Just wait until everyone comes back.
The Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed back Evgeni Malkin after a nine game absence, and welcomed Douglas Murray to Pittsburgh for his first game in black and Vegas gold. The result? A 4-0 drubbing of the Winnipeg Jets and a 14th straight victory.
The Penguins had been relying on secondary scoring in some of their previous games but tonight it was all about the big guns. Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz each scored while Pascal Dupuis added a pair of goals. Tomas Vokoun made 20 saves, marking seven full periods since the Penguins last surrendered a goal.
Pittsburgh is undefeated in March and has only allowed nine goals in their last ten games. To make matters worse for the other 29 NHL teams, the Penguins are still without elite defenseman Kris Letang and newly acquired, future hall of famer, Jarome Iginla.
Iginla was seemingly stolen away away from Boston when the Penguins acquired the winger from the Calgary Flames after a deal with the Bruins was already in place. Armed with an arsenal of goal scorers, grit, toughness and speed, the Penguins are poised for a long playoff run and this match up seemed like a statement to the rest of the league.
The Penguins started off the game a little sloppy. After making a few stops on former Penguin Eric Tangradi and Ron Hainsey, Vokoun made a nice glove save on Antti Miettinen from the slot.
Pittsburgh rebounded late in the first period, and grabbed the lead with Chris Kunitz’s 20th goal of the season. After Paul Martin’s shot from the right point went wide, Sidney Crosby sent a perfect no-look pass to Kunitz who fired a perfectly placed shot off the post and in the net.
Evgeni Malkin scored his sixth of the season just three and half minutes later, deflecting the puck in with his skate on James Neal’s centering pass. The play was reviewed in Toronto but the call stood.
The final two periods were completely dominated by the Penguins. Pittsburgh outshot Winnipeg 31-12 in the final two frames, adding two goals, and killing a long 5 on 3 power play.
After Dustin Byfuglien’s wraparound attempt failed, the Penguins gathered the puck and started the breakout. Sidney Crosby chipped the puck up to Chris Kunitz who created a 2 on 1 opportunity with Dupuis. Kunitz went cross-ice to Dupuis who snapped the puck past Al Montoya to extend the Pittsburgh lead to three.
Late in the second period the Jets were granted a power play. But it would be the Penguins who would score. Dustin Byfuglien could not keep the puck in the offensive zone and Dupuis tracked down the puck in the offensive zone. Dupuis focused on his teammate, Tanner Glass, who was streaking down the left side before firing a wrist shot for his second goal of the game.
Early in the third period, the Penguins took two penalties within four seconds. Matt Niskanen was called for tripping and then Brooks Orpik shot the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. The Jets would register just two shots before the Penguins killed both penalties.
As time wound down, Eric Tangradi had a chance on a breakaway only to shoot the puck over the goal while Kyle Wellwood was stoned by Vokoun on a breakaway chance of his own. That was as close as the Jets would get to scoring, let alone winning, and the Penguins clinched their 14th straight win.
- Tomas Vokoun recorded his 50th career shut out.
- Dupuis’s second goal was his 200th point as a Pittsburgh Penguin.
- The Penguins have won 12 in a row against the Winnipeg Jets at home.
Three Stars
- Pascal Dupuis
- Chris Kunitz
- Tomas Vokoun
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
