by Lori Pometo
A lively game it was as the Penguins and Sabres faced off in Pittsburgh last night. It was a night of firsts. Both James Neal and Zbynek Michalek scored their first goals as Penguins. Chris Kunitz, made his first game appearance since being out with a lower body injury on February 4th. Kunitz replaced Cooke in the Cooke-Kennedy-Staal line and Cooke took Connor's spot for the night. There was a total of ten power plays throughout the game. The Pens had seven power plays, one of their all time highs but failed to score in any of the seven.
Neal who was traded from Dallas for Alex Goligoski (along with Niskanen) now has 22 goals for the season. He has proved he can hold his own on the ice with force and power. He's shown he's not afraid to throw his weight around. The 23 year old certainly was fearless Saturday night against Boston when he laid a nice hit on the gigantic and intimidating Zdeno Chara. Neal was brought in though to produce goals and now he can check that (his first) off the list, tying the game 1-1 early in the second. "Every game I’ve just been feeling more and more comfortable,” Neal said. “It’s a great building to play in, with great fans, and it’s fun to play here." Hopefully, now that he's got the first one underway, Neal will have no problem with follow up as we get even closer to the playoffs.
A few short minutes later, Michalek, at last, scored his first ever goal in a Penguin uniform! It's actually his first goal in 92 games, since January 14, 2010 with Minnesota. He has 14 points this season. His actions as a defensemen have been invaluable for the Pens. It shows in the way he can appear in the right place at the right time to block a shot, help save a puck, or join in on the rush.
"It's always nice to score. And it's a huge monkey off my back.", Michalek said. Teammates have tried to help him out in previous games by setting him up and making sure he gets the puck. He's done a great deal of that for himself too by taking shots whenever he can. It all paid off last night as Michalek shot the puck and it somehow, magically, seemed to glide straight through a cluster of zigzagging players.
Mark Letestu deflected the puck in the net on a shot by Michalek, making the game 3-1 late in the third.
The guy who I think stole the show was none other than Marc-Andre Fleury. He made 29 saves, only letting one slip by him early on in the first by Rob Niedermayer. Niedermayer who when taking the puck to the net, knocked Fleury down and Fleury's helmet flew off his head. That wasn't the only shot Fleury would take. Later he was hit square in the mask by a hard flying puck and left the net very briefly to get checked out. Fleury was also hit in the face/mask with a Sabre stick. Not surprisingly, he brushed it all off only to try his hand at scoring a goal.
With less than a minute left, Fleury shot the puck hoping to land it in Buffalo's empty net. "When I shot it, it was right in the guys chest and then there was an open net," Fleury laughed. "So at that point I thought I was in trouble." When asked if he would make another attempt, he said, "No, I will again. But when we have a two goal lead and a little room to play with."
The Pens won 3-1 against the Sabres. In regulation! The last time they won in regulation was on February 4th against the Sabres. This wraps up the four game match up with Buffalo, with Pittsburgh winning all four.
Pittsburgh gained 2 points tonight, giving them a total of 86 points -just below Philadelphia, who now has 88 points.
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