The Penguins won their third consecutive game tonight in shootout fashion. In what was known as "The Battle of the Captains", Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby each did their part to lead their team to victory. On the stat sheet, Iginla would have the upper hand. But by the end of the night, Crosby's Pens would get the win, two points and move within two points of the division leading Rangers and Flyers.
An early first period injury to starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury really set the mood for an otherwise disappointing night. In a shuffle across and in front of the net, Fleury lost his balance and literally appeared to have trapped his leg under his body. After facing only two shots, he'd skate off under his own power but would not return. The remainder of the night was left in the pads of Dany Sabourin.
Sabourin, coming off the bench and not expecting to play, was challenged early but stood his ground. His side-to-side play across the crease prevented at least one goal in the first, but didn't stop the only one that came on the power play from Jaroma Iginla with 28 seconds remaining in the period.
Heading into the second and down 1-0, the Pens were hoping to rally behind Crosby. However, Sid was kept on lock-down from Calgary Flames defender Dion Phaneuf. By the end of the night Sid would record only two shots on the night and walk away pointless for only the second time this season.
With roughly six minutes remaining in the second, Evgeni Malkin charged in on the Flames' net, going top shelf on Kipprusoff to tie the game at one.
It wouldn't take long for the Flames to rally back, as Iginla notched his second on the night and 16th on the year on the power play brought on by a Jordan Staal high-sticking call.
Down 2-1 in the third the Penguins found themselves in a hole as Dion Phaneuf's pestering of Gary Roberts throughout the entire game drew a high-sticking call with ten minutes remaining. Had the Flames capitalized on the power play, it would've made it nearly impossible for the Penguins to come back down two.
Ryan Malone didn't let that happen.
Pressuring his man on the penalty-kill, Malone was able to kick the puck out of the Pens zone and hurry down ice for a shorty with 8:30 remaining on the clock.
The Flames applied heavy pressure from thereon in, with Iginla nearly finding the hat trick on a shot just wide of the net.
In overtime the Penguins' best chance came on a Sergei Gonchar centering pass through the crease in the dying seconds of the third that couldn't find a connection in front of the net. The Flames applied pressure as well, almost capitalizing on a two-on-one with Mark Eaton as the only defender. Eaton was able to make a great play to break up the centering pass, giving his teammates enough time to hurry down ice and even up the sides. Time eventually ran out on both teams, as they headed into overtime with each guaranteed at least one point.
The shootout was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth round, when Kris Letang stepped up to center ice. In the game against the Oilers the previous night, Letang scored the game winner and was looking to do the same in the shootout. As he drove in on Kipper, the goalie tried to tempt him to the glove side but Letang had his mind made up already. In a slick shot past Kiprusoff, Letang was the hero for the second night in a row and the Pens went on to their third straight win.
The Pens hope to wrap up and sweep the Northwest visit Saturday night against the Canucks. No word has been released on the severity of Fleury's injury or if he'll be eligible to play come Saturday night.
Despite Crosby's point-less effort on the night, he logged nearly 23-minutes of ice time and provided enough of a distraction to Phaneuf to open the ice up to the rest of the team. Although he's no doubt one of the best snipers in the league, his role as a distraction led the team victory just the same behind scoring from Malkin and Malone.
The Pens head into Vancouver Saturday night as they hope to make it four-straight, their longest streak of the season. Puck drops at 10p.m. Eastern.
