Pittsburgh Penguins overpower Florida Panthers 4-1 – NHL Update
Pittsburgh Penguins ended their six-game losing streak in a handsome fashion after destroying the third ranked team in the National Hockey League's (NHL) Eastern Conference, Florida Panthers, 4-1, on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the BankAtlantic Center in
Sunrise, Florida.
Steve Sullivan, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy and James Neal each scored a goal while goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, made 25 saves to get a much needed victory for the Penguins.
"It's a huge relief. It wasn't fun for anybody", Fleury said.
"It got frustrating, but everybody stuck together. Our last game in Washington (1-0 loss) was a good game for a lot of guys, but we couldn't win that one. Tonight, again we played well, offensively, defensively, and it paid off".
The Penguins managed to keep their control over the rink throughout the game and did not provide any breathing space to the team, that has been playing exceptionally well in this 2011-2012 NHL regular season.
After the scoreless first period, Penguins showed an aggressive outburst in the next two.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ first scoring move came at 1:49 when Panthers’ goalie, Scott Clemmensen, made a blunder.
In an attempt to hit the puck hard to the boards, the goalie missed the puck, which was grabbed by Matt Cooke who sent it to Sullivan for a goal.
At the end of the same period, Evgeni Malkin fired a shot towards the nets, but Clemmensen smartly stopped the puck.
As luck would have it, the puck rebounded and went again to Malkin who fired a backhander to beat the goalie this time.
The Penguins built on the momentum and increased the lead within the first minute of the final period.
Brooks Orpik and Pascal Dupuis assisted Tyler Kennedy who fired a wrist-shot from inside the right circle.
Fleury could not complete a shutout as the Panthers eventually managed to score a goal.
At 6:55, Jason Garrison sent a pass to Michal Repik who was present inside the blue line as he took a shot and beat Fleury, taking the score to 3-1.
The Penguins did not settle as James Neal scored his 22nd goal of the season to hit the final nail in the coffin and take the score to 4-1.
"We didn't have the intensity level that they did", Panthers' coach, Kevin Dineen, said.
"They came in here with the attitude that they were going to do whatever it took to win and it looked like we were looking for an easier way to win the game".
The Penguins are ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference. Hoping to get a fresh start after snapping the losing streak, they will take on Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
It was a humiliating defeat for the Panthers, who have lost three of their last four games. They are going to face Boston Bruins on Monday.
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