Pittsburgh Penguins: Three Stars Of Game In Win Over Avalanche
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ offense picked up where it left off Tuesday and scored four goals again against the Colorado Avalanche Thursday in their 4-3 home victory.
It was the second win in a row for the Black and Gold as they raised their record to 12-7-0 with 24 points. It was their third win against one loss at home in the month of November.
Pittsburgh’s triumph moved them into third place in the Metropolitan Division. They remain a single point behind the Washington Capitals (12-5-1, 25 points) for second place in the Metro. The New York Rangers are in first place with a record of 14-3-2, 30 points.
Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury saw his record improve to 10-6-0 for the Penguins as he turned away 28-of-31 shots. Colorado goalie Reto Berra stopped 26-of-30 to watch his record sink below .500 to 4-5-0.
It appeared that the Avalanche, with a record of 7-11-1, 15 points, was coming together after beginning its seven-game road trek with a trio of victories. The Colorado offense claimed 13 goals in those wins. The Flyers, Bruins, and Canadiens could manage just three scores. With the loss to the Pens, they have dropped back-to-back contests.
Time to check out my three players of the game that helped the Penguins pull out a one goal win against the Avalanche.
1) Center Sidney Crosby took a pass tipped his way from right-wing Pascal Dupuis and sent a shot under Colorado goaltender Reto Berra at 11:56 of the third for the game winning score. It was the 5-foot-11, 200-pound forward’s third goal of the season to go along with seven assists.
2) Ian Cole contributed a pair of assists on the night. He added a helper to David Perron’s goal at 5:35 in the second period. The 6-foot-1, 219-pound defenseman was not done as he had an assist on Crosby’s score in the third frame. He chipped in a pair of blocked shots.
3) Center Nick Bonino led the squad in hits with three. He also went 12-for-15 in his face-offs. The 6-foot-1, 196-pound forward recorded an assist on left-wing Chris Kunitz’s score in the second.
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Special Teams: The penalty kill unit on both teams permitted one power play goal. The Avalanche went 1-for-5 with the man advantage, and the Penguins went 1-for-4.
Lunch Pail Crew: A trio of defensemen helped the Penguins to victory. Kris Letang was the leader in blocked shots with four and had two hits. Ben Lovejoy contributed three blocks and two hits. Brian Dumoulin put up two hits and two blocks.
Box Score Bites: One place on the score sheet where the Penguins had an edge was in face-off wins 33-28 over the Avalanche. It was close in blocked shots with Colorado holding a 19-16 edge and in shots 31-30. The penalty minutes tipped the Black and Gold’s way 12-10.
Official Three Stars Of The Game: 1) Center Evgeni Malkin with a power play goal in the second period; 2) Colorado center Matt Duchene with a power play goal in the first frame and an even strength score in the third; 3) Chris Kunitz with his third goal of the season to close out the second period.
Pittsburgh Scratches: Defensemen Olli Maatta and David Warsofsky; Right-wing Daniel Sprong.
Next: Pirates Vs. Marlins In May On Clemente Day In PR
Up Next: The Black and Gold stay at CONSOL Energy Center on Saturday, Nov. 21 to battle the San Jose Sharks (11-8-0, 22 points). The Sharks won their fourth consecutive game Thursday in overtime with a 1-0 shutout over the Flyers in Philadelphia.
The two meet at center ice at 7:00 p.m. and you can catch every puck drop on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.