Pens-Isles In-Game Blog

PENGUINS 6, ISLANDERS 3

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0:00: That'll do it! Pens with a resounding 6-3 win over the Isles. Neal with 2 goals and Sullivan, Dupuis, Cooke and Martin with the others.

4:15: Orpik gets a double minor, meaning the Pens will be shorthanded for basically the rest of regulation.

4:53: Parenteau finds himself alone on the back door, but tries to do a little too much with the puck and can't get anything going!

9:50: Paul Martin gets his first in 79 games when he carries into the zone and takes a shot from the near circle that bounces off Reese's back and trickles over Montoya's pad, just out of reach of his glove! Pens 6, Isles 3

10:03: Not many whistles to speak of this period. We just got our first one in quite some time.

12:54: Isles upping their battle level these last few minutes. They're definitely pushing hard to cut the Pens' lead.

16:24: Pens back to full strength.

18:30: And now the Pens' last goal scorer is going to the box for slashing Streit. Pens to their fifth PK of the evening.

18:56: Another great play by Niskanen to push the puck up to Cooke, who carries down and dishes to TK. 48 rips a shot and the rebound jumps right back to Cooke, who has a wide-open net and punches it home! Pens 5, Isles 3

20:00: Settling in for what should be a great third. Puck drops. Game on!

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- This is Neal's third 2-goal game of the season
- His second was his 9th PP tally, giving him sole possession of 1st in the NHL in that category
- Sully has a goal and an assist tonight
- Brooks Orpik is a warrior

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0:00: That'll do it for an eventful second. Pens now hold a 4-3 lead and a 26-23 advantage in shots.

4:02: Dupuis beats Montoya with a low shot glove side to give the Pens the lead! He sprinted from all the way behind his own net to get open on the play. Pens 4, Isles 3

4:19: Orpik is back on the ice for the Pens!!! He's got a huge gash between his eyebrows, but the man is a warrior. Cue major sigh of relief here.

7:21: The five-minute major to Hamonic expires and Isles are back to full strength after a lengthy penalty kill.

11:00: Pens now have 3:36 left on Hamonic's major!

11:16: Pens get rid of the monkey on their back from the 5-on-3! Sully rips a shot from the point with TK and Kunitz hacking and whacking at the rebound. However, it'll be James Neal to swoop in and put home a dirty goal!!! Isles 3, Pens 3

11:33: Pens now have a 5-on-3 advantage for 54 seconds.

12:12: Unreal save by Montoya just now while still on the ground after making another stop. He just did a double-pad stack to knock away a Geno blast! Wow.

12:25: Oh, no. Hamonic comes up the boards and elbows Orpik, and the Isles D-man is going to get a five-minute major. And unfortunately, Brooksy heads off the ice to the dressing room. We'll keep you posted on his status.

12:40: With 1:06 left on Fleury's minor, Jurcina has to haul down Vitale in order to prevent a shorthanded breakaway. Phenomenal efforts there from Vitale and Dupuis. We're going to 4-on-4 hockey!

13:34: Looks like 'Flower' is getting whistled for tripping. Jason Williams will serve the penalty. Pens to their fourth PK of the night.

17:06: Okposo snaps a shot glove side past Fleury to give the Isles the lead. He received a pass in the neutral zone and decided to take it all the way down and go for the shot instead of passing to a teammate. Certainly worked out for him.  Isles 3, Pens 2

17:56: Pens successfully thwart the penalty as Martin exits the box.

18:16: Despres with a great shorthanded chance when he gets a step on the Isles D and rips a wrister from the near circle!

20:00: Pens start this period with 1:56 left on Paul Martin's penalty. Puck drops. Game on!

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- Engelland has logged 8:47 in his first game back, second-most among Pens D-men
- Neal (goal) and Malkin (assist) are tied for the team lead with 27 points each
- Isles' top line of Moulson, Tavares and Parenteau has been quiet so far

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0:00: Big comeback that period for the Pens as they battle back to tie it 2-2. Isles have a slight advantage in shots, 12-11.

0:04: Martin in the box for hooking as the clock winds down.

0:28: Absolutely tenacouis forecheck by Kunitz on an Isles D-man who reverses the puck...right to Geno!!! He tips a pass directly to a crashing James Neal, who slams it home! Isles 2, Pens 2

2:49: Defensive zone faceoff win for Duper! He's now 3-3 on draws so far tonight.

5:32: Niskanen sends a long stretch pass up tp Vitale, who battles around Streit and puts a perfect pass on the blade of Sullivan's stick, who one-touches it into the net past Montoya blocker side! Isles 2, Pens 1

7:44: Milan Jurcina beats Fleury with an absolute bomb from the point with just 14 seconds left in Geno's penalty. PP score for the Isles. Isles 2, Pens 0

9:30: Geno to the box for hooking. Pens getting their 2nd PK of the night.

10:15: Pens starting to surge back with seven shots over the last three minutes.

11:57: Malkin is all over the ice right now, working his butt off in both ends. He's making things happen...let's hope it results in a goal soon!

13:00: A much better shift just now by the Pens, led by the efforts of the dynamic Malkin. When he's on, he makes the entire team better.

13:58: Shots are currently 6-0 in favor of the Islanders...

15:56: Rookie David Ullstrom powers down the side of the ice and snipes a shot into the top right corner of the net. Isles 1, Pens 0

16:38: Pens successfully kill off the penalty. They're now a perfect 10-for-10 in that area against the Islanders in this season's series. Now it's time to get to their game.

18:38: Dupuis and Tavares get tangled up just outside the blue paint and the Isles center tumbles into the net. Duper's going to get a penalty for that. Pens to the PK early.

20:00: Puck drops. Game on!

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7:00 PM:
Pens' lines for tonight (Dupuis has moved to center):

Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Cooke-Dupuis-Kennedy
Sullivan-Vitale-Asham
MacIntyre-Adams-Williams

Martin-Engelland
Orpik-Niskanen
Picard-Despres

Fleury in goal. Montoya in net for the Isles.

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6:45 PM:
Good evening everyone! Thanks for tuning into the blog on a weekend night. In just a few minutes here the Pens will take on the Islanders for the fourth of six meetings between the teams, where Pittsburgh will be looking to improve to 4-0 against their division rival.

It's definitely going to be a tall task, as the Isles have been on a bit of a surge recently (4-0-2 in their last six games) – and the Pens discovered earlier this afternoon that they will be without center Jordan Staal, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Jason Williams will take his place. That means they'll now be without him, Sidney Crosby, Robert Bortuzzo and those players who are on injured reserve: Dustin Jeffrey, Kris Letang, Ben Lovejoy, Zbynek Michalek, Richard Park and Brian Strait. Yikes.

The good news is that Deryk Engelland is back in the lineup after missing the last 2 games, so his presence will definitely provide a boost for the depleted D corps. And like they've been doing for quite some time now, the Pens will find a way to battle through the adversity. Credit to the call-ups for doing a fantastic job and to GM Ray Shero and his staff for building such depth throughout the organization

[Click here for the rest of the game day coverage].

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In honor of the Pens being in Long Island tonight, I'm going to start the blog with The Starting Line's "Island (Float Away)." Hope you enjoy.