (largely) controlled Byfuglien (though Big Buff's goal was a sick slapper).
• Geno seemed to be getting some of the pick-pocket game going in a way we haven't seen from him in quite some time. If he keeps doing that, he'll start to rack up some numbers.
• The second period was particularly strong after a shaky first. The Pens out shot the Thrashers 16-5 in the second.

The Bad?

• Eight power play chances against - not good.
• More lack of discipline in taking some of those penalties. Matt Cooke specifically got called for essentially the same thing twice.

The Ugly?

• Nothing, really.

Any Surprises?

• Everyone played nearly 10 minutes and the lines were rolled all night long. We haven't seen that in a while this season.

What's their record now? Any important move in the standings?

The Pens are now 25-11-2. They have 52 points and are still on top of the standing in the NHL.

Who's next?

A trip to Long Island for tomorrow night.

Game #38 - vs Atlanta Thrashers

Game 38

Thrashers (19-13-6, 44 points) at Penguins (24-11-2, 50 points)

Why does it matter?
The Pens want to right the ship after a loss to the Sens. The Thrashers may be the right team at the right time.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - A lack of execution on special teams cost the Pens dearly in Ottawa.
• Thrashers - The Thrashers are struggling - they've lost five of their past seven games.

Questions to be answered

• Will the Pens take advantage of Atlanta's poor special teams? Lately, the Thrashers have been allowing goals on the PK. On the other side, they haven't been drawing many penalties. They're also not scoring when they do draw a call.
• Will we see the backup goalie today, even if it is John Curry? Given that you want Fleury fresh for Saturday and the Winter Classic, I think it's possible.
• Can Sid keep the point streak going?

Keys to the game

• Keep it simple. Atlanta will allow shots by the bucketful if pressed. Go north and south and get traffic in front.
• Keep your head up - Evander Kane is a big hitter.
• Get the zone time back.

Penguins 3, Thrashers 2

So what happened?

The score should be: Crosby 3, Thrashers 2. He was great tonight, netting the hat trick. He didn't do it alone, however. Flower made several great saves, and the team defense made the victory look relatively easy.

Is it me, or is the defense making these games look easy?

Who scored?

Crosby 3 (19,20,21)

The Good?

• Sid's hat trick was a natural, which means that he scored all three at even strength (in case you didn't know).
• The Pens allowed just 22 shots to the Thrashers, including just 5 in the third period when Atlanta was trying to come back from a one-goal deficit.
• As noted above, Flower was excellent again.
• The third line was generating some consistent offense. They have the speed to take on other teams, despite their lack of size. Conner shows a remarkable ability to win battles along the wall, again despite his lack of size.
• The Pens were able to roll four lines. Geno only played 16:26, largely due to the lack of power play chances by the Pens.

The Bad?

• The PK allowed a goal, but that's not really bad - they had gone 30-some chances without allowing one.

The Ugly?

• Nope - this was pretty low-key and clean.

Any Surprises?

• Max Talbot was credited with 7 hits. He's making the most of his chances on the second line.

What's their record now? Any important move in the standings?

The Pens are now 17-8-2. They lead the Atlantic division over the Flyers by two points. The Flyers have lost three in a row.

Who's next?

Saturday night in Columbus to play the Blue Jackets.

Game #27 - vs Atlanta Thrashers

Game 27

Thrashers (13-9-3, 29 points) at Penguins (16-8-2, 34 points)

Why does it matter?
The Thrashers are almost as hot as the Pens are. This will be a good litmus test, as the Pens have been beating up teams that are struggling.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - 10-1-1 in their past 12 games. All good things must end, but let's hope the Pens' streak doesn't end tonight.
• Thrashers - 6 straight wins, 5 goals against. That says it all.

Questions to be answered

• Which Pavelec will show up? The one that struggles against the Pens or the one that is red hot recently?
• Do the Pens have an answer for Byfuglien? He's big, physical and scores big goals.
• Can Geno step it up and have a big game?

