The Penguins defeated the Predators and got back into the victory column. This time there was no third period comeback to be had for the opposition. Pittsburgh's star players led the way, specifically Sidney Crosby with his 1 goal and 2 assist performance.
If there was a gif that summed up this game, it would be this one:
Sidney Crosby was excellent even by his standards last night. He was doing all the small things that separate him from all the other players in the league. That includes him flexing his freakish strength on James Neal above.
Things are tough enough for opposing teams with just Crosby on the ice. When you throw Evgeni Malkin into the mix sometimes things just aren't very fair. Seth Jones made a nice poke check of Malkin while he was trying to gain the zone and his reward for his efforts was the puck going right to Sidney Crosby, who swiftly returned the puck right back to Evgeni Malkin. Sid to Geno, always a treat.
Speaking of Malkin, just think how good he can be when he finally buys into the system and what Mike Johnston wants him to do!
With his goal tonight, Malkin has points in 7 straight games (3-7-10), his longest streak ever to start a season.
— Pens Radio Network (@PensRadioNet) October 26, 2014
Malkin is on pace for 117 points.
— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) October 26, 2014
What about Sid, is he buying in yet? Oh, Sid is on pace for 140 points so far? Man, if he buys in he could make a run at 200 points!
The Penguins have 25 goals this year. Crosby and/or Malkin have been on the ice for 20 of them. They've scored or assisted on 17 of them.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) October 26, 2014
I really really hope these two star players can get over their own egos and buy into what the junior coach has to say!
On a serious note, while those numbers are incredibly impressive for both Sid and Geno, it does give off a similar vibe as we saw last year. The top six is doing all the lifting while the bottom six forwards are not contributing nearly enough.
Seven games into the season and the goaltender has as many points as Zach Sill does shots on goal, one.
It is still October, this isn't the finished product by any stretch, but it needs to change at some point. I believe it will. The more defensemen that get hurt around the league, the more leverage the Penguins have in any potential trades involving their promising young D men. Just food for thought.
Olli Maatta and Kris Letang are humming along with a Fenclose percentage of 58.8% and 58.2% respectively. A legit #1 pairing. Letang has finally found a partner he doesn't have to babysit.
It was a relatively quiet night for Marc Andre Fleury. Outside of the two posts that James Neal hit there weren't really many close calls. Fleury finished with 25 saves and his 29th career shutout.
**** The great Jaromir Jagr returns to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night fresh off of his 19th career overtime goal, most in league history. Vintage Jagr.
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Brand new Hockey Hurts podcast discusses the Bruins and their situation without Zdeno Chara as well as some Penguins stuff. You can find that here
I have a new article up at Hockey Prospectus. Marc Andre Fleury and Quality Starts
Thanks for reading!
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