From chasing Samuel Ersson in the game to Blake Lizotte laying out Denver Barkey and fighting young star Matvei Michkov in the third period, was a good way to describe how the game went for the Penguins as they picked up two massive points against a familiar foe.
The win on January 16, has put the Penguins back into third place in the tight Metropolitan Division that is anyone's division to take. It was a must win game for the pens as they are soon set to head out on the Western Canadian road trip, that they are notorious for doing very poorly on in recent years.
After dropping three straight games and having some scoring problems, the Penguins were able to put six goals and brake the scoring skid in the best way possible that fans and the team were waiting for. There were so many positive's that were noticeable and highlighted in the game.
The Fourth Line has done it again
Following the Blake Lizotte extension, the fourth line continued it's stretch of amazing games and saw two massive fourth line goals from Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari. The fourth line has created this identity for themselves and have given Head Coach Dan Muse three good options for the Penalty Kill and the crucial moments of a hockey game where he needs a boost from that fourth line.
Stuart Skinner stays solid between the pipes
Stuart Skinner picked up his fourth straight victory with his new team as he stopped 31 of 34 shots on goal and finished the game with another W in the column and finished with a .912 save percentage. After going up 3-0, the flyers climbed right back into it making it 3-1 and pushed the entire second period and gave the penguins some heavy fits throughout the period. Skinner was there to save the day and stood his ground to keep the lead for his team who took off in the third period.
The Power-Play remains Lethal
Pittsburgh is near the top of the Power-Play rankings in the National Hockey League. Thursday, the PP was no short of perfect as the Penguins went 3/4 (75 percent) on the PP and were moving the puck around efficiently, more shots on the net and spaced out more which allowed for Sidney Crosby to net his 25th of the season at age 38.
The Penguins are back in action one last time before the West Canada road trip as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets one final time this season on Saturday, January 17, at 7:00 p.m.