Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Winning Streak Ends at 4 - Pens 6 - Isles 4

It was early domination by the Stanley Cup champions against the Islanders who couldn't do what they had done just yesterday afternoon. They spent most of the time in their own end.

It started with an early penalty on Dwayne Roloson for a delay of game. He fought that one for a full two minutes, but Josh Bailey still ended up in the box to serve it. There were chances, but none that could turn into a goal.

Meyer, who had a hell of a game, took a penalty at 13:21 of the first, but the Pens didn't capitalize on it. It wasn't until 18:37 of the first that Sidney Crosby lit the lamp for the first goal that would open the flood gates on Roloson. He gave up six goals on 29 shots, two on the Power Play.

Kyle Okposo did everything right... but score, even on a penalty shot. At least Richard Park finally did score. He needed that. Freddy Meyer also scored tonight and made a case for himself after being a healthy scratch for quite a few games.

Trent Hunter scored at 48 seconds into the third to tie the game at 3. But Malkin and Crosby were the show stoppers as Crosby ended the night with six points and Geno, who now doesn't need a translator, earned a hat trick with his empty netter that brought the game to a 6 - 4 Penguins win.

Jack Hillen proved again how far he has come in such a short time as he demonstrated the dying art of the hipcheck. Sean Bergenheim played his heart out as he usually does and was actually responsible for Park's goal, but they only award two assists not three, so he was kept off the score sheet.

The story that will permeate the airwaves tonight and tomorrow will be the hit that Andy Sutton laid on Pascal Dupuis that cracked his head open on the dasher boards. Roloson waived for the trainers to come out as Dupuis lay face down in a pool of blood.

Andy Sutton is not a dirty player. He is a BIG player that plays hard. I can't judge if the particular hit was dirty or intentional. It was unfortunate and upsetting and I hope that Dupuis recovers quickly.

It will obviously be a suspendable offense. Sutton will be a loss for the Islanders. The question will be how long he will be out.

Sutton's response to the questions on the hit in the postgame:

"I just played my usual game. I played hard and tried to finish my check. I feel awful. I never intended for that to happen. Obviously it wasn't clean. I just hope that he's okay. That's all I can say."

When Sutton was asked about his feeling on the loss, you could tell that he was distracted. "We made it four - four, it wasn't that frustrating. We just tied to persevere. Ovsiouly, they have some of the best talent in the league. They can put it all together and score when they need to."

Even without taking home any points, it wasn't all bad. Unless you're Dupuis.

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