Keys to the game

• Execute on special teams. The Thrashers don't take many penalties or draw many, but their PP is good for the chances they get.
• Play the match-up game. Get Sid and Geno out there against the likes of Antropov up front and Bogosian on the blue line.
• Keep the wings alert in the defensive zone. Byfuglien has more shots this season than Sid does (!!!). The forwards will need to make sure not to give him time and space to crank it up (and watch for him sneaking in the back door).

Penguins 4, Thrashers 2

So what happened?

The stars carried the Pens tonight, providing both the scoring punch and the key saves. It was one of the few times this season where Sid, Geno and Fleury all got into the act.

The Thrashers were able to generate offense, but Fleury was up to the task, bailing out the defense more than once. Generally, I thought the D was okay, for what it's worth.

Geno had the hat trick, and Sid had a goal and two helpers.

This was a great road win.

Who scored?
Malkin 3 (5,6,7), Crosby (12)

The Good?

• Flower was excellent again. He made several huge key saves when the team needed him the most.
• Geno finally broke out in a big way offensively. Let's hope this gets him going.
• Special teams were strong, with a key power play goal and none allowed on the PK. That's especially good considering the Thrashers are pretty good on the power play.

The Bad?

• Another game, another bit of excitement in the third period. The only thing that could really be called "bad" was Letang's pass attempt that Eager intercepted in the Pens' zone. Flower bailed them out with a big save.

The Ugly?

• Something happened to Paul Martin. He didn't play the last 7 minutes of the game. I didn't hear anything mentioned on the broadcast.

Any Surprises?

• The Thrashers out shot the Pens. Given the way Atlanta allows shots, I'd have to say that's a surprise.

What's their record now? Any important move in the standings?

The Pens are now 9-8-1. They are in second place in the Atlantic, five points behind the Flyers.

Who's next?

The Pens play Monday night at home against the Rangers.

Game #18 - at Atlanta Thrashers

Game 18

Penguins (8-8-1, 17 points) at Thrashers (7-6-3, 17 points)

Why does it matter?
The Pens badly need some momentum. They also badly need another good performance out of Marc-Andre Fleury.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - A great win at home over the Lightning last night will hopefully start the ship sailing in the right direction.
• Thrashers - They had lost three in a row before a great performance from Pavelec on Thursday night against Minnesota.

Questions to be answered

• Who gets the start in goal? My money is on Fleury.
• The Thrashers are pretty bad defensively (29th in goals against and 27th in PK %). Can the Pens push the tempo and put the puck in the net?
• Can the Pens control the Thrashers on the power play? The Atlanta boys are 4th in efficiency, and unlike the Lightning, they get goals from a bunch of players.

Keys to the game

• The Thrashers will allow a ton of shots, but not take many penalties. Keep them bottled up and work for the quality shot... don't just throw pucks at the net.
• Build on the performance from last night.
• Watch out for Byfuglien. He's a top-scoring defenseman this year, but has an all-around type of game.

Thrashers 1, Penguins 0

So what happened?

The Pens simply couldn't score (they hit two posts). They were stoned by Hedberg, who always seems to play well against them. What is it about these former Penguins? Anyway, they did just about everything right with a good defensive effort and good offensive zone time. They out shot the Thrashers 33-22 overall, and won that battle in each period. The PK also killed off 7 chances for the Thrashers.

Despite losing the chance for the #2 seed, I feel pretty good about the way the Pens are playing right now. The goals will come.

Who scored?
No one.

Any surprises?
It was surprising to me that the Pens could go from scoring 7 in a game to getting shut out.

Any change in the standings?

Yep - Jersey won, so the Pens will finish 4th in the conference and play Ottawa in the first round.

Conference: 4th

Who's next?
A meaningless finale against the Islanders. Maybe Sid can get his 50th.

