Marc-Andre Fleury got the Penguins through a rough first period and after that the rest of the team took care of business in Pittsburgh's 2-0 divisional win over the New Jersey Devils.
The win places the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff spot as the team heads into the all star break.
You'll notice that Pittsburgh has two games in hand on each one of the teams directly chasing them and three games in hand on Carolina.
Pittsburgh is 4-1 in their last five games with three of those victories coming against Metropolitan Division foes (CAR, PHI, NJ).
3 game winning streak! Only two regulation losses in their last 13 GP! As the kids say - it's l i t. pic.twitter.com/WVnHVygPgt
— m g (@kikkerlaika) January 27, 2016
Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for his 42nd career shutout. It was highlighted by this 2 on 1 save.
Fleury save pic.twitter.com/95m074EJ6l
— Stephanie (@myregularface) January 27, 2016
Cory Schneider deserves mention for his outstanding play from last night. He is one of the best goaltenders in the league and played like it against Pittsburgh. If not for his efforts Pittsburgh would have scored a lot more than the two they got.
Schneider is now 0-5-0 for his career in Pittsburgh, but has allowed only 3 goals on 54 shots in last two starts there and lost both
— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) January 27, 2016
Sidney Crosby scored a goal in his seventh straight home game. In those seven games he has nine goals. Overall he has 11 goals in his last 15 games. He is sniffing the top 20 in scoring and I am fairly certain he will be in the top 10 by the time the season is over. Quite a remarkable accomplishment given his "horrible" start. Also worth noting is his 41 points in 47 games. Crosby has never had a season where he finished below a point per game. A remarkable achievement that I predict will continue in 2015-16.
Under Mike Johnston Crosby had 19 points in 28 games. Under Mike Sullivan he has 22 points in 19 games.
Kris Letang continues to produce tangible offense for the Penguins and most of it has come on the power play. For a long time I have been critical of Kris Letang's ability quarterbacking a power play and my main complaint was the fact he was so hesitant to shoot the puck. Under Mike Sullivan he has increased his shot volume and it has led to more gimme goals for the Penguins. Last night's Crosby goal (#SidDownLow) being a prime example.
Crosby goal pic.twitter.com/wGyOdcmhWl
— Stephanie (@myregularface) January 27, 2016
Kris Letang is averaging a career-best SF60 of 65.83 on the power play this season. Previous best was 61.86 in 2012-13.
— Jason Mackey (@Mackey_PGH) January 27, 2016
Olli Maatta was atrocious against the Devils. At even-strength he was on the ice for 18:52 and during that time the team generated 6 shot attempts versus 28 against. That is absurdly bad.
Letang has 19 points in his last 13 games 29 points in his last 27 games Brent Burns is only defenseman in NHL with more power play points
— Chad....... (@MadChad412) January 27, 2016
That is only speculation but if true the all star break couldn't have come at a better time. Likewise holding out Chris Kunitz from last night's action was a good idea. He will now have had over a week to recover from his awkward fall against the Flyers.
Derrick Pouliot is going to need some time to start adjusting to the NHL game again. It is only natural after spending 3+ months in the AHL. Last night was a good night for him. He led the team in possession and also registered an assist on the Phil Kessel goal.
#NJDevils vs #Pens possession breakdown. Pouliot and Severson led the way. Maatta doesn't normally tank. But he did. pic.twitter.com/cmgzGXPhIq
— Sean Tierney (@SeanTierneyTSS) January 27, 2016
Speaking of Carl Hagelin he has been a great fit in his very small sample with the Penguins. He now has assists in four straight games including this fancy one from last night
Carl Hagelin trivs i sin nya klubb. Kolla bara in den hà¤r framspelningen till Phil Kessel. 👌 pic.twitter.com/nDCzai5jPg
— Svenskarna i NHL (@SvenskarnaiNHL) January 27, 2016
At exactly the same time that goal was being scored former Penguin David Perron scored a goal of his own for the Ducks. Perron had two points last night and now has points in all four games with Anaheim and has five points. So far so good for both teams and this trade.
Please retweet this to raise money for mental health (5 cents per RT) #BellLetsTalk
— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) January 27, 2016
Thanks for reading!