Power Plays, Penalties Propel Pens

The Pittsburgh Penguins extinguished the New York Islanders 6-4 at Mellon Arena Tuesday night. Evgeni Malkin fueled the Pens with a hat trick and Sidney Crosby clipped the Islanders with a pair of goals in the winning effort. The victory raised the Penguins’ record to 31-19-1 and matched a career high in points for Crosby. The Islanders entered the arena riding a hot four game winning streak. After beginning the season on a low note, New York has been playing with consistency. They’ve rebounded to create a skillful offense and even managed to hold the Detroit Red Wings scoreless last week. Matt Moulson, Rob Schremp and Mark Streit helped the Isles throttle the Wings 6-0 in Uniondale only a week ago. It was the fewest shots Detroit recorded this season. New York hoped to keep their tough-minded team tear running the track Tuesday. Crosby and Malkin would think otherwise.
Sid the Kid, the 22 year old phenom Penguin put Pittsburgh on top by one goal in the first period and knocked in his 32nd of the season during the second. Malkin secured the puck between the posts at 3:40 in the second period. The slap shot past New York goalie, Dwanye Roloson provided a 2-0 home lead. Malkin followed it up in the third period by collecting two goals. The 24 year old picked up his 16th and 17th goals to put the Pens back in the lead. The first was a crack from the right circle too tough for the Isles’ netminder to stop. The second, an empty-netter, was misled in with 30 seconds left to play. His final goal was the fourth power play goal for the Penguins on the night.
Brent Johnson was super at the goalie position for Pittsburgh. Johnson made 31 saves and made things utterly ugly for the Islanders early in the session. Johnson rejected breakaway shots and bested Kyle Okposo the entire game. Okposo was outmaneuvered in seven attempts on goal. New York was crippled by a barrage of careless penalties but managed to get onboard four times against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Andy Sutton finally solved Sutton with a slap from inside the left circle to hammer home the first Islander goal in the second period. The score game after Bill Guerin increased the Pens’ lead during a power play. Guerin rifled a Crosby feed into the net for his 16th on the season and a 3-0 Pittsburgh advantage. Crosby countered the defensivemen Sutton by skipping his second goal through the posts at 13:03 in the second. Sutton later drew a superfluous misconduct penalty after ramming forward, Pascal Dupuis into the boards. Dupuis left the ice following the head-first slam in the third period. Before the bleeding and glass action, however, New York came back to tie the game. Freddy Meyer cut the Penguin’s lead in half by scoring from the left dot before the break in the second period.
Trent Hunter and Richard Park carried the Islanders momentum through the intermission. Hunter beat Johnson less than a minute into the final period; ex-Penguin Park evened the contest at 7:11. Okposo was charged with a tripping penalty midway through the third that led to Malkin’s power play goal and the eventual game-winner. Okposo also failed on a penalty shot as the Islanders missed on scoring opportunities to gain on the Penguins lead again. Malkin sealed the deal with an untoward empty net goal to lift the Penguins to within two points of first place New Jersey. Crosby finished with four assists and Jack Hillen pocketed two for the 22-win Islanders. Roloson blanked the Penguins with 23 saves. Pens’ veteran, Max Talbot, left the game with an undisclosed injury during the second period. His return is not yet known.
Parting Points: Seven time Grand Slam champion, Justine Henin, dismissed Elena Dementieva at the Australian Open. Juan Martin del Porto restricts James Blake to advance in a five set marathon.

Read of the week- "Far From the Maddening Crowd" by Thomas Hardy