Matt Cooke was a one man wrecking crew in Philly on Saturday afternoon. He scored twice. One of his goals came on a rare 3-on-5. He also added an assist. Did you know that Cooke has more goals (11) than he has minor penalties (10) this season? The guy has transformed himself into a full-time contributor. Gone are his foolish ways. These days, he's punishing opponents with dramatic, game-changing hockey plays, not cheap shots.
For example, this HUMANGOUS dagger to Bryzgalov's heart.
Prior to Mat Cooke scoring 3-on-5, the last NHLer to accomplish the rare feat was Mario Lemieux, back in 1988 vs. the LA Kings.
The Pens re 6-3-1 in the last 10 games. They have found away to keep piling up points despite the losses to key team contributors like Crosby and Letang this season.
The win over Philly now pulls the Pens into a 4th place tie with the Flyers in the Eastern standings. Each team has 71 points.
Cooke talks about his memorable game against the Flyers.
thanks, Pens TV
***
Dan Bylsma has his team dialed in right now.The secret to their success? Goal-scoring by committee, stiff D, and lights-out goal tending from Marc Andre Fleury.
***
Pens centre, Jordan Staal, will not be suspended for his dangerous hit on Flyers D Braydon. Staal will pay a $2,500 fine for this act of cowardice and carelessness.
No suspensions for THAT??!!!!
Great job, Shanny. Way to swallow the whistle.
***
I'd hand the NHL MVP award to Geno Malkin right now. He has carried his team on his back for the entire season. 32 goals, 38 assists and a +8. He plays all situations and has thrived from October until present. There is nothing that this guy cannot do.
Were it not for the leadership of Malkin, this Pens squad would be a cell mate of the Sabres in the dungeon that is the bottom of the eastern standings.
***
TODAY’S GAME
PENGUINS at SABRES
-This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Penguins this season.
-Last meeting: Pittsburgh defeated Buffalo, 8-3, in Pittsburgh on Dec. 17.
-The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Penguins; 3-4-3 at home.
-This is the 169th game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo trails the series with a 61-66-41 record. Buffalo is 39-22-22 at home against the Penguins all-time.
-The two teams will next meet on March 30 in Buffalo.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Robyn Regehr scored his first goal with the Sabres on Friday; it was his first goal since March 1… Jason Pominville is the sixth player in Sabres history to record 30 assists in six consecutive seasons… After Friday’s game, Pominville was tied for third in the NHL
with 34 points (14+20) in home games… With his 257th career assist on Friday vs. MTL, Derek Roy passed Mike Ramsey for 10th most assists in Sabres history… Buffalo is 20-3-2 when allowing two or fewer goals and 19-4-3 when scoring three or more.
MYERS HITS 200
Witha goal in his 200th career NHL game on Friday vs. MTL, Tyler Myers recorded his 100
th career point. With 100 points (26+74) in his first 200 games, Myers tied Hannu Virta for second-most points by a Sabres defenseman in his first 200 games. The record is held
by Phil Housley, who totaled 192 points (61+131) in his first 200 games.
NIFTY FIFTY
Jason Pominville, who now has six 50-point seasons in his career, is the 11th player in Sabres history to record 50 points in six or more seasons. He joins Gilbert Perreault (16), Dave Andreychuk (10), Rick Martin (9), Phil Housley (8), Craig Ramsay (8), Rene Robert
(7), Mike Foligno (6), Danny Gare (6), Don Luce (6) and Miroslav Satan (6).
DEFENSE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Buffalo’s seven defensemen that began the season with the team have suffered a total of 57 man games lost this season, with each of the seven except Marc-Andre Gragnani missing time with an injury. Of the team’s 57 games, only 29 have featured a defense corps
that included six of these top seven defensemen. The Sabres are 16-11-2 in these games, allowing 2.55 goals per game. In the other 29, they are 8-16-5, allowing 3.41 goals per game.
Join the Discussion:
»