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The Pittsburgh Penguins outlasted the New York Rangers and came out victorious in the shootout 4-3. The Penguins blew a 2 goal 3rd period lead and were on the brink of losing in overtime due to a Chris Kunitz goalie interference penalty that had to be killed off.
Here is the possession chart:
The Rangers made a huge push in the 3rd period and they were rewarded for it.
Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz led the way for the Penguins as Kunitz had a goal and an assist while Crosby picked up another two points. Previous to tonight's game Crosby was on a 2 game pointless streak against the Rangers. He had never gone 3 games in a row without a point against New York. His 2 point effort will keep it that way for now.
Don't look now but Pascal Dupuis is finally coming out of his offensive slumber. He has points in 5 of his last 7 games and that includes 3 goals during that time frame. He only has 2 goals in his other 28 games this year.
Brandon Sutter flashed some excellent offensive skill on his beautiful dangle on Del Zotto which results in a crafty backhand on the blocker side of Lundqvist. Its pretty clear that Sutter has some offensive ability, what hasn't been clear is just how high his ceiling can be in Pittsburgh. I think when he is finally given the proper personnel that he will be a 45-50 point player on the Penguins 3rd line. What a great thing that would be.
Olli Maatta picked up another assist and that gives him 8 points on the year. Half of those points have come in the last 7 games. It seems as though the more Maatta has played, the more confident he has become (what a concept). It might take a couple of seasons but Maatta has the makings of being a 40 point defenseman in the league.
Home Fleury and Road Fleury are not created equally from a statistical standpoint. For whatever reason Fleury's save percentage on the road is much worse than at home, but I'll be damned if he didn't steal the show in the shootout. This is nothing new as Fleury is one of the best shootout goalies in the game.
One of the other top shootout goalies in the NHL is Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist was matching Fleury save for save until Sutter finally snuck one through his five hole.
On an Olympic note I'm not sure what Canada will do with Chris Kunitz, but does anybody think that Rick Nash should be a guy that makes it over him? I don't.
The Penguins head into tomorrow's game against the Wild with a 9-1 record in their last 10 including 5 wins in a row.
#JagrBomb alert. Jaromir Jagr scored his first power play goal of the season and 693rd of his career agains the Senators tonight. The goal moves him past Steve Yzerman on the all time list for sole possession of 8th. Also notable was that it is also his 122nd game winning goal. He moves past Gordie Howe and is now has sole possession of the most game winning goals in the NHL. Congratulations to Jaromir Jagr!
Thanks for reading!
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