Pittsburgh Penguins rebound, takedown Minnesota Wild 4-2 -NHL Match Update
Pittsburgh gave five power play opportunities to Minnesota throughout their matchup on Tuesday night, October 18, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, but it still was not enough as Penguins took down the Wild, 4-2, snapping
a three-game losing streak.
One thing to keep in mind is after losing to the young Edmonton team earlier this season, Pittsburgh had the same performance against Florida Panthers the next game and also defeated them, 4-2, but lost the next three. Hoping to change things around, Penguins
head coach, Dan Bylsma, is optimistic for the future.
"It's about the guys in that room and how we can play. It's about certainly playing the right way", Bylsma said, about his team finding their game at the moment. "Tough spots, tough games in many nights, back-to-back games and a lot of great leadership from
our guys tonight".
After a scoreless first period and Pittsburgh managing to kill two of its penalties, Chris Kunitz scored his inaugural goal of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season and of the match, 46 seconds into the second.
Jordan Staal followed less than seven minutes later, potting his third on Minnesota’s first and only penalty of the contest, giving them the signal that Pittsburgh will take advantage of even their slightest mistakes.
Cal Clutterbuck scored the first for Minnesota on an assist from captain, Mikko Koivu, and put them on the scoreboard, shorthanded as Brad Staubitz still had a minute left before he could re-enter the game.
Pittsburgh once again overpowered the Wild as James Neal potted his sixth of the season on a breakaway unassisted, followed by Pascal Dupuis for his second point of the match and a shorthanded goal with Staal out with a minor, taking the contest out of reach
for the home team.
Guillaume Latendresse put another one up for Minnesota nearly a minute later, which would be the games last goal.
"All 20 guys on the ice are battling for the same goal, to win hockey games", Dupuis said. "And we do it one way. Whoever's in the line-up plays hard every night".
Pittsburgh Penguins will return home to face Montreal Canadiens on Thursday while Minnesota Wild will go up North to visit Edmonton Oilers the same day.
Tags: