NHL - Penguins - Round Up November 03-08, 2016

Penguins @ Los Angeles Kings 2-3 OT - Thursday, November 03, 2016

Nic Dowd scored at 2:37 of overtime to help the Los Angeles Kings end their three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Center. Dowd was left alone in front of the crease and waited for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to commit before scoring his second goal of the season on the backhand and stop Pittsburgh's winning streak at four. Darryl Sutter won his 600th NHL game, the 14th coach to reach the plateau. Sutter is 600-438-101 in 17 seasons and 191-118 in six seasons with the Kings. It was the fifth overtime victory for the Kings (5-6-0), who have yet to win in regulation. Sidney Crosby scored two goals for the Penguins (7-3-1), his second multigoal game this season and second in three games.

Crosby tipped in a shot from Kris Letang at 9:28 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2. Crosby scored his first goal at 7:28 of the first period. Patric Hornqvist won a battle in the corner and got the puck to Crosby, who sent it to Letang for a shot from the point. Crosby got the rebound and beat Budaj with a wrist shot from a sharp angle. 

Forward Trevor Lewis ended the Kings' scoreless drought at 205:25 with his first goal of the season at 5:25 of the second. The Penguins were caught on a change and gave up a 3-on-1. Fleury bobbled the puck and Lewis swept it underneath his pads, tying the game at 1-1. Defenseman Matt Greene gave the Kings the lead 2:14 into the third with a point shot through traffic. It was Greene's first goal and first point since March 3, 2015. 

* Kings forward Tanner Pearson went behind the net and barely managed to get the puck off his stick and out to a wide open Dowd in the middle of ice. Dowd faked his shot and scored on the backhand, getting the puck around the skate of Fleury.

* Ten seconds before Dowd scored the winning goal, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin took a shot that Budaj couldn't hold. As the puck slipped behind him, Budaj fell backwards and kept it from rolling over the goal line. 

* Kings forward Jeff Carter beat Penguins forward Matt Cullen clean off the draw and the puck went right to Greene, who fired through traffic for a 2-1 lead.

* Crosby set up his own goal in the first period with a pass that few others could make. After Hornqvist got the puck out from the corner, Crosby spun backwards and banked it off the side boards and over to Letang at the point.

* Crosby has points in all five games since his return from a concussion and his five goals is second on the team behind Malkin's six. 

"We marvel at him sometimes with how good [Crosby] is and what he does each and every night. He's playing inspiring hockey right now. He knows what he wants to do with it before he gets it, and he knows where (Letang) is back there." Mike Sullivan said.

"You just try to go (to the net) and hopefully nobody gets a stick or is able to box you out. But I think (Letang) made a great play to have his head up and look for my stick. They didn't generate a whole lot either, to be honest. It was one of those games where we would have loved to generate more but games are tight-checking, there's not a lot of space." Sidney Crosby

Penguins @ San Jose Sharks 5-0 - Sunday, November 05, 2016

Matt Murray had a 32-save shutout, Sidney Crosby scored two goals for the second straight game, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-0 at SAP Center. The Penguins played in San Jose for the first time since beating the Sharks 3-1 June 12 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win the championship. Forwards Chris Kunitz, Eric Fehr and Nick Bonino also scored for Pittsburgh (8-2-2). Forward Carl Hagelin had three assists. Martin Jones allowed three goals on seven shots for the Sharks (6-6-0), who lost their third straight game. Jones was replaced by Aaron Dell 13 seconds into the second period following Crosby's second goal. Crosby, who missed Pittsburgh's first six games with a concussion, leads the NHL with eight goals in six games. He had two goals against the Los Angeles Kings in a 3-2 overtime loss.

Murray made his second start in three games after missing Pittsburgh's first six games with a broken right hand. He improved to 2-0-0 with his second career shutout. Kunitz scored on a snap shot from the left circle at 4:22 of the first period. With 1:32 left in the first, Crosby made it 2-0, scoring from close range.
At the start of the second period Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic skated back for a loose puck in front of San Jose's crease and tried to clear it, but a hustling Crosby intercepted the pass and beat Jones with a wrist shot.
Dell gave up a goal at 2:33 to Fehr, who put a wrist shot from the right circle into the upper-right corner. Bonino made it 5-0 with a short-handed goal at 16:28 of the second.

