The Pens were fairly dominant through the first 40 minutes of play tonight. The Hurricanes took it to them in the third period and tied it up on two goals from Ray Whitney. There were several instances in that frame at which things looked pretty bleak for the black and gold. Eric Staal almost buried the winning goal a few times, and the Penguins' powerplay had an absolutely miserable evening, but the team continues to find ways to win. Chris Kunitz finally got off the schneid with the shootout capper. It wasn't even remotely pretty at times, but a 4-0 road trip is absolutely beautfiul.
Some particulars...
- Crosby was held off the scoresheet in regulation again, but he played a fine game. He would have had an assist on a great setup to Kunitz that should have been buried by Guerin to ice the game, but Cam Ward stoned him on a pretty lazy shot. Undeterred, Crosby tallied a wicked backhander in the shootout to tie it up
- Other than the tying goal by Ray Whitney, Fleury was outstanding. He made some big saves on Matt Cullen and Eric Staal, and he gave up one goal on six shootout attempts.
- Kunitz's game was his best of the year, the shootout goal notwithstanding.
- Something has to be done to fix the Penguins' powerplay. There is no logical reason for a unit with two of the top three players in the game plus its best powerplay quarterback to be as abysmal as the Pens' group is.
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