The Pittsburgh Penguins had a successful return to action as they defeated the New Jersey Devils by a score of 5-2. Sidney Crosby continues to obliterate his competition. He scored yet again and now has 25 goals on the year, five better than anyone else. He also added two assists which puts him only one point back of league leader Connor McDavid. Here is some of Sid’s handywork:
Nice little entry by Conor Sheary who has made the most of his time with Sidney Crosby. What was thought to be a part time role for the playoffs has turned into a regular spot alongside the league’s best player. And to think only five years ago Sheary probably would have struggled to get a legitimate look at the NHL because of his size.
Not to be outdone Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist and he too is only one off the league lead in scoring. Malkin also registered his 800th career point in this game.
Sid and Geno are winding back the clock this year and boy has it been fun to watch.
Carl Hagelin did a great Evgeni Malkin impression. He found himself all alone and vaporized the puck into the net with the rare breakaway slap shot.
The goal last night was reminiscent of what is probably my favorite Evgeni Malkin goal in his career.
Kris Letang remains the most difficult player for the Penguins to replace when he is missing from the lineup, but this time around the team has actually been doing a nice job for a chance.
SSS, but it's absolutely nuts that the Pens have done this without Letang. pic.twitter.com/jATcv2txAy
— Lyle Kossis (@LyleKossis) December 28, 2016
That hasn’t always been the case and Justin Schultz deserves a ton of credit for the way he has been playing. He is going to cash in whether he’s an RFA or not. He scored last night and has 11 points in his last ten games. He’s been great this year and it is a good thing because Brian Dumoulin has joined the list of injured Penguins defensemen. He is going to be out 4-6 weeks. Remember the end of the 2014-15 season? That was fun and now the Penguins will get to do it again. The good news is that the Penguins have banked a ton of points so far this year. The bad news is that the rest of the division seems to have done the same. This will be an interesting period for the Penguins to navigate.
If you are into the World Junior Championships here is one of the two Penguins prospects in the tournament scoring a goal
In case you missed it yesterday... Penguins prospect @KaspBjork netted one for Team Finland in the #WorldJuniors. Lookin' good! pic.twitter.com/4I5yS4yZa2
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 28, 2016
Penguins are back in action tonight to face Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Thanks for reading!