Notes:

• Not good by Geno in taking two minor penalties. The second one was particularly bad as it came with less than 4 minutes left in the game and while the Pens were surging.
• HCDB really had to shorten the bench. Sid, Geno and Staal all played significant minutes.

Game #81 - at Atlanta Thrashers

Game 81

Penguins (46-27-7, 99 points) at Thrashers (34-34-13, 81 points)

Why does it matter?
It's looking likely that the winner of the Atlantic division will have the #2 seed. That should be the focus - home ice through two rounds (should they make it through the first round).

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - The Pens took care of business in exemplary fashion against the Isles on Thursday.
  
• Thrashers - Atlanta wilted down the stretch (7 losses in 9 games) and cost themselves a playoff spot in the process.

Questions to be answered

• Will Sid hit 50 goals? He has 15 points (4 + 11) in his last 6 games.
• Can the power play keep going? Don't look now, but they have 5 goals in 15 chances over the last three games.

Keys to the game

• No mental lapses!
• Simplify the game. Go north and south, get pucks to the net and crash. That will be what drives success in the playoffs when teams tighten up.

Penguins 4, Thrashers 3 (OT)

So what happened?

The Thrashers made some key mistakes, and it cost them two points.

Jim Slater took a completely unnecessary holding penalty with about two and a half minutes left in the game. I know Thrashers coach John Anderson didn't like the call, but there was no reason at all for Slater to put himself in that position. All he needed to do was shadow Leopold and maybe try to hit him after he touched the puck. He *clearly* grabbed him with his free hand and spun him around a little bit. Completely dumb, and honestly the type of mental mistake we've been used to seeing the Pens make. The Pens made them pay and tied the game at 3-3. There went the two points.

It was nice to see a team that turtles to protect a lead get burned by it. The Thrashers managed just 6 shots on net at even-strength during the second and third periods combined. They tried to trap it up and got burned by it.

Who scored?
Malkin (25), Kennedy (12), Gonchar (11), Leopold (8)

Any surprises?
Every time the Pens would score to tie the game, the Thrashers would take the lead right back. It was surprising that the Pens seemed to have a mini-letdown in those situations.

Any change in the standings?

Jersey won and Buffalo lost, so the Atlantic division winner is in the Driver's Seat for the #2 seed.

Playoff seed: 4th (tied with Jersey, but behind them by virtue of a tie breaker)

Who's next?
(To the tune of the Oreo commercial) O, O, O, Who's that dork with the stupid gold shoelaces?

He's coming to the Igloo on Tuesday. The Pens need to be ready.

Notes:

• Think they missed Sarge and Geno? Wow.
• Fleury had a nice game overall with several great saves to keep the deficit at one goal.
• Sid had a three point night and was a +2.
• Kunitz left the game with an injury and did not return. Hopefully he's okay...

Game 78 - vs Atlanta Thrashers

Game 78

Thrashers (34-32-12, 80 points) at Penguins (44-26-7, 95 points)

Why does it matter?
The Thrashers are playing for their playoff lives, and their schedule looks to be preventing them from getting into the playoffs. After today's game, they play the Devils and Caps before finishing up with the Pens again, this time in Atlanta. That means they'll be desperate to earn two points today. That's actually good news for the Pens, who need to find a way to match the intensity of their opponent. That has been lacking in their game for a bit now.

Also, the Pens are all tied up with the Devils with each team having 5 games remaining. They cannot finish in a tie, because the Devils would win the tie breaker (since they've owned the Pens this year).

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - A very lethargic effort against Tampa resulted in a shutout loss.
  
• Thrashers - Recent losses to Carolina and Toronto make it seem like they're not ready to get into the playoffs.

Questions to be answered

• What is the mental state of this team? Are they ready for the post season?.
• Will Geno and Sarge return? It looks like they'll play today.
• Which forward do you sit? Mike Rupp? Max Talbot?

