The Pittsburgh Penguins went in to Raleigh last night looking to snap a 2 game losing streak.  Looking to come out of the gates with a quick start, and show they were a team that doesn’t look like it’s played hockey for nearly a year and a half without much rest.  Looking to close the gap between themselves and the Washington Capitals in the Metro Division.

They accomplished two of those three goals with a methodical 3-1 win over the last place team in the Metro AND Eastern Conference, but it’s the one that they didn’t accomplish that should be most concerning.

For the first 30 minutes of Tuesday’s game, the Penguins were a step behind.  Failing to clear pucks when they had a chance.  Getting bottled up in their own zone for long stretches at a time.  Turning pucks over all over the ice, and finally, getting into needless and sometimes careless penalty trouble.

Matt Murray stole the two points for his teammates on this night.  The goaltender who should be in the running for rookie-of-the-year along with Auston Matthews and Patrick Laine was rock solid when his steam was wet-paper-bag tough.  Murray stopped 14 first Period shots amid breakaways and odd man rushes galore.  His only blemish was a Jeff Skinner power play goal scored on the second straight Evgeni Malkin penalty in the first.

Oh…..and there was another injury…..to a defenseman.

Trevor Daley exited the game during the first period, never to return.  coach Mike Sullivan said that it was a lower body issue and that Daley would be re-evaluated on Wednesday.  With all of the injuries currently on the blue-line this would be another big blow for the club.

Nick Bonino was also a scratch for the game, due to illness.

Despite everything that seemingly went wrong on the night, the Penguins were the team that struck first.  Scott Wilson would deflect a Patric Hornqvist shot from the near circle in and behind Cam Ward just 2:15 into the contest.  It was a rare sign of offensive life in the frame and the first goal for Wilson in what feels like forever.

Matt Cullen picked up the secondary assist.

The next several minutes would see Geno trying to buy property in the penalty box.  The first call was a hook, and the Penguins killed it off.  But just 21 seconds after he stepped out of the box, he was right back in as he was whistled for high-sticking.  This is where Jeff Skinner and ex-Pen, Lee Stempniak worked a quick 2 on 1 down low against a tired Cullen before Skinner finally snapped a wrister to the top corner to tie the game.

Sidney Crosby would also go to the box at 16:21 of the period, so the superstars were continuously putting an already tired looking team behind the eight ball early.

Murray shut the door as the first period shots finished 14-7.  The game easily could have been 3-1 or worse if not for the rookie goalie.

The theme would continue in the second as Malkin threw a puck over the glass in the defensive zone for delay of game, and Crosby would be called for a slash later.  Crosby’s penalty came after he was upended and interfered with, and didn’t get a call.  A sure sign of frustration at the time.

Before anyone could overly complain about the officiating, however, the Penguins would soon end up with a two-man advantage for around a minute, and it changed the game fully in Pittsburgh;s favor.

With Sebatian Aho and Viktor Stalberg both in the box, Crosby would redeem himself on the five-on-three.  Crosby would set up shop down low to Cam Ward’s left while Phil Kessel controlled the point out high.  Kessel would release a wrister on net that Sid deftly deflected to the far corner for the eventual game winner.

The goal was Sid’s 33rd on the year, still best in the league, even with Brent Burns and Laine hot on his tail.  Aside from Kessel, Kris Letang would pick up an assist as well.  Kessel now leads the NHL in power play assists on the year.  When the Penguins aquired Kessel before last season, many people had said that Phil was an underrated passer.  This is showing itself in spades this season as the helper was his 35th on the year so far.

Going into the third period, Pittsburgh was 24-0-0 to that point of the season when leading after two periods.

Evgeni Malkin would atone for his earlier transgressions and make sure the good guys moved that mark to 25-0-0.

Midway through the third, Malkin would win an offensive zone face-off, and Carl Hagelin would beat a Canes defender to a loose puck behind the net.  He would shuffle the puck into the low slot where Malkin was cutting in and easily finished the bang-bang play.  The goal was the insurance marker that was needed and sent the Penguins to a 7-1-3 record since the All-Star break.

Murray would finish the night, picking up the win with 29 saves.

Ward took the loss, allowing 3 goals on 22 shots.

Pittsburgh went 1 for 4 on the man advantage, Carolina was 1 for 5

Had that been a better team that the Pens were facing last night, they may have dug a hole too great to over come.  Carolina has now lost five straight and it is very apparent there is little they can do to avoid missing the playoffs.  If Pittsburgh wanted to pick a night where they could get away with having a bad game and still get two points, this was the one.  While the Canes have some youth and skill up front, they lack a dominant ANYTHING that could help put them in serious contention anytime soon.

One has to wonder what the thoughts of Jordan Staal are, wanting to go there and play with his brother Eric several years ago.  Eric, however saw the greener pastures and left town.  After a brief stint with the Rangers, Eric is now resurrecting his career in Minnesota with the West leading Wild.  Jordan Staal may be one of the few trade chips left for Ron Francis and the Canes to deal for something meaningful.

Pittsburgh, despite all of their troubles with injuries and exhaustion, finds themselves at 82 points and just three points behind Washington, having played one more game than the Caps.

One gets the feeling, a trade is right around the corner for the club, and probably in the form of help and depth on the blue-line.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh comes home and has a few needed days off before welcoming the Flyers to Heinz Field for the Stadium Series on Saturday at 8 PM…..stop calling it the Winter Classic, they play that on January 1st.  Plus….is it REALLY winter around here, any more??

Carolina faces Ottawa on Friday at home, at 7:30 PM

See you next time and thanks, as always for reading!

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