Welcome back kids. Tonight’s tilt against the pretty boys from the left coast featured a matchup between a team with the next to worst goals against percentage and giving up the most goals in the league against the team with the 2nd best goals against percentage, giving up the least goals in the league. One is known for playing a patient defensive style and the other one plays a lesser known style where the strategy is a function of whether players’ pregame meal had either edibles or meth in it. I know, right? It’s so hard to guess which is which.. More fun trivia, Anze Kopitar, who seems like he’s been in LA since God’s dog was a puppy, is actually exactly one week younger than Sidney Crosby.
The uh, much ballyhooed(?) arrival of Marcus Clurman went splat when Sully remembered they had Shea on the shelf and Marcus got to spend his first night in the NHL sampling top level nachos. So anyway. Puck drops. Kings score. Apparently Ned and Jarry are having some fun with this go ahead and let ‘em score early thing and are now racing each other to see who can do it faster… With that out of the way, the rest of the team decided to up the ante and Rakell took a pretty stupid interference penalty 90 seconds later on a clean faceoff win by Sid in the offensive zone. Hey RikRak, that’s Geno’s job ahole. Anyway, Rust, Shea and Lizotte weren’t in on the joke and almost got a shorty early in the ensuing PP. LA settled down and generated multiple shots but did not score. LA took a fairly lazy penalty of their own right afterward. Despite being largely disorganized the PP generated more good scoring chances than LA had, but Kemper was sharp and the score did not change. LA got a 2nd PP at about the 13 minute mark and were clinical in their execution except for the part about actually scoring. Killed. Sid and Geno got sent out together late in the period and after SnakeBitSid couldn’t score on another great chance off a feed from Geno in front the net, Geno showed his disapproval by high-sticking Sid. Some choppy back and forth stuff ensued to close out the period. 1-0 LA. Shots were fairly even at 11-10, also in favor of LA.
Having survived the 1st 30 seconds of the 2nd period unscathed, the Pens drew a penalty at the 2 minute mark. They generated a couple great chances right away (including a nifty between the legs shot by Rakell) but didn’t find much rhythm after that and LA killed it fairly easily. About 6 ½ minutes in, the Pens got a good bounce and started a 2 on 1 with Bunting and Geno. Bunting took a shot that went 5 hole, hit the post, grazed Geno’s stick, hit Kemper’s A hole, and trickled across the line. Ain’t no room on the scorecard for pictures, boys and girls and it at least ended Geno’s goal drought.. 1-1. A couple minutes later, DOC came flying down the right side with a good chance, but Hagelin’d it. At just before the 12 minute mark Crosby got stoned, AGAIN, on a sneaky play right in front. Pouring salt on it, the puck bounced out high, LA raced to the other end 2 on 1 and Turcotte ripped it top cheese over Ned. 2-1 LA. The remainder of the period was 8 minutes of meh, made slightly annoying by the lousy pausing/lagging of the Sportsnet feed. 2-1 Kings, with the Pens edging ahead in shots at 22-20.
In the interest of establishing a less than helpful announcer curse, Getzaff made some inane comment about LA giving up more goals in the 3rd somewhat in the face of their league leading goals allowed stat. Dick
An observation: Graves. Is not fast. Dude looks like he’s skating around with a refrigerator on his back. Moving on.
Crosby’s slump was cemented early in the period when he had a golden chance on his patented backhand – it was all right there and he kinda whiffed. Can’t be too often in the past 19 years you could say he might be gripping the stick a little too tight. Shucks. Frustrated as he surely was,he continued to create chances for himself and his linemates, and he set Rakell up right in front at the 8 minute mark that he unfortunately rang off the post. Uh-oh, it might be contagious.. LA had a dangerous chance immediately after that just missed, and Bunting went into full D Bag mode to wake up the fans in attendance. No penalties; play on. 10 minute mark – ANOTHER great chance for Crosby but just not happening. Good grief. Just before the 15 minute mark, Crosby once again uses one of the many extra eyes he seems to possess and sets up Griz, of all people, who makes no mistake and rips one by Kemper. Tie game, and some relief for Crosby who had certainly earned a reward for his efforts. 60 seconds later Geno put on the ritz in a 1 on 1 that forced LA into a penalty. Karlsson proceeded to be a one man momentum killer by making a bad giveaway, getting a shot blocked out high that immediately went the other way, and doubled down on it by taking a bad tripping penalty to eliminate the PP. Woof. The PK unit bailed him out and the score remained tied with 1:45 left. Nothing serious happened and the game headed to OT. Shots after 3 were knotted at 30.
Jack Handy stuff:
- A solid win for the Pens. They weren’t great, weren’t bad, but there was no point where they really looked over matched and they kept the stupid stuff to a relative minimum. They came from behind twice to earn the OT and the sequence that led to the goal was pretty much a textbook 3 on 3 play. Cool beans.
- LA seemed pretty much as advertised. Not flashy, not boring. They played mostly a fairly solid road game. I’m sure they will knit that into a pillow and hug it on the flight back to the coast. Losers.
- Crosby has to be frustrated beyond belief. To his credit he is not letting it drag him down, and he was terrific all over the ice tonight, including taking a team leading 6 shots. He was a force in the 3rd period in particular, where he either took or set up 6 of their 8 shots. When he finally breaks through again, he may well go on an epic run. Yes, please.
- Good job by Ned overcoming a truly shaky start to hold the team in there and earn the win in the end.
Good night to all, and to all, a good night!