Keys to the game

• Get into the game early. I don't know if a fight would help, or just hitting anything that has the puck, but they have to do something to get into it.
• With Sarge back, get some production out of the power play. The Thrashers have been excellent on the PK lately, so this will be a good test.
• Look for Sid when there's a chance to score. The Rocket Richard trophy would be nice.

Penguins 5, Thrashers 2

So what happened?

It was close for much of the game. After Crosby threw the pass in front of his own net that Slater used to score his second goal, all you could think was "here we go again". In the third, however, the Pens talent shone through. Their offense was better and, maybe more importantly, their goaltending was much better.

Who scored?
Letang (2), Staal (12, 13), Fedotenko (8), Caputi (1)

Any surprises?
I knew Kovalchuk and Afinogenov were offensive-minded, but their disinterest in playing defense led directly to two goals against tonight.

Any change in the standings?

Division: 2nd (six points behind New Jersey)

Conference: 4th (one point behind Washington, Buffalo)

League: 7th (one point behind Calgary)

Who's next?
Our special friends from across the state on Thursday night.

Notes:

• It wasn't a good night for faceoffs, especially on the power play, where the Pens won just one of six. That makes it that much harder to succeed on the power play.
  
• Geno's shifts are probably too long - 1:12 on average last night. Crosby, for comparison, was at :51.
  

Game #44 - vs Atlanta Thrashers

Game 44

Thrashers (18-17-6, 42 points) at Penguins (26-16-1, 53 points)

Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh

Why does it matter?
The Pens are playing a team that has a longer losing streak than they do, so I'm not sure it matters at all to the NHL community. To Pittsburgh, however, it only matters that they find a way to earn two points.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - Five straight losses, four of them on the road, with an abysmal power play.
  
• Thrashers - Eight straight losses, six of them on the road, with an abysmal power play.

Questions to be answered

• Which offense will show up, the indifferent one that managed 26 shots in Tampa or the intense one that fired 48 shots in Florida?
  
• A few games back, we were talking about the power play finally looking good. Where is it now? Can the power play contribute? The Pens are 16-2 when they score on the power play!!
  
• I'm still looking for a shut out from a Pens goalie. Can they get one? (this question is staying here until they do)
  

Keys to the game

• Dictate the tempo - the Thrashers are inconsistent and can be shut down.
• Focus on stopping Kovalchuk - most of the Thrashers offense begins and ends with him.
  
• Pray for a shutout by the Pens. If there were ever a time when one was needed, it is now.

Penguins 3, Thrashers 2

So what happened?
Timely scoring and timely saves by Fleury. This was a good offensive team the Pens stopped.

Who scored?
Skoula (2,3), Malkin (6)

Any surprises?
The Pens allowing a two-on-one leading by three goals with about 10 minutes left in the game. It almost cost them, and it shouldn't happen.

Any change in the standings?
Yep - the Devils lost in Dallas, so:
Division: 1st (one point ahead of New Jersey)
Conference: 2nd (one point behind Washington)
League: 3rd (tied with Chicago)

Who's next?
Into the swamp on Monday night to face those nasty Kitty Cats.

Notes:

• A power play goal by the second unit is huge.
• Orpik returned tonight. Now all we need is Letang and Goligoski and this team will be unstoppable (McKee would be nice too).
  
• This could have been 8-0 by the third period - the Moose played really well.
  

Game #23 - at Atlanta Thrashers

Game 23
Penguins (14-8-0, 28 pts) at Thrashers (10-6-2, 22 pts)

Why does it matter?
This has a chance to be a carbon copy of Thursday night, except that the Thrashers have more firepower.

Questions to be answered

• The Thrashers give up their fair share of shots. Can the Pens take advantage? They seemed to be squeezing the sticks pretty tightly on Thursday.
• Anyone else going to get hurt now that we're starting to see guys come back?
• Can the Pens kill penalties and limit the chances of the Thrashers?
  

Keys to the game

• The Thrashers have scored at last three goals in all but two games this year. That's incredibly consistent.
• Stay out of the box - the Thrashers have power play goals in four straight.
• Kovalchuk is still a punk.
  

