For the second time in as many games, the Penguins danced their way past the Devils by a 3 goal margin, putting 4 straight home in the 5-2 win.
What’s more is they took a late 2nd period lead and rolled to their 52nd straight win when leading after 2.
That streak, like all streaks, will end. But holy shit on a cracker is that 2nyce.
FIRST PERIOD
On the first two shifts of the game, the Penguins could have and should have been up 1-0. First, Crosby forced a turnover in the offensive zone and threw his backhander up and over the net. Then, Malkin jumped on and was swarming the OZ, hitting Hornqvist for a spinning chance that he got under Schneider and off the iron.
https://gfycat.com/HeartyAnxiousAchillestang
The Penguins reset with 71 looking to wind it up and run the gauntlet. It led to a pretty egregious turnover and finished with Taylor Hall sending Ruhwedel’s jock into orbit before setting up PA Parenteau. 1-0
https://gfycat.com/FatalRichHogget
Geno would redeem himself 5 and a half minutes later though with Palmieri in the box for wrecking Scott Wilson’s life in front of the net. Their movement on the PP had the Devils running around with their dicks in their hands and put Schneider down and out, setting the stage for Gene’s 800th career point. 1-1
https://gfycat.com/IdolizedGoldenGoldeneye
That Crosby play though. Devils would challenge over Hornqvist being dumped by DSP in the crease, but get real.
About a minute and a half later, the Devils would get their first powerplay chance of the night. Apparently penalty killing was optional as the Devils got the Pens also running around with their dicks in their hands, allowing Henrique to net his 9th of the year. 2-1
https://gfycat.com/DeafeningQualifiedEyas
Pens PK pulled their heads out of their collective ass, killing off 2 more penalties in the second half of the period…
SECOND PERIOD
..and one more to start the 2nd. Second period which was largely boring for the first half, with shots sitting at just 4-2 Devils.
But halfway through, the period starting opening up and the Penguins would make their 3rd shot of the period count. Adam Henrique found himself on an island with Sheary bearing down on him, breaking his ankles and letting 43 set up Sid for his 25th. 2-2
https://gfycat.com/FamousGrossDogwoodclubgall
Late in the period, the Devils, true to form, wanted to play a little with fire and took two penalties in quick succession, but Schneider stood tall.
Though the Pens couldn’t get it done up a man, they got some shit done on a 4v4 situation after John Moore jobbed Scott Wilson. HCMS got 87 and 71 out to put the hammer down to finish off the period and they didn’t disappoint, convincing Schultz to snipe with 5.4 seconds left. 3-2
https://gfycat.com/MeaslySlowAfricanfisheagle
No clue how Malkin got away with that unruly pick.
Justin Schultz now has 17 points (7 G, 10 A) in his last 14 games.
— Sam Werner (@sjwerner11) December 28, 2016
THIRD PERIOD
As is tradition, the Peng came out in the third going for the jugular, looking to send the Devils back to hell. A little over 3 minutes into the period, Ruhwedel found his jock and hit Hagelin with an obscene pass right up the gut to make Schneider hold his dick. 4-2
https://gfycat.com/BasicAchingAmericantoad
Fleury had to make some wild cricket save on a weird bounce to keep it a 2 goal game about a minute later. There’s probably a My Chemical Romance song about how he’d have felt if that went in.
https://gfycat.com/IdealImpureAmericankestrel
As if the blueline wasn’t depleted enough as is, Dumoulin took a full Andy Greene slapshot off the side of the head/jaw sometime after that save. Really scary moment.
Brian Dumoulin getting hit in the face with the puck. OUCH pic.twitter.com/J1ux5ycwhY
— taylornicole (@ay_taybay) December 28, 2016
Potato quality, but you get the idea.
Then, with him in the locker room, Cole got rung up for a high sticking double minor, leaving just Schultz, Oleksy, Ruhwedel, and Pouliot as the available defensemen and effectively forcing Sullivan to put DP51 on the ice. They survived, largely in part because of some more Fleury heroics. Rust would add the empty netter with 1:18 left to put the Devils out of their misery.
Game.
RANDOM NOTES
- Another multi-point game for both Crosby and Malkin.
- MAF was as good as he needed to be
- Just build Schultz the Scrooge McDuckian vault already damnit.
- Giving up 7 powerplays against a better team will be a backbreaker. PK+Fleury were strong on 6.
- Aside from a couple minute flurry after their first goal, the Devils didn’t see too much of the puck at 5v5 last night, especially in the second half of the game. Pens attempted 32 shots, 9 more than the Devils, in a little over 38 minutes of 5v5 play. Crosby (+10), Sheary (+9), and Rust (+8) led the way for the Pens. Rust was on the ice for just one more attempt against (3) than the other two.
Pens host the Canes in like 6 minutes on the second half of this back-to-back. Do it.
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