Penguins tame Desert Dogs 3-1
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by FrankD
12.3.07
More at http://pensburgh.blogspot.com
Nice win tonight for the flightless birds, edging out a late surge in the third period to win by the final of 3-1. Prior to the game I expected to see a lot of penalties coming from he Coyotes' Daniel Carcillo. Oddly enough, Carcillo didn't spend a second in the box, but the same can't be said for his team.
The Coyotes logged 25-minutes of penalties through the course of this game. Nine of those 25 went to Keith Ballard, who had a tough night as the object of Colby Armstrong's retribution for an early first period hit that sent them both to the box for fighting.
Crosby and Malkin both had a relatively quiet night, but thankfully the team could still muster up an attack.
Mad Max Talbot was back from a high ankle sprain that rendered him unable to play for the last five games. He was quick to make his presence known with the first goal of the game, his sixth of the season. The combination of Georges Laraque and Talbot is amazing to watch. It is the ideal example of the scoring depth necessary for the birds.
Second notch of the game went to Kris Letang, his first on the season from Crosby and Malkin. Earlier in the game Letang fanned on a fair number of shots, before finally connecting on the third period goal.
Fleury's only faulter on the night came during a 4:00 Coyotes powerplay in which Captain Shane Doan found the back of the net following the Penguins' inability to clear the puck.
The victory was sealed on a Tyler Kennedy goal, his fourth on the season and fourth point in four games. So much for Coach Therrien looking to send him down to WBS with Nasreddine.
Great game tonight by the Pens, and phenomenal goaltending on both ends. Despite giving up three goals and dropping four straight, Ilya Bryzgalov is the goalie of the future for the Coyotes. I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it: Bryzgalov is to the Coyotes as what Biron was to the Flyers last season.
Pens head out to the west coast Wednesday night in Edmonton for a three game road trip. Preview to come.
