Pittsburgh Penguins stay hot, edge Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 -NHL Update
Pittsburgh is hot at the moment and is only getting hotter as the Penguins grabbed their sixth straight win over Phoenix Coyotes, 2-1, Monday night, March 5, 2012, at the sold-out CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Penguins’ superstar goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury has been a major factor in Pittsburgh’s winning these past few weeks and may be the potential game changer when it comes to the playoffs.
"He was our best player, and he needed to be," Penguins coach, Dan Bylsma, said about Fluery. "I thought the Coyotes played a hard, fast game and had a number of opportunities, against which he was extremely strong. … He has been real solid, with the consistency
being the biggest thing, his ability to make the big save. Tonight he was the difference in the game."
Finishing the month of February with just one loss against Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix has lost the momentum and are currently on a three game losing streak.
Zbynek Michalek kicked off the scoring with his second of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season followed by Chris Kunitz nearly three minutes later. Pittsburgh’s first period rally was the reason they managed to hold on till the end.
Phoenix’s Ray Whitney signalled a comeback early into the third and final period of regulation. Despite having more than 18 minutes remaining, Phoenix failed to add the equaliser throughout, giving Pittsburgh the easy win.
"I thought our compete level was very good," Phoenix coach, Dave Tippett, said. "We did a lot of things hard, and its unfortunate we didn't get rewarded around the net a little more.”
Having lost a couple of matches against teams like Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix has definitely lost their credibility for their upcoming matchups. Coyotes have the next against the Blue Jackets once again, which could be the match they
make a comeback in.
Pittsburgh Penguins, with the way things have been going for them so far, could be one of the teams that surprise in the end by overtaking the top number team, which at the moment is New York Rangers.
Penguins have the next at home against Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
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