Pens Labyrinth
Fansided

Pittsburgh Penguins Thump The Anaheim Ducks, 6-2

By Scott Seningen

Dec 6, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (center) celebrates with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (left) and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz (right) after he scores a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (center) celebrates with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (left) and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz (right) after he scores a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

It was a faceoff of two of the hottest teams in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks in town tonight facing the Pittsburgh Penguins.

David Perron was playing against the Penguins for the first time since being traded west along with defenseman Adam Clendening in mid-January.  Carl Hagelin, who came east in that trade, was opposing his old teammates wearing black and orange for the first time as well.

Marc-Andre Fleury was back in net at home on Monday night, after getting the night off on Saturday, as the Penguins played back-to-back games in Florida.  Evgeni Malkin was still on the shelf, missing his third consecutive game for the Penguins.  Would Pittsburgh be able to muster enough offense, without one of their leading point scorers this season, to knock off the hot Ducks?

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Chris Kunitz got the Penguins on the board early in the first, with helpers from Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby.  And that marked eleven consecutive games with a point for Sidney Crosby.  His hot streak continues.

Not long after the Kunitz goal, rookie Conor Sheary notched his third goal of the season (and his NHL career) as Letang and Trevor Daley were credited with assists.  Sheary redirected a shot by Letang, tipping the puck down and through the five hole of Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson.

Ryan Getzlaf then got the Ducks on the board with a wicked wrist shot, unassisted, to cut the Ducks deficit to one goal.  Wouldn’t last long though.  Carl Hagelin wasn’t about to be beaten by his old team.  With less than twenty seconds remaining in the first period, Hagelin got his first goal while wearing black and gold.

More from Penguins News

The second period wasn’t quite as eventful as the first, but there was a visit to the back of the net by the hottest NHL player in calendar year 2016.  Sidney Crosby blocked Ryan Getzlaf at the Penguins’ blue line, then took the puck on a breakaway and slotted it through John Gibson‘s five hole.  Penguins up 4-1.  Crosby scores again.

So Sid continues his torrid pace in 2016 and the Pens jump out to a fairly big lead.  Prior to the second period coming to an end, the Ducks would reel the Pens back in a bit as Anaheim forward Patrick Maroon earned his third goal of the season.  Still, Pittsburgh was up by two goals, the same lead they had to close out the first period, and they had to be happy they held that margin.

There was one guy on the Penguins who really wanted to widen the margin badly though.  He wasn’t satisfied with a two goal lead.  You know who that guy was.  Sid the Kid.  So what did he do?  Just put the puck in the net again.

Just about three minutes later, Olli Maatta put the Penguins up by four, with a helper from who else but Crosby, as well as Patric Hornqvist.  Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau had seen enough at that point, and pulled John Gibson, as Frederik Andersen took to the ice for the Ducks.

The four goal lead would hold up for the Penguins, with Marc-Andre Fleury turning away 35 of the 37 shots he faced on the evening.

You had two hot teams coming into this game, and of course, only one can win.  But I don’t know who expected a performance like this from the Penguins.  The comeback win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday may have given them the momentum boost they needed at just the right time.  They are certainly hitting on all cylinders right now.  And they’re doing it without one of the best players in the league, let alone on their team.  We can only hope they’ll be even that much better once Geno returns to the ice.

Home/Penguins News