The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to fend off the Carolina Hurricanes and leave Raleigh with a 4-3 overtime victory. The Hurricanes held the territorial advantage for most of the night but were unable to beat Fleury enough times for the win.
Here is the possession chart:
Here are the game highlights:
James Neal scored the game winner in overtime and also assisted on two of the other Penguin goals. Off the top of my head I can’t remember Neal having a 3 point game away from Evgeni Malkin. Neal’s 3 points without Geno should be a good sign moving forward as the star center should be set to return to action soon.
Jussi Jokinen had his 2nd 3 point night against his former team. Jokinen had 3 assists in the Penguins victory. On October 8th Jokinen had a hat trick against the Hurricanes in a 5-2 Penguins victory. These are the only 2 occasions this season in which Jokinen has tallied 3 points in a contest. This is also the 2nd time this season that the Hurricanes have paid a player on another team to score 3 points against them.
Jokinen’s dish pass to Neal on the game winning goal was a thing of beauty. Those are the kind of skill plays you hope to get out of a player like Jokinen. Very crafty hands.
Deryk Engelland made his return to the lineup and had a goal and an assist. Brooks Orpik and Olli Maatta also added 1 assist apiece. Not bad when two defensemen who are not known for their offense at all chip in for 3 points (Engelland/Orpik).
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The big news yesterday wasn’t the Penguins victory it was the injury update to Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Dupuis is scheduled to surgery in two weeks.
The Penguins do not have a replacement for Dupuis. He was able to play quality minutes on the top line, he is able to bounce around and play 3rd line minutes, he is a top PK guy, he is a positive locker room presence, and he is a work horse.
The Penguins do not have great forward depth this year and they especially don’t have any right now with Bennett and Megna out long term.
The very good news for the Penguins is that they don’t need to panic. Some teams might be in a position to rush out and fill the hole that Dupuis would leave in their lineup, but the Penguins have such a comfortable lead in the Metropolitan Division that they can sit back for now. The Metropolitan Division is the worst division in the NHL and this should be a huge help in allowing Shero to make the best trade possible.
Make no mistake though, just because the Penguins don’t have to make a move now doesn’t mean they don’t have to make a move eventually. The Penguins are a win now team. There are only so many years in Crosby and Malkin’s prime. The team will always be built around the notion that they will contend for a championship.
I will have some trading ideas in a future blog.
Thanks for reading!