The Pittsburgh Penguins were looking to establish their longest winning streak of the season at seven games coming into tonight’s contest against the New Jersey Devils. For their part, New Jersey was battling for that final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference as the regular season schedule dwindles.
Brian Dumoulin, who was scheduled to be a game-time decision based on the injury he suffered on Sunday against the Washington Capitals, had practiced the past two days and was able to go. Likewise, forward Beau Bennett who has been out of the lineup since late January, was feeling good and got inserted into the lineup.
Things got off to a fast start in this game, just not for the Pens. New Jersey put the puck in the net a mere 26 seconds into the game at the Consol Energy Center. Kyle Palmieri took a knock-hockey style pass off the side boards from Travis Zajac and on a rush into the Pens’ zone beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a shot that just trickled through his pads.
The game took on a defensive tone with shots coming at a relatively slow rate for both teams. New Jersey was starting goaltender Scott Wedgewood, fresh off a win in his first ever NHL start on Sunday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The young netminder was able to turn away the shots with aplomb, playing with a coolness like he’d been here before.
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New Jersey got on the board for the second time in the first period when Kyle Palmieri took a pass from Damon Severson while on the powerplay with less than seven minutes remaining. With a one-timer Palmieri beat Fleury over his glove-side shoulder to give the Devils a 2-0 lead.
Coach John Hynes, who had overseen 27 of the 40 players on the ice in his time previously coaching the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as well as the current New Jersey Devils, had his team playing well defensively tonight. The second period yielded no additional scoring, and when it wrapped, the Pens only had 23 shots, while New Jersey had only let 18 fly.
In the third period, New Jersey extended their lead to three goals halfway through the stanza. Damon Severson picked up his second assist on the night for the Devils as Adam Henrique beat Fleury for the 3-0 New Jersey lead.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the game, Mike Sullivan pulled Fleury from the net. You could sense the added pressure in the offensive zone from the Pens, but the quality scoring chances weren’t there. As the game wound down, the Pens weren’t able to get on the board and the tilt ended in a 3-0 shutout.
The Penguins looked a bit lethargic in tonight’s contest. Maybe the long layoff affected their play. The game didn’t seem to have the same urgency from the Pens as recent games have had. It’s certainly no time to panic. The Pens are still square in the playoff race and will need to get their game composed for the Saturday matinée when they face the Red Wings in Detroit.