Thursday, March 29, 2018

Potential playoff matchup

By: MF, 

The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in action tonight against the New Jersey Devils. A potential playoff matchup.

The Penguins are coming off a beating from the Detroit Red Wings, where they were crushed 5-2 at home.

On the injury front, Derick Brassard will be out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury that is day-to-day. As a result, the Penguins have called up Josh Jooris.

They have to clean up their game defensively and fix the little things before heading into the playoffs. Those things can end their playoff run early if they aren't careful. Lets Go Pens!

The Pens lineup is as follows:

Forwards
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust
Hagelin - Malkin - Kessel
Sheary - Sheahan - Hornqvist
Aston-Reese - Jooris - Kuhnhackl

Defense
Dumoulin - Letang
Maatta - Schultz
Hunwick - Oleksiak

Murray in the net!

Play - by - Play
PENS 4 Devils 3

Overtime
THE PENS WIN 4-3 IN OVERTIME! What a hard-fought battle for the Pens, but they didn't let up and got the win in the end. Great effort by the Pens. 

4:41 - CROSBY SCORES! Letang fires the puck up into the neutral zone where Crosby picks up the puck. He gains the zone, looks to see that he has room and time. Crosby's first shot rings off the goal post, but he bats the puck out of mid-air into the net. What a shot and what hand-eye coordination. 4-3 Pens

5:00 - Overtime is on! The Pens need to finish this one early and get the full two points. Hornqvist and John Moore start the overtime in the box. Both get two roughing minors. Lets Go Pens! 


3rd Period
0:00 - We are headed to overtime. Disagreements all over now. 

0:01 - Devils ice the puck. Crosby and Zajac exchange some words and shoves. The referees break them up. Things are heated. 

1:17 - Crosby is back on the ice for his shift. 

2:58 - After losing a faceoff to Crosby, Zajac takes the butt end of his stick and jams it under Crosby's chest protector. He goes down in pain and eventually to the bench. He is being attended to on the bench right now. 

3:14 - Kessel snaps a shot that just goes wide of the net. 

3:33 - Shots for this period are 11-9 in favor of the Pens. 

8:34 - HORNQVIST SCORES! Hornqvist fires a shot from the point through traffic and may have been redirected. The puck goes off the goal post, hits the back of Kinkaid's leg, and goes in. 3-3 tie game.  

10:23 - Power play time expires. The Pens top power-play unit was out there for the whole two minutes. 

12:23 - A huge power play opportunity for the Pens as Zajac is sent to the box for slashing. 

14:49 - Blake Coleman scores. Travis Zajac backhands a pass to Coleman, who is flying down the wing. He protects the puck as he goes to the front of the net past Schultz and Maatta. Murray makes the first save, but Coleman puts in the rebound. 3-2 Devils

17:37 - Devils with a good start to this period. They have had some quality looks/chances on net. 

20:00 - The third period is underway! The Pens have to keep working hard on the forecheck and retake the lead. Lets Go Pens!


2nd Period
0:00 - That does it for the second period with this one tied 2-2. 

1:02 - Rust is back. 

2:11 - Hunwick and Miles Wood drop the gloves. Wood has the size/height advantage over Hunwick, but Hunwick holds his own and takes Wood down in the end. Both get five minutes for fighting. 

3:40 - Rust takes a hit on the boards and is in some pain. He heads right to the locker room. 

5:19 - Hall scores on the power play. Hall drags the puck towards the half-boards. Patrick Marron screens Murray as Hall takes his shot. He goes high off the goal post into the net. 2-2 tie game. 

6:20 - Critical penalty kill for the Pens as Oleksiak is ticketed for interference. 

6:26 - Murray has been on it. He is tracking the puck well. 

10:10 - Taylor Hall had a one-on-one chance, but Oleksiak shuts him down. 

13:01 - LETANG SCORES! Rust carries the puck into the zone to the boards. He works hard to keep possession and that starts the sequence for the Pens. Hagelin ends up with the puck behind the net and outlets to Letang at the side. Letang snaps one over the shoulder, blocker side, of Kinkaid. 2-1 Pens

15:35 - Three-on-two rush for the Pens, but Malkin's shot just goes wide of the net. 

16:48 - Solid penalty kill for the Pens. Murray was sharp in net. 

18:48 - Another power play chance for the Devils as Letang is found guilty of tripping. 

20:00 - We are back for the second period. The Pens need to put the pressure on Kinkaid but also play smart defensively against this team. Lets Go Pens!


1st Period
0:00 - Horn sounds to end the first period. Things are tied 1-1. 

0:03 - A successful penalty kill for the Pens. 

2:03 - Now Dumoulin is called for interference. Devils power play goes to work against the Pens penalty kill. 

3:33 - That does it for that power play. The second power-play unit had the best chances. Things still tied at one apiece. 

5:33 - The first power play of the game will go to the Pens as Pavel Zacha is called for tripping on Letang. 

7:16 - SHEARY SCORES! A two-on-one develops for the Pens as Hornqvist carries the puck down the wing. He goes across the ice to Sheary, who puts it over the outstretched pad of Kinkaid. 1-1 tie game. 

7:41 - Kyle Palmieri scores. Malkin and Kessel turnover the puck at the blue line to Nico Hischier. He finds Palmieri on the wing all alone. He enters the zone with a one-on-one with Murray. He puts it five-hole. 1-0 Devils 

8:49 - Some good puck movement by the Pens in the offensive zone. Sheahan is denied by a diving Kinkaid. 

12:47 - Shots are 3-7 in favor of the Devils. 

14:56 - Murray with some great saves as the Devils control the offensive zone and crash the net. Solid start for Murray. 

19:45 - Crosby gets ahold of a bouncing puck and comes flying into the offensive zone. He slap shot is denied by Keith Kinkaid. 

20:00 - Game time! The Pens need to focus on the small things and keep their game simple tonight. Lets Go Pens! 

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