Penguins 6, Thrashers 2

Good old-fashioned domination.  The Thrashers aren't a playoff team.  They were hot coming into the game, but despite scoring the first goal, they had their hats handed to them tonight at the Igloo.

The Pens did exactly what they were supposed to do.  They kicked the crap out of a team they were supposed to beat.

The power play had it's second straight game with multiple goals.  That only happened one other time this season, and that was in October.

Geno went off with a big night, tying a career high with 5 points and cracking the 100 point barrier.  As Geno said in the post game interview with Dan Potash, "Tonight is good luck for me."

Great all-around effort.  The power play is really encouraging right now.  If they can get that rolling, there's no telling where they can go in the post-season.

Next up:  A nice break for this time of the year - the Pens get an extra day off and play the Kings on Friday night at the Igloo.

Penguins 3, Thrashers 1

Finally!!

Seems like forever since the Pens put some pucks in the net, much less won a game.

This wasn't an easy game for the Pens by any measure, not so much because of any pressure by the Thrashers (though they applied some late), but because it started much like other recent games.

The first period was all Penguins. They out shot the Thrashers 15-4 and had numerous golden scoring chances. They just couldn't convert on anything (sound familiar?) until... Petr Sykora deflected a great pass from the point by Ryan Whitney behind Lehtonen. There was a palpable sense of relief. It was kind of like the diving Crosby goal a few seasons back on a pass from Recchi (I think it was a game against Tampa) - everyone was estatic.

The second saw a bunch of skating with not much shooting until the second half of the period, when Sykora put a backhander behind the Atlanta netminder. Just a few minutes later, faster than you could say December 18th, the Pens had notched another power play goal when Sid deflected a Geno bomb from the point. If you're clueless as to what I mean by December 18th, it's the last time the Pens had more than one power play goal in a game.

The Thrashers turned the third period into a bit of a shooting gallery, and cut the lead to two. They then reminded us all why they're the worst team in hockey by not generating much pressure on a power play chance with less than 4:00 in the game, and by taking a penalty in the offensive zone with less than 1:00 left and Lehtonen on the bench. Not good for the folks from Atlanta.

Fleury was fantastic tonight. Though the Thrashers didn't generate any sustained pressure until the third, he was able to make several key stops, including both Kovalchuk and Williams at point blank range.

Speaking of Kovalchuk, he took an early cheap elbow shot at Malkin from behind in open ice. In the third, when Valabik flattened Crosby and then wouldn't fight Godard, the first thing on my To Do list if I were, say, Matt Cooke, would be to pancake Kovalchuk. It would have discouraged the nonsense with Crosby and made everyone in Pittsburgh smile.

Colby was everywhere in this game. He seemed to take some extra interest in hitting as many Penguins as he could. He and Sid got into it early in the game, with Army taking the penalty. It was announced on TV as "Holding the Stick", but the score sheet shows just "Holding".

Both Fedotenko and Dupuis left the game and did not return. Hopefully both are okay, because the Pens haven't been getting much out of their callups from Wilkes-Barre (though Dustin Jeffrey seems like he might change that).

Wow - lots to write about for this one. Suffice it to say that it was a great win, with great effort for the second game of a back-to-back. Let's hope it leads to more success.

Next up: On the road to Music City to play the Preds.

Penguins 6, Thrashers 3

One of these days, I'll get to watch an entire game again. Last night was the wife's Christmas party, so while I was enjoying the middling food of the Spaghetti Warehouse and seeing just who won that pet-themed gift basket, the Pens were doing something really exciting and putting up 5 through the first two period on the Thrashers.

Just for the record - there's nothing wrong with a somewhat cheesy Christmas party.

Anyway, the most I saw of the first two periods was Errey and Steigy showing me what I missed before the third.

