Pens top Blackhawks with extraordinary overtime goal

The first Penguins scoring chance was a slapper from Kris Letang. The teams seem to be evenly matched to start. But then Gonch wrists one toward the net with Kunitz, TK and Staalsy crashing the net and Staalsy sovels in the rebound.
At the other end, Flower is way out of position but Sykie saves him by making a huge defensive play to get the puck out. Fedo is called for delay of game as the puck goes up over the glass. Staal goes in shorthanded and passes to Dupuis who is robbed by Huet. Some solid skating and lots of play in the Blackhawks zone. And then Chris Kunitz gets his first goal in a Penguins sweater. Incredible.
There’s nothing to say for awhile except that the Penguins are skating with more speed and momentum than the fans have seen for awhile. Geno weaves through the Chicago defensemen and everyone thinks he has it, but Huet makes a great save. TK is called for hooking and the Penguin’s PK is back in action. Literally two seconds into the penalty, Toews tips in a slapshot from the point. Flower makes the essential saves to keep the Penguins in the lead.

The European line gets a couple good chances to begin the period. Then Max Talbot draws an interference penalty on Brian Campbell. Kunitz is on the top PP unit with Sykie and Geno. Decent PP but the Penguins could not convert. TK, Staalsy, and Kunitz make an incredible play but Huet makes the save. Gonch is called for holding. Toews wrists in his second PPG of the night: Beware the Toews hat trick attempt. Dave Bolland is called for hooking Kris Letang. Great cycling and chances in the PP: Kunitz has some great net-front presence. Godard is called for roughing. Pens need a great PK here. Flower makes a fantastic save on Seabrook. Tanger has a great chance but Huet robs him. Fedo gets another delay-of-game penalty as the puck goes over the glass as he tries to clear it. Jonathan Toews tips in another slapshot for his first career hat trick. But the refs look at it since his stick may have been above the crossbar. The call is reversed. Toews does not have the hat trick and the score is still tied. Dodged that bullet. Penalty killed. Blackhawks have too many men on the ice as 2 men shove Matt Cooke. They don’t get called for too many men, but Cam Barker, James Wisniewski and Cookie all get 2 for roughing. Penguins on the PP. The power play is puke. But then, Miro Satan shovels in a rebound just after the power play is over. Before Pens fans could recover from the surprise of Satan getting a goal, Maxie Talbot hits in a feed from Dupuis.

Chicago makes a goaltender change to start the period. Antti Niemi is in net. Miro Satan is called for tripping. Penguins PK comes out to play. Jonathan Toews gets the hat trick. After the dominating PK in the first period, the Penguins penalty kill has taken after its PP. Flower makes some saves and a scrum ensues in front of the net. Fleury makes an incredible save on Bolland. Geno grabs the puck behind the net and tosses it to Sykie who is blocked by the defense. Fleury makes a beautiful save on Patrick Kane. FSN tells us that TK is MIA: he is sick and will not return. Rob Scuderi is called for delay of game as the puck sails over the glass again. Oh $^&*. Bolland ties the game as the penalty expires. This cannot be happening. Martin Havlat and Gonch exchange punches. Both get roughing penalties. Geno takes it behind the net and throws it in front for Fedo but he can’t connect. Geno draws a tripping penalty on Kris Versteeg. The PP will carry over into overtime.

Gonch to Geno. Geno is a beast.



THOUGHTS:
--Fleury shut it down in the third period
--Jordan Staal was incredible
--Great game for newbie Chris Kunitz
--Geno/Gonch are great in the clutch
--Jonathan Toews is a fantastic player...but thank God the Penguins beat him
--Hands down the most exciting, nail-biting game since the 7-6 win over Detroit in November

Stars on Sunday.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!!!