Entering Thursday's game against the Islanders, Pittsburgh found itself with a three-game losing streak. Consider the streak over, as the Penguins systematically dismantled New York with a 9-2 thumping at Mellon Arena. The Penguins received hat tricks from both Petr Sykora and Pascal Dupuis (each player's first ever hat trick) as they never let up, while fans chanted "we want 10" during the final minute of regulation. The Penguins scored four goals in both the first and second periods, before Dupuis completed his hat trick late in the third period. Defensemen Mark Streit and Andy Sutton scored the only goals for New York, as Penguins goalie John Curry picked up his second NHL win (both against the Islanders) making 24 saves.
The biggest problem for the Islanders was the fact they couldn't stay out of the penalty box, picking up 34 penalty minutes throughout the game, including three separate occasions where they handed Pittsburgh five-on-three advantages.
Pittsburgh had eight different players finish with multiple points, including Evgeni Malkin (goal, assist) and Sidney Crosby (three assists) who continue to distance themselves from the rest of the pack in the NHL scoring race. Amazingly, Jeff Taffe, recently called up from the minors, found a way to finish the game as a -1.
Should you feel sorry for the Islanders after a loss like this? Of course not. This is the big leagues, and as long as they're going to keep playing hard and physical (as they did), you should expect the other team to keep clicking on all cylinders in an effort to score as many goals as possible. You never know when the other team could mount an unexpected, late-game comeback.
Flyers Rally, Shock Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes had, what seemed to be, a commanding 5-1 lead entering the third period on Thursday night, and somehow, they finished the game on the losing end of a 6-5 shootout decision in Philadelphia.
Should have kept pouring it on, Carolina! No mercy!
The Flyers scored four goals in the third period, including two in the final five minutes to send the game to overtime. Scott Hartnell finished with a hat trick, while Simon Gagne tied the game at the 18:16 mark of the third period. Gagne and Mike Richards scored in the shootout for Philadelphia, while Antero Niittymaki stopped both Carolina attempts.
Eric Staal scored a pair of goals for Carolina.
Tampa Bay Finally Wins!
Sorry, Barry Melrose, it was bound to happen sooner or later. While the Lightning gave it a nice run in their efforts to lose every single game, the losing streak finally ended on Thursday, with a 3-1 win in Montreal.
Tampa Bay fell behind early in the first period when Patrice Brisebois scored for the Canadiens, only to be answered by a pair of goals from Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. St. Louis would add a second goal later in the game, while Olaf Kolzig turned aside 31 shots in the win.
The win snaps a nine-game losing streak for Tampa Bay, and is only its third in the past 19 games. Yikes.
Odds and Ends
... Hurry up and grab a seat on the Craig Anderson bandwagon, because the Florida goaltender turned aside 41 shots in a 2-0 win over Edmonton on Thursday. Stephen Weiss and Radek Dvorak picked up the goals for the Panthers, as Anderson picked up his eighth win of the season, and his third shutout. He's currently leading the league in save percentage.
... Nashville goalie Dan Ellis made 35 saves against Columbus on Thursday night, though it wasn't enough as the Blue Jackets picked up a 2-1 shootout win. Mike Commodore scored in regulation for Columbus, while Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek scored in the shootout. Martin Erat scored the only goal on Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason, who turned aside 25 shots in the win.
... Minnesota dropped its third in a row, and fourth in the past five, on Thursday night with a 3-1 loss against the Coyotes. Zbynek Michalek, Olli Jokinen and the recently acquired Joakim Lindstrom scored for Phoenix, while Ilya Bryzgalov made 30 saves. Antti Miettinen scored the only goal for the Wild.
... Continuing with the hat trick theme on Thursday night, Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown scored three goals in the Kings 6-2 win over St. Louis.
... Evgeni Nabokov stopped 30 shots in a 2-0 win over Anaheim, while Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi provided the offense.
