Pens-Devils In-Game Blog
Wednesday, 12.30.2009 / 7:00 PM
/ Features
By Sam Kasan
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Track all the action from Pittsburgh's showdown with the New Jersey Devils with our live in-game blog. Check back for stat updates, injury reports and other information.
0:00: The Devils defeat the Penguins 2-0 as Brodeur blanks the Stanley Cup championships for the second time this season.
0:11: The Penguins came hard at the net but Langenbrunner was able to block a shot and deposit the puck into an empty net to dash Pittsburgh's hopes.
1:28: The Penguins will go on a power play as Zajac gets called for holding. He gripped up Malkin after Pittsburgh had some sustained pressure and the Penguins now have a great chance to pull even.
3:30: We are at the final whistle. It's gut-check time for Pittsburgh and time to mount one final attack to try to tie this game.
6:27: The Penguins had a great opportunity after a three-on-two chance. There was a scrum in the Devils crease but Pittsburgh couldn't lift the puck into the net. New Jersey countered and Parise hit the post.
7:30: Malkin steals the puck and sets up Kunitz for a chance in front. Kunitz's attempt however goes just wide of the cage.
9:07: During the TV timeout, Gonchar skated around the ice to test his pain.
10:20: Gonchar can barely stay on his feet after getting his with a shot. He struggled to get to the bench.
10:47: Crosby raced back to stop the Devils' rush but his clearing attempt went over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It's a 5-on-3 chance.
11:03: Crosby has a great shorthanded chance. He used his speed to get a puck in the neutral zone. He put a move on Oduya and sends a backhand shot on Brodeur.
11:20: Johnson makes another outstanding play to stop Greene on a backdoor chance. Johnson read the play and slid to his left in perfect position to make the save look easy.
12:10: Kunitz goes to the box for hacking Greene.
13:58: Malkin blocked a New Jersey slap shot and couldn't skate, favoring his knee. He hobbled to the bench.
14:40: Pittsburgh kills the penalty. We're at full strength.
15:08: Staal had a shorthanded chance from 50 feet that Brodeur kicked aside.
16:33: Matt Cooke goes to the penalty box and New Jersey has a chance to really put the pressure on Pittsburgh.
19:32: Sergei Gonchar had a monster slap shot from the high slot that Brodeur turned aside.
20:00: The puck drops and Pittsburgh has 20 minutes to find a way to get the rubber behind Brodeur.
SECOND PERIOD NOTES
- Guerin has a team-high five shots, followed by Staal's four
- Guerin and Rupp lead the team with three hits
- Crosby is 8-3 in the faceoff circle
0:00: The second period ends with New Jersey clinging to a 1-0 lead. The Penguins and Devils are all even in shots at 23-23.
:59: Johnson makes a great save on a breakaway chance by Langenbrunner. Johnson has been absolutely solid for the Penguins in the first 40 minutes of play.
2:57: Johnson makes a good save on Parise. Seconds earlier Crosby had a two-on-one but couldn't get the puck towards the net.
4:13: Johnson makes a couple more great saves, including a backhand chance at the side of the crease by Elias.
7:16: Johnson makes a strong save on Zajac on a breakaway and stoped Parise's rebound chance.
8:13: The Penguins had a great opportunity on a designed play off of a faceoff. Crosby won the faceoff in the Devils zone and make a cross-crease feed to Malkin on the doorstep. Brodeur managed to get his body in front of the shot.
8:17: Malkin makes a great move to get around a Devils defender and get a shot on goal. Brodeur stayed tall to make the save. Malkin hacked at the rebound but Brodeur also stopped that and covered for the faceoff.
8:35: Kennedy nearly lifted a shot over Brodeur, who was down on the ice to cover a wraparound.
14:00: Kunitz delivers a heavy blow to Clarkson that sent him to the ice and hard into the boards.
14:47: Ruslan Fedotenko had a terrific chance from between the circles. Brodeur got an arm on it and then kept it covered while the Penguins whacked at the rebounds.
