Prediction
A happy return for the Penguins, who get Teddy Blueger back from the IR for his first game in almost a month to push Mark Jankowski to a healthy territory.
First period
Just 2:35 and during their first inning, the Belly’s fourth line strikes. A nice slide from Marcus Pettersson out of the zone and finally Teddy Blueger gets a shot, the rebound bounces behind the net where Colton Sceviour corrects it and shoots fast and bumps it past Mackenzie Blackwood to make it 1-0.
Only a few minutes later, the fourth line fell again through an offensive victory by Blueger. Mike Matheson gets the point off point and Sceviour is there to tip his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0 before the first TV countout.
Late for the first time, keep the Devils within striking distance by climbing on the board. Sami Vatanen skates to the right and throws a puck in front. Miles Wood drives to the net and is strong enough on his stick to avoid Sceviour’s defensive efforts and reach the goal. 2-1 Penne.
Shots in the first are 10-5 Pens, who played well and got some flash goals from Sceviour to make their mark early on.
Second period
New Jersey comes out stronger in the first and gets the first eight strokes of the period. Tristan Jarry is strong to keep it all going. Sam Lafferty takes the first penalty of the match to hook, but the Pens kills the penalty.
As the period is over by 40 seconds, the dangerous Pittsburgh topline is widening the lead. Bryan Rust finds space in the zone and zips in a shot. 3-1.
But wait, the Devils challenge for interference from the goalkeeper. Jake Guentzel stands at the top of the fold, but outside, but Sidney Crosby struggled up front with Ty Smith. There was a frenzy, but it did not really seem as if the Pens prevented the goalkeeper from playing his position in the blue paint, and after a review, the refs agree. That’s a good goal and NJ is going to box for the first time for the failure of the challenge.
Shots in the second are 14-6 New Jersey, but they do not succeed in the goal, then give up a goal breaker late … And then take a penalty kick that makes one last attempt to reverse the goal.
Third period
On transferring power measurement with fresh, clean ice, the Belly power measurement takes a while, but they eventually make money. Blackwood robs Crosby with a big rescue, but the bag remains free. Jared McCann grabs that loose disk behind the net and hits Rust. Rust gives an easy pass to Jake Guentzel who has an easy tap in, and he makes no mistake. 4-1 Penne.
PK Subban takes the puck to the net past Cody Ceci and makes contact or throws Jarry at least out of his element while the puck drips over the line. After a long review, the refs also determine that it is a good goal and it makes the score 4-2 with 12:30 left in the game.
The pens prefer not to challenge further. Looks smart because hey, the refs only watched it for 5 minutes. Probably not going to change plan with more time.
At 6:30, the Devils got their second match of the game when Blueger accidentally cleaned the bag, but the Pens killed it.
At the point at 3:15 the Devils pull their goalkeeper while the two are down, looking for another 6v5 goal as they scored against the Pens on Friday. However, it goes in vain because Sidney Crosby recovers a puck that was thrown in and hits Guentzel for an ENG. 5-2 Penne.
Some thoughts
- On the six-way trip Guentzel scored at least one point in each game and went into that stretch of 5G + 5A. He is at the moment almost like a silent assassin, just quietly and consistently engaged in such a clinical way.
- It was also a two-point night for Rust (1G + 1A). Rust scored five points (3G + 2A) in the two games played against the Devils this weekend. Whether on an equal or strong force, the Belly line is currently playing at a narrowly good level.
- Sceviour is up to five points (3G + 2A) in his last six games with his two goals tonight. Not bad for a man who is probably about the 14th or 15th forward on the depth map if the team is ever completely healthy. And it could also show that Pittsburgh does not need another fourth rule to have an extra body. The players they have, whether it be Sceviour, Radim Zohorna and the returning Blueger, are good.
- Can’t blame the Devils for challenging the goal. There was not an out-and-out conversion of their goalkeeper, but there was enough chaos where the officials might see a reason to stop it. Never know what they may do. If they did turn it around, it’s back to 2-1 which is in third place. Instead, they maintained the goal call, and the Pens earned money for the power play awarded for the failed challenge to make it 4-1 early in the third quarter and, oof, it closes the deal properly.
- Five of the Pen’s six defenders have registered assistants (only John Marino was kept off the board), as the defense’s offense continues in a large way. Excellent play from Pettersson to start the first goal of the game, a great job from Matheson to get the shooter on the net for the second goal. Getting such depth defense contributions is very important for the aggressive way the Belly plays.
- The Devils lost Pavel Zacha to injury early in the second period, which passed to Jack Hughes. Difficult loss in game there for a team looking for a return.
- The power play of Pittsburgh stays warm and goes 1/1 while the fights PK finds a way to go 2/2 has a big impact on this game. Reverse some of the results on special teams, and the game may go the other way around. Instead, it’s how you win games to get the benefit of both specialty units.
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Now the pens are getting a precious three-day-long game to regroup and heal some small bumps and bruises due to a shortened schedule. And they can also return home, if only for a match. As the deadline in the trade threatens, there is no shortage of drama and excitement of the ice in the near future, although the season is moving to the long term.