On a night where many figures were tallied across the country, the ones the Penguins have added up are standing out. After beating the Wild 4-1 in Minnesota Tuesday night, the Penguins have recorded five straight victories and thirty consecutive penalties killed.
Thomas Greiss led the way for the Penguins as he stopped 33 of 34 Minnesota shots to earn his first win in a Pittsburgh uniform in only his second game. His save percentage climbed to .923%.
“It was just awesome to get the win,” Greiss said after the game. “I didn’t feel too sharp, [there were] a bunch of rebounds I wasn’t too happy with, just small things, but it’s just nice to get the win.”
The Penguins’ offense started the game off with some scoring from an unlikely source. The team’s third line of Brandon Sutter, Nick Spaling, and Steve Downie had just four goals on the season coming into the game, but they tallied an early pair of goals against the Wild.
With 0:54 remaining in the first period, Downie found Spaling in the left-wing faceoff circle and he beat Minnesota goaltender Darcy Kuemper to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Just 2:08 into the second period, Brandon Sutter came streaking down the right wing on a 3-on-1 and beat Kuemper to the far side. Rob Scuderi assisted both goals to give him his first points of the season. Paul Martin also assisted on Sutter’s goal.
The Penguins, as they have all season, did more damage on the power play. They got their first opportunity fifteen minutes into the second period when the Wild committed a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. Eleven seconds later, Chris Kunitz redirected home an Evgeni Malkin shot/pass and the Penguins had a 3-0 lead. Malkin has recorded a point in every game this season, a streak that spans eleven games. Kris Letang recorded the other assist.
The Wild were able to climb back to within two goals when Nino Niederreiter scored on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the third period. That goal snapped the Penguins’ 205:28 shutout streak and 18 consecutive goals for streak.
With Christian Ehrhoff in the penalty box for a high sticking minor, Mikko Koivu appeared to have scored after a goalmouth scramble. Referee Francois St. Laurent immediately waived off the goal. The NHL’s hockey operations department in Toronto reviewed the play, but the call on the ice of incidental contact with the Penguins’ goaltender by Wild forward Mikael Granlund was deemed not to be reviewable.
The Penguins killed off the remainder of their 30th consecutive penalty and then Sidney Crosby found Patric Hornqvist on the right wing for an empty net goal to seal the win.
The Penguins have outscored their opponents by a 23-4 margin in this five-game winning streak. The team’s goal differential is now a best-in-the-league +22. They also extended their lead in the Metropolitan Division to three games of the New Jersey Devils. They will continue their season-longest five-game road trip on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
Photo Credit: NHL