16:08: Kris Letang made a great play to intercept a flip pass attempt by New Jersey or else Bergfors could have had a breakaway.
18:24: Bill Guerin had a great chance along the goal line. Malkin stole the puck and made a nifty pass to Guerin. But the veteran forward's shot was stuffed by Brodeur.
20:00: The puck is dropped for the second period.
FIRST PERIOD NOTES
- Jordan Staal has four of the nine Penguins' shots in the first
- Orpik, Gonchar and Guerin each recorded two hits
- Gonchar had a team-high 8:17 minutes, while Goligoski had 8:12
0:00: The first period comes to an end with New Jersey holding a 1-0 lead. The Devils also recorded a 12-9 advantage in shots.
2:51: Johnson makes a great save on Dean McAmmond. McAmmond came free in the slot for a quality scoring chance but Johnson kicked the chance away.
5:03: Kennedy nearly stuffed a Devils miscue into the goal from the side of the net. Brodeur alterly got a pad on the puck.
6:21: Pittsburgh's PK unit does a great job, giving up only one shot and killing off the two-minute advantage.
8:12: The Penguins are on the penalty kill as Talbot goes to the box. Johnson made a good save on Greene and then collected a dumped puck and threw it the length of the ice.
8:41: Great up-and-down action as both teams are attacking and transitioning well. Both goalies have been strong.
10:59: Brodeur made a good save on Matt Cooke and stoned Jordan Staal on the rebound shot.
11:53: Johnson makes a good save on Travis Zajac in the slot.
14:50: Johnson is tested while the Devils recorded some good offensive pressure. The Penguins netminder held his ground.
18:12: The Devils take the early lead with a goal from Penguin killer Niclas Bergfors. The Devils rookie now has seven points (4G-3A) in four games against Pittsburgh. Devils 1, Penguins 0.
19:20: Mike Rupp gets a great chance while streaking down the near side. Crosby had a follow up opportunity but Martin Brodeur made the stops.
FIRST PERIOD
7:02: The Penguins scratched forward Eric Godard by defenseman Jay McKee. The Devils scratched Pikkarainen, Salvador and Peters. Brent Johnson gets the start in net.
0:00: The Devils defeat the Penguins 2-0 as Brodeur blanks the Stanley Cup championships for the second time this season.
0:11: The Penguins came hard at the net but Langenbrunner was able to block a shot and deposit the puck into an empty net to dash Pittsburgh's hopes.
1:28: The Penguins will go on a power play as Zajac gets called for holding. He gripped up Malkin after Pittsburgh had some sustained pressure and the Penguins now have a great chance to pull even.
3:30: We are at the final whistle. It's gut-check time for Pittsburgh and time to mount one final attack to try to tie this game.
6:27: The Penguins had a great opportunity after a three-on-two chance. There was a scrum in the Devils crease but Pittsburgh couldn't lift the puck into the net. New Jersey countered and Parise hit the post.
7:30: Malkin steals the puck and sets up Kunitz for a chance in front. Kunitz's attempt however goes just wide of the cage.
9:07: During the TV timeout, Gonchar skated around the ice to test his pain.
10:20: Gonchar can barely stay on his feet after getting his with a shot. He struggled to get to the bench.
10:47: Crosby raced back to stop the Devils' rush but his clearing attempt went over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It's a 5-on-3 chance.
11:03: Crosby has a great shorthanded chance. He used his speed to get a puck in the neutral zone. He put a move on Oduya and sends a backhand shot on Brodeur.
11:20: Johnson makes another outstanding play to stop Greene on a backdoor chance. Johnson read the play and slid to his left in perfect position to make the save look easy.
12:10: Kunitz goes to the box for hacking Greene.
13:58: Malkin blocked a New Jersey slap shot and couldn't skate, favoring his knee. He hobbled to the bench.
14:40: Pittsburgh kills the penalty. We're at full strength.
15:08: Staal had a shorthanded chance from 50 feet that Brodeur kicked aside.
16:33: Matt Cooke goes to the penalty box and New Jersey has a chance to really put the pressure on Pittsburgh.
