The Penguins didn’t exactly play well against the Anaheim Ducks but they did play better than their previous game the night before in San Jose. Despite being out shot 31-17 and showing poor puck management, the Penguins were able to collect a point by forcing overtime, then won in a shootout to secure both points.
Corey Perry scored to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead just 3:54 into the game. Ryan Getzlaf fired a wrist shot through traffic and the puck bounced behind Marc-Andre Fleury before being jabbed into the net by Perry.
Deryk Engelland provided the equalizer less than four minutes later. Engelland, who was dressed to replace the injured Robert Bortuzzo, took a pass from Jussi Jokinen in the middle of offensive zone and fired a shot through the five hole of goaltender Jonas Hiller.
From there, the Ducks dominated the next twenty minutes, spilling over to the second period. At one point, the shots were 19-3 in favor of Anaheim and the Penguins had few scoring chances along the way.
James Neal nearly score when his wrist shot hit the far post from the left side. Then Malkin was robbed by the left pad of Hiller while the Penguins were on the power play.
Corey Perry scored 1:10 into the third period to push the Ducks on top. Kyle Palmieri won a puck battle behind the net and got the puck to Ryan Getzlaf in front. Getzlaf did not hesitate to back a pass to Perry who roofed it over Fleury for his second tally of the night.
Evgeni Malkin scored to even the score at two a piece nine minutes into the third. With Palmieri in the box for tripping, Evgeni Malkin found open space in the middle of the ice and beat Hiller with a wrist shot on the glove side.
After neither team scored, the game went into overtime. Sidney Crosby forced a turnover and ended up on a breakaway but was stoned by Hiller.
Brandon Sutter scored in the sixth frame of the shootout and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Ryan Getzlaf to give the Penguins a much-needed win.
Three Stars
- Corey Perry
- Ryan Getzlaf
- Evgeni Malkin
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
