Sidney Crosby shines in season debut as Pittsburgh Penguins shutout New York Islanders -NHL Update
Who was not impressed by Sidney Crosby’s performance in his 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season debut on Monday night, November 21, 2011, as the Pittsburgh Penguins rolled to an easy shutout victory, 5-0, over the New York Islanders at
the sold-out CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Crosby, coming back from a severe concussion which he sustained earlier in January, had a wonderful performance against the Islanders as he picked up two goals and two assists in his first game of the season, having the 18,000 plus crowd on their feet throughout
the 60 minute contest.
"As the game went on, I felt better and better," Crosby said. "On the goal, I just tried to get up in the play and Duper pushed the puck over and I was able to get some speed, able to get a good shot away."
The 24-year-old captain was nothing less than a catalyst for winning being on the team as Pittsburgh’s goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, also had a terrific performance by making all 29 saves for another shutout of the Islanders.
Crosby potted the first of the night to send the crowd roaring with joy for his inaugural goal of the season while Brooks Orpik added another with less than four minutes remaining in the opening period, which was set up by Sid.
Evgeni Malkin potted his sixth on an early power play opportunity while Steve Sullivan added their fourth nearly two minutes later.
Sidney Crosby added the night’s final shot to close the shooting at the 2:06 mark of the third and final period of regulation and managed to kill off three straight penalties in the following minutes.
"I knew he was going to back to 100 percent on the ice, where he left off last year," Pens defenseman Kris Letang said. "And that's what he did. He took his rehab seriously, and the team did too. They gave him time, and he came back great."
The Penguins have the next matchup at home against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday while the New York Islanders will be looking to snap their two-game losing streak against the Philadelphia Flyers the same day.
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