19:32: Sergei Gonchar had a monster slap shot from the high slot that Brodeur turned aside.
20:00: The puck drops and Pittsburgh has 20 minutes to find a way to get the rubber behind Brodeur.
SECOND PERIOD NOTES
- Guerin has a team-high five shots, followed by Staal's four
- Guerin and Rupp lead the team with three hits
- Crosby is 8-3 in the faceoff circle
0:00: The second period ends with New Jersey clinging to a 1-0 lead. The Penguins and Devils are all even in shots at 23-23.
:59: Johnson makes a great save on a breakaway chance by Langenbrunner. Johnson has been absolutely solid for the Penguins in the first 40 minutes of play.
2:57: Johnson makes a good save on Parise. Seconds earlier Crosby had a two-on-one but couldn't get the puck towards the net.
4:13: Johnson makes a couple more great saves, including a backhand chance at the side of the crease by Elias.
7:16: Johnson makes a strong save on Zajac on a breakaway and stoped Parise's rebound chance.
8:13: The Penguins had a great opportunity on a designed play off of a faceoff. Crosby won the faceoff in the Devils zone and make a cross-crease feed to Malkin on the doorstep. Brodeur managed to get his body in front of the shot.
8:17: Malkin makes a great move to get around a Devils defender and get a shot on goal. Brodeur stayed tall to make the save. Malkin hacked at the rebound but Brodeur also stopped that and covered for the faceoff.
8:35: Kennedy nearly lifted a shot over Brodeur, who was down on the ice to cover a wraparound.
14:00: Kunitz delivers a heavy blow to Clarkson that sent him to the ice and hard into the boards.
14:47: Ruslan Fedotenko had a terrific chance from between the circles. Brodeur got an arm on it and then kept it covered while the Penguins whacked at the rebounds.
16:08: Kris Letang made a great play to intercept a flip pass attempt by New Jersey or else Bergfors could have had a breakaway.
18:24: Bill Guerin had a great chance along the goal line. Malkin stole the puck and made a nifty pass to Guerin. But the veteran forward's shot was stuffed by Brodeur.
20:00: The puck is dropped for the second period.
FIRST PERIOD NOTES
- Jordan Staal has four of the nine Penguins' shots in the first
- Orpik, Gonchar and Guerin each recorded two hits
- Gonchar had a team-high 8:17 minutes, while Goligoski had 8:12
0:00: The first period comes to an end with New Jersey holding a 1-0 lead. The Devils also recorded a 12-9 advantage in shots.
2:51: Johnson makes a great save on Dean McAmmond. McAmmond came free in the slot for a quality scoring chance but Johnson kicked the chance away.
5:03: Kennedy nearly stuffed a Devils miscue into the goal from the side of the net. Brodeur alterly got a pad on the puck.
6:21: Pittsburgh's PK unit does a great job, giving up only one shot and killing off the two-minute advantage.
8:12: The Penguins are on the penalty kill as Talbot goes to the box. Johnson made a good save on Greene and then collected a dumped puck and threw it the length of the ice.
8:41: Great up-and-down action as both teams are attacking and transitioning well. Both goalies have been strong.
10:59: Brodeur made a good save on Matt Cooke and stoned Jordan Staal on the rebound shot.
11:53: Johnson makes a good save on Travis Zajac in the slot.
14:50: Johnson is tested while the Devils recorded some good offensive pressure. The Penguins netminder held his ground.
18:12: The Devils take the early lead with a goal from Penguin killer Niclas Bergfors. The Devils rookie now has seven points (4G-3A) in four games against Pittsburgh. Devils 1, Penguins 0.
19:20: Mike Rupp gets a great chance while streaking down the near side. Crosby had a follow up opportunity but Martin Brodeur made the stops.
FIRST PERIOD
7:02: The Penguins scratched forward Eric Godard by defenseman Jay McKee. The Devils scratched Pikkarainen, Salvador and Peters. Brent Johnson gets the start in net.
CONSOL ENERGY CENTER EVENTS
