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Pittsburgh Penguins End Losing Streak, Top Blue Jackets 5-2

By Jason Harrison

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The Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night without captain Sidney Crosby and riding a five game losing streak.

The first period was a sloppy affair, with neither team seeming particularly interested in puck possession or sustained pressure.

5:41 into the frame, Fedor Tyutin attempted a bank pass off the boards that miraculously slid through several skates and right onto Alexander Wennberg‘s stick. He put it past Matt Murray for 1-0 Columbus lead.

In spite of the disappointing first period, the second saw the long awaited burst of goals that Pittsburgh Penguins fans had been waiting for.

After Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was whistled for delay of game, David Perron drove toward the net and lost the puck. Evgeni Malkin picked it up and put it home to tie the game at 1-1.

Less than a minute later, Phil Kessel snuck out of the defensive zone and Scott Wilson‘s clearing attempt hit him in stride. He coasted in 1-on-1 against Korpisalo and beat him for the 2-1 lead. The assist was Wilson’s first NHL point.

Late in the second, a good poke check by Olli Maatta caused the puck to carom to Nick Bonino who had Phil Kessel on his wing for a 2-on-1. Bonino sauced the pass to Kessel who dropped to one knee and slammed it home. 3-1 Penguins.

After Rene Bourque was sent to the box for cross-checking, the Pittsburgh Penguins scored yet again on the power play. This time it was David Warsofsky with a blast from the point that beat Korpisalo. The goal was his first as a Penguin and just the second of his NHL career.

The 2nd period ended with Penguins scoring four unanswered goals. 4-1.

In the third, Ryan Johansen found Boone Jenner wide open after Warsofsky stepped up on Johansen. Jenner beat Murray to cut the lead to two. 4-2.

Evgeni Malkin iced the game late with an empty netter.

Pittsburgh Penguins win (finally!), 5-2.

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Player Performance

Nick Bonino plus Phil Kessel. Who would’ve thought this would be a pairing to unlock two goals? As I saw some others suggest, perhaps Kessel plays better with an average center than a puck dominant star like Crosby or Malkin. Please keep the Kunitz/Bonino/Kessel pairing together, HCMS!

Win, lose, or draw, young goaltender Matt Murray is a definite upgrade over Jeff Zatkoff. His calm demeanor inspires the defense in front of him, and the lack of flopping and scrambling is much appreciated after the brief Zatkoff experience.

Eric Fehr dropped the gloves. Scott Wilson dropped the gloves and got his first NHL point. They sparked the team when they needed it most. Kudos to these guys.

Brian Dumoulin spent 22:55 on the ice tonight. He keeps earning his time and doing solid things with it. Of all the youth the Pens have tried on the blueline (excepting Olli Maatta), this one looks like he’s going to stick.

David Warsofsky (and Ian Cole to a lesser extent) has been the fans’ punching bag since Rob Scuderi was sent packing. He didn’t do much different tonight. Questionable defensive positioning and decision making, but he shoots that puck. Tonight he shot it past the Columbus goaltender for his first goal as a Penguin.

I’m just gonna throw out Matt Cullen‘s name right here. He’s been very solid in the bottom six during all the Penguins’ turmoil. The old man still has his hockey sense for sure.

Evgeni Malkin could easily be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ player of the game. He scored two goals, dominated on the ice, and came back from what looked like a horrific knee injury to a huge ovation from CONSOL Energy Center. Malkin’s production always goes up when Crosby is out. He continued that trend tonight.

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Pittsburgh Penguins’ Player of the Game

Phil Kessel had his Nikes on tonight. He had a beautiful breakaway goal, and then another gorgeous pass and shoot with Nick Bonino in the same period. He was using his speed to buzz around the ice and even got in a few good backchecks.

It was a good night for “The Thrill”. And when it’s a good night for Phil, it’s usually a good night for the Pens.

The Big Picture

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed this. Boy did they need it.

The team burst out of their funk for four unanswered goals in the 2nd period and the defense held the rest of the way to score a 5-2 victory against a team that punked their captain in the last matchup.

Phil Kessel was on fire tonight. Evgeni Malkin was on fire tonight.

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Eric Fehr and Scott Wilson fanned the flames that had been growing since Mike Sullivan took over as head coach. Their willingness to drop the gloves  – regardless of the outcome – gave the team some much needed inspiration. Sometimes it’s about more than just scoring goals. Tonight was one of those cases.

It’s also hard to overstate just how big that 5-on-3 kill by the Pens turned out to be.

While it’s far, far too early to hope that this has cured the Penguins of their goal-scoring funk, it’s certainly a nice way to head into the holiday break.

The Pittsburgh Penguins now have four days off before facing the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Here’s hoping the next time the Pens hit the ice they are plus a few star players.

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