Pittsburgh 2 - Carolina 1 (SO)
The Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to three games, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday night at the Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins snapped a four game home losing streak and their big guns led the way once again as Evgeni Malkin scored his 22nd goal of the season and also scored in the shootout, while James Neal netted the shootout winner.
Marc Andre Fleury made 25 saves to earn his 22nd win of the season,
Pittsburgh came out of the gates sloppy and Carolina's Jamie McBain scored 2:11 into the game for the Hurricanes. "First ten minutes, we were a little sloppy, " defenseman Brooks Orpik said. They come hard, that team is better then their record indicates".
For much of the first period, the Penguins were sluggish offensively and their best line was the 4th line unit of Eric Tangradi - Joe Vitale and Craig Adams. That soon changed when Evgeni Malkin scored with a 1:22 left in the first period, roofing a beautiful shot past Cam Ward's glove side to tie the game at 1-1. For the second straight game it was another momentum changing game as Pittsburgh controlled the play for much of the game afterwards. Cam Ward though was excellent making 40 saves in the loss.
Malkin who's as entertaining as they come, said his goal was a lucky one. "It's pretty lucky goal because puck bounced softly and I just picked it up, and it's close to breakaway....and i shoot high, " Malkin said.
Malkin was pleased with his team's effort. "Team played very well, everyone played hard."
Malkin with 52 points on the season, is tied for first in the league and he's re-emerged as one of the premier players in the game. Two important areas standout for Malkin right now:
His ability to put the puck in the net is resembling his once 47 goal season in 2007-2008 and this might be the most complete hockey Malkin is playing in his career.
"Maybe I would joust for the playoffs in 09, certainly played great in Carolina series and Detroit, " head coach Dan Bylsma said when asked if this is the best Malkin's played since the 09 Cup run. " But, I think in terms of regular season and playing offensively, playing with the puck, playing defensively and face-offs, he's getting lion share of responsibilities right now in a lot of areas and is playing outstanding, " Bylsma said.
Coming off ACL surgery that requires close to 12 months for players to be 100 percent and dealing with knee soreness to open the season, according to one teammate, it's scary to think that Malkin hasn't even peaked yet.
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