Things started sideways for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they gave up a goal on the first shot of the game for the first time this year. It took a little while for things to get going, but they took over the game in the second period and were victorious over the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 5-1.
Most points as a Penguin
With his goal in the second period Sidney Crosby now has factored in on more goals than anybody else in Penguins history, passing Mario Lemieux
He did it on a faceoff goal where he did not take the faceoff
The milestones are going to start coming fast and he is still playing at a high level.
It’s still so much fun all these years later
More Penguins milestones
Sid wasn’t the only one reaching an impressive milestone tonight. Kris Letang registered his 600th career assist.
He becomes only the 20th defenseman in league history to reach this mark and only the tenth to do it with one team.
You can find the career leaders he is chasing here
Big line continues hot start
The big guys continue to put up points. Evgeni Malkin, Justin Brazeau, and Anthony Mantha haven’t slowed down yet this year.
Justin Brazeau picked up his team leading fifth goal of the year, Malkin got his team leading tenth point of the year, while Mantha added a goal and an assist.
I was pretty skeptical on if this line could work. My concern was the foot speed of each player. So far it clearly hasn’t been a problem. They plod along and work the boards until they can find their east to west lanes. They all have good hands and finishing talent.
Great rebound by Penguins
The game did not start well for Arturs Silovs against his former team. Silovs gave up a goal on the very first shot of the game which brings back all the bad feelings from last year when the Penguins allowed it to happen 15 times.
Fortunately, he didn’t allow it to ruin his night against his former team. The former Vancouver netminder stopped the next 23 shots and finished with a sparkling .958 save percentage.
He looked sharp throughout the night and was seeing things well through traffic. He maintained his composure even when things got busy in front of him. A very nice start for him as he gets used to being a Penguin.
First Penguins goal
Tommy Novak has been off to a slow start. If I’m being honest I thought Novak would have had the start Brazeau did while Brazeau would have been quiet like Novak has been. Tonight, Novak ended his goose egg and was able to come off the wall and score a power play goal on a really nice shot
His skating is really good, clearly his shot has some zip on it, I need to see some of this start to translate to 5v5 play. There’s no reason it can’t, the tools are there.
This game was a step in the right direction with the goal and a team leading 5v5 xGF% of 95.05. His linemate Ben Kindel finished at 94.03. There are a lot of clever plays Kindel is making and somebody should be taking advantage of them. Novak should be that guy if he is on the same line.
The 5-2 Penguins are going to be tested in their next game when they travel to Miami on Thursday to take on the two-time defending champion Panthers.
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Tagged: anthony mantha, Arturs Silovs, ben kindel, Evgeni Malkin, justin brazeau, Kris Letang, nhl, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Tommy novak