1st Period

Penguins have gone with the same lineup as the first two games. Not fixing what isn't broken.

This lineup is still finding success in keeping the opposition on the outside while limiting any dangerous shots for Fleury.

Justin Faulk is a really nice player and has turned into quite a minutes monster for the Canes. He will be looking to impress Dan Bylsma for inclusion for Team USA.

Jeff Skinner was able to get a step on the young Olli Maatta behind the net and get to he front but Maatta recovered nicely and blocked his shot which led to an odd man rush.

Penguins first power play tonight produced a different look than what we saw in the previous two games. Tonight had Malkin on the half wall with Crosby on his strong side wing on the left side. I'm not a fan of this setup. Crosby needs to be the guy on the half wall or on the goal line.

During the pre game tonight there was speculation that James Neal injured his oblique during the on ice whiffle ball session last week. Ray Shero has since come out and flat out denied that speculation.

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Jussi Jokinen with a tremendous effort to kick the puck to his stick from a Crosby pass. Jokinen corralled the puck and made a clever deke, 1-0 Penguins. Crosby was able to thread the pass through Jordan Staal. Play was made possible at the blue line by utilizing a pick play.

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And just like that the Crosby line works it down low and gets a great scoring chance. Puck goes into the net but it appears that Dupuis kicked it in the net.

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Correct call made. Dupuis kicked it in. Crosby line still doing solid work in the Canes zone to earn that chance. They will be looking to continue that throughout the night.

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1st Intermission

Paul Martin leads the way in all time on ice after 1 period with 8:38. The only other players over 8 minutes in the game so far are Carolina's Justin Faulk at 8:15 and Andrej Sekera 8:04.

The Penguins lead in shots 12-7 and also lead in faceoffs 11-9.

2nd Period

2nd period begins with Matt Niskanen taking a penalty but it is the Penguins who look like they are on the PP. Paul Martin is able to take advantage of a nice bounce off the end wall from a Brooks Orpik shot and is able to score a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0.

Right after the goal Olli Maatta led a rush down the ice for a 2 on 1 with Pascal Dupuis which did not lead to a shot on goal. Not the start the Canes were looking for this period.

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Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner trying their best to get on the board but Fleury stays square to their attempts and does not allow advantageous rebounds.

Matt Niskanen has taken two penalties so far in the 2nd period. Both taken against Nathan Gerbe

Brandon Sutter with a nice drive to the net which ends up with him unable to pull the trigger on a beat Ward.

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Brandon Sutter loses a battle to the puck against Alex Semin in the Penguins defensive corner and it leads to Hurricanes possessing the puck. Canes get a shot towards the net and Eric Staal makes a hell of a tip (perhaps lucky) and Fleury has literally not chance to make the save. We have a hockey game, 2-1 Penguins.

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Canes started the 2nd period slow but they have come on as of late. Carolina is controlling the play lately and Fleury has been able to make the saves to keep it a 2-1 game.

Carolina made some adjustments to their line combos and it appears to have helped out.

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Chemistry between Malkin and Jokinen continues as Jokinen is able to get a prime opportunity in close from a Malkin pass. Cam Ward makes a very good save to keep the game 2-1. Beau Bennett provided a nice little pick to free up Jokinen's passing lane.

2nd period ends 2-1 Penguins. Game still up for grabs.

2nd Intermission

Paul Martin still leads all skaters in ice time with 16:10 while Justin Faulk remains the Canes leader in ice time with 15:51.

Shots on goal after two periods Pittsburgh 23 Carolina 20.

The Penguins saw a crack in their defensive armor for the first time this year as the Hurricanes controlled the play for the 2nd half of the 2nd period.

3rd Period


Canes have picked up where they left off. Nathan Gerbe is able to cash in on a bad angle rebound from Fleury. Rob Scuderi made a great effort to try and block the attempt but Gerbe took a split second longer to release the shot and that gave him the space to get the shot through. Tie game

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The Penguins show why they are a dangerous team. Evgeni Malkin finds time and space in the offensive zone by the blue line and frees up Jussi Jokinen. Jokinen deposits the shot into the net short side and the Penguins take the lead back right away 3-2.

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Congrats to Olli Maatta, he earned his first ever NHL point on Jokinen's 2nd goal.

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Penguins and Cam Ward with an amazing display of hockey. The Crosby line teamed up with Olli Maatta and Robert Bortuzzo to hem the Hurricanes in their own end. Cam Ward fended off bomb after bomb to keep the game tied. Penguins best shift of the season.

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Crosby line tired out Cam Ward on that previous shift and Tanner Glass scores. 4-2 Penguins.

Ward was able to stop Crosby, Kunitz, Dupuis, and Maatta, but Tanner Glass cracks the code. Hockey is a funny game.

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Penguins have been unloading with shots on the net the past few minutes and they will now go to the power play with 8:16 left in the game up 4-2.

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Jussi Jokinen completes the hat trick with a wrister from the top of the slot. He has taken it to his former team tonight. Canes are paying 900k of Jokinen's salary this year.

Olli Maatta earns his 2nd career point on the play.

Penguins in full control with 6:57 left to go in this one.

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And that's all she wrote. Penguins are able to finish the game off and take the 5-2 victory to go 3-0 on the season. The Penguins are in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for more in depth analysis on this game.

Thanks for reading!

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