• I saw some sick saves by Fleury, who looked great in his return to the net.
• I saw another fantastic move by Satan to undress Hedberg. Miro seems to find these great moves every once in awhile and then goes back to being invisible for a few games. You have to think if he became more physical and more assertive in the offensive zone, he could have some really nice results. He has the size to do it.

During the third, I saw the Pens do enough to keep HCMT's head spinning. The play in their own end was frequently sloppy. Against a better team, they would have been in real trouble in the third. Pucks didn't always get deep like they needed to, and turnovers occurred at bad places on the ice (say Thank You, Colby Armstrong, for that wonderful pass from Miro Satan)

The important thing is the Pens beat a team they were supposed to beat and got an encouraging performance from Fleury in his first game back.

Next up: Maple Leafs on Saturday night

Penguins 3, Thrashers 2

Great road win tonight against an Atlanta team that's better at home than people give them credit for.

The atmosphere was strange tonight. Consider the following:

• There had to be more offside calls on the end where the Pens shoot twice than I've seen in any game in recent memory. Not sure who the linesman was, but I've never seen two teams be so sloppy entering the offensive zone ONLY on one end of the ice, which is my way of saying the linesman had to be smoking something.
• Did anyone else hear the announcement of the 50/50 raffle in the third period? I wasn't sure if I was watching a hockey game or a telecast of the local Parish Festival! Who does a raffle that's announced over the PA at a hockey game?
• There was NO ONE at that game. The end where the Pens shot twice had more empty seats near the ice than filled seats. That's pretty sad.
• FSN named Sabu the "Player of the Game" before the game was over! That's bad Ju-Ju to me.
• John Curry (backup goalie) was shown on camera near the end of the game. He looked to be about 15 years old.
  

The Pens started the game thinking that they're still playing the Wild. They were out of sorts, with several offside calls and no real pressure on Pavelec.

The Pens yielded a power play goal in the first period to Kozlov. The PK hasn't been doing the job recently.

Satan evened the score with some nice hand-eye coordination. He took a hard Dupuis pass on his backhand, turned it to the forehand and punched it behind Pavelec.

Matt Cooke plastered Kozlov, which was excellent. The only problem? Kovalchuk was also nearby. I wish Ilya had been the target.

The Pens had a two man advantage near the midway point of the second. The Pens turned that 1:18 into a shooting gallery, but couldn't beat Pavelec or the goal post.

As soon as the extended power play was over, the Thrashers were the beneficiaries of a tripping call against Boucher. You had the sense of it being a complete game changer if they could score.

The Pens were able to kill the penalty, and less than 30 seconds later, the Pens cashed in. Crosby took a pass from Kennedy and deposited it behind Pavelec while falling down.

About a minute later, Slater took a puck from behind the net, fell down and blindly swept the puck towards the net, taking everyone by surprise and beating Sabu. He wasn't even looking at the net when he shoveled it, but it went in.

The early part of the third was notable for the Pens' game of "Whack a White". In succession, Orpik gave White a good solid check, followed up by Letang absolutely plastering White near the boards. White tried to get up, but wasn't sure what planet he was on. The Thrashers finally decided to come after Letang, and the next shift Kris was on the ice also showcased Eric Godard (just by coincidence, I'm sure).

The intensity picked up a bit after the hit, but the boost was temporary... until Goligoski tried to kill Army with the hip check. He mostly missed, but both teams again picked things up.

The midway portion of the third had some nice end-to-end action with both teams getting decent chances. The spirited play took a brief break for a Thrashers power play.

Sabu was standing tall late in the third when the Thrashers turned up the heat.

The Pens got a late power play chance, which you just knew would make something happen. It almost gave the Thrashers the lead when Reasoner had a breakaway which Sabourin denied.

The Pens got the elusive road power play goal when Sykora tipped a Crosby shot past Pavelec. Great effort by the Pens to finally break through with only two minutes left.

The Thrashers never really threatened in the last two minutes.

Next up: Back to the Igloo for the rare Saturday afternoon game against Vancouver.