Mighty Pens roll past Ducks; Move past Islanders in division

The Pittsburgh Penguins (26-18-7) hosted the Anaheim Ducks (25-18-7) tonight at Consol Energy Center. Sidney Crosby bumped his point streak to 11 straight games putting up four points in tonight’s 6-2 win against the Ducks. 

Kris Letang, who has 10 points in the last six games, had two assists this evening, helping distribute the puck in what looked like a well-oiled offense tonight. 

Anaheim did end up scoring two goals, that brought them within just a goal or two of tying the game. However, Pittsburgh’s defense, along with the outstanding play of Marc-Andre Fleury, were able to clamp down and finish tonight’s test.

Superman Returns

If his recent success hasn’t convinced fans that Crosby has indeed put his early season slump past him, tonight sure did make his case once more. Pittsburgh’s captain looked unstoppable on the ice tonight, and he has been able to propel his game to another level.

Not only did Crosby put together a nice highlight reel on his two breakaway goals, but his assist to Olli Maatta in the third period shows his awareness is continuing to peak. While goals are important, Crosby is also a team player, and now that his confidence is skyrocketing, there is no end in sight of him leveling out.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>He’s superhuman. <br><br>Replay: <a href=”https://t.co/iyY0qNek2D”>https://t.co/iyY0qNek2D</a> <a href=”https://t.co/B325F8fp0Z”>pic.twitter.com/B325F8fp0Z</a></p>&mdash; Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) <a href=”https://twitter.com/penguins/status/696880724604014593″>February 9, 2016</a></blockquote>

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“We didn’t have to force anything tonight. We were patient and it didn’t feel like a 60-minute match. We stayed patient in the third period, we did a good job in not making mistakes,” Crosby said to the press following tonight’s win. He continued “We are finding our game and we have gotten better. The guys in Wilkes-Barre deserve credit. They have came up and filled in and produced, they’ve done a great job.”

Building A Winner

The Penguins are finally playing like how they should be given their level of talent. With tonight’s win, Pittsburgh edges the New York City Islander in the Metropolitan Division and currently sit in third place. The Penguins will now be targeting the New York City Rangers, who are four points ahead, over the next few weeks.

Coach Mike Sullivan has done an outstanding job on challenging each player and getting every ounce out of them. 

“[Wilkes-Barre players] are hungry. They compete hard and they are extremely enthusiastic. When they have chances like they had tonight, to score goals, that makes our team just that more dangerous” Sullivan said in his post-game conference.

He praised Crosby’s play and noted he has seen a sizable difference in not just his play, but his attitude as well. In fact, Crosby is currently placed fifth in the league in scoring, another indication that he has elevated his game since the introduction of Sullivan as head coach.

What’s Next?

The Penguins will not play a very important game at home against the New York City Rangers this Wednesday at 8p.m. This game will have playoff spot implications on the line, and could be a game Pittsburgh will reflect on at the conclusion of this season.