It's safe to say at this point that every time the Caps and Pens faceoff, you can expect a fight from Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. Those guys genuinely hate one another.
What you can't predict is a come from behind victory. Frankly, I hate games like this. They leave me cursing and yelling and screaming one minute, and then cheering and praising and hailing the next. If my neighbors were actually capable of hearing, they'd think I had a combination of a bi-polar disorder and turrets.
Regardless, Pens took down the Caps in overtime tonight by the score of 4-3 in front of the home crowd. Crosby had two assists on the night, with some goal-age coming from the otherwise silent Sydor and new-comer Jeff Taffe. The game-winner in OT came courtesy of Sergei Gonchar who hit a wide open net on a slapper from the point via a Crosby dish. Get used to seeing Sydor on the lines again, as key defenseman Mark Eaton is out with a torn ACL. Therrien has so far experimented with who he plans to pair with Gonch, with Scuderi looking like the go-to-guy at the moment. If his juggling of forwards is any evidence to his ADD tendencies when it comes to line formations, then I'd expect to see every D-man on the team get a fair shot in pairing with Gonch.
The Pens played a very disciplined game tonight. However, much to the power play unit's chagrin so did the Caps. Each team only had two power play attempts and a total of three penalties on the game (including the Brashear/Laraque first period dance.) Pens went one for two with the man advantage, converting in a dire situation in the closing minutes of the third to send the game to OT. The Pens' PK unit killed penalties at an OJ Simpson-like 100 percent. Although not on the PK line, Gary Roberts explained how he'd do it if he was.
Pens are off now till the outdoor extravaganza that is the NHL Winter Classic. Or, as many are calling it, The Ice Bowl. Should Ty Conklin get the start in net for the Pens, this will be his second appearance in an outdoor game. Conk was in goal for Edmonton in the 4-3 loss to Montreal back in 2003.