* Skating left to right in the first period, Crosby took the puck through the low crease, cut below the goal line and sent a backhand shot that banked off Jones' right skate into the net.

"I was hoping it would catch a piece of him," Crosby said. "Fortunately enough it caught enough of his skate to bounce back the other way."

* The Sharks were on a power play in the second period when Murray faced a 3-on-1 rush. Forward Logan Couture sent a shot from the left circle, aiming for the 5-hole, but Murray closed his pads and smothered the puck.

* Kunitz got the Penguins off to a fast start with a snap shot from the left circle that hit Jones' glove and deflected into the upper-right corner. Kunitz skated past Sharks defenseman David Schlemko near the blue line, took a short pass from Evgeni Malkin and elevated a shot over defenseman Brent Burns, who dove in front of him hoping to block a low shot.

* Crosby gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead with a goal he called "fluky" but few would be able to duplicate. As Vlasic tracked down the puck in front of San Jose's net and tried to send it off the sideboards, Crosby intercepted and knocked it past Jones, all in one swing of his stick.

* Penguins forward Conor Sheary returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an eye injury. He had two assists and two blocked shots in 11:58 of ice time. ... Sharks fourth-line left wing Matt Nieto was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous five games.

"I haven't scored like that before. The puck laid flat. Just kind of good timing with everything that happened. I feel good. Tonight you see you get a couple of good bounces. When that's happening, you're just trying to keep shooting the puck and trust that it will go in." Crosby said.

"We're making strides. We're starting to find our game more consistently." Mike Sullivan said

"Sid has been unbelievable. He's the best player in the world, and he's playing hard, winning battles and getting the puck." - Penguins forward Carl Hagelin

"There were a lot of bouncing pucks tonight and they're good at getting their stick on [them]. It was a pretty good challenge." Matt Murray

"We weren't strong enough, we didn't battle hard enough. To a man, everyone on this team knows they have another level to give right now. Obviously it's a letdown. We're all disappointed in here. There was a little buzz in the building, and it's too bad we let our fans down tonight." Logan Couture said.

"That's the best team in the League, the defending champions, so I think you're seeing that they're playing at that level." - Peter DeBoer

Penguins @ Edmonton Oilers 3-4 - Tuesday, November 08, 2016

In a highly-anticipated game featuring Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, a different Conor stole the show.
Conor Sheary scored his second goal of the game with 1:42 remaining to help the Penguins defeat the Oilers 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena. Sheary poked a shot past goalie Cam Talbot (27 saves) for what proved to be the game-winner. His first goal gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 1:57 into the game before the Oilers responded with three goals.

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin made it 3-3 at 5:33 of the third period when he tipped a pass from Phil Kessel past Talbot for his seventh goal of the season.
In his first game against Crosby, McDavid's first two of three assists highlighted a first period that ended with Edmonton holding a 2-1 lead. After Sheary's first goal, Edmonton answered when McDavid found Jordan Eberle on a 2-on-1. Eberle sent a wrist shot over Penguins goalie Matt Murray for his first of two goals with 5:37 remaining in the first. McDavid factored on the Oilers' second goal 2:55 later after forcing a turnover and carrying the puck into the Penguins zone. He sent a pass through the crease to forward Patrick Maroon, who tipped it past Murray to make it 2-1 with 2:42 left in the first. Eberle scored again to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead 3:20 into the second period. McDavid fed Eberle before he wrapped a shot around Murray's right pad. Carl Hagelin made it 3-2 with 7:52 remaining in the second period when he flicked a shot over Talbot's left pad for his second goal of the season. Murray made 25 saves.

* Malkin tied the score 3-3 after Kessel passed through traffic. As Malkin turned away from Edmonton's net, he reached his stick back to deflect the pass beyond Talbot with Oilers forward Tyler Pitlick diving in an attempt to clear the puck 5:33 into the third period.

* Before Eberle scored his first goal, he had a chance to tie it 1-1 sooner than he did. He worked against Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin in front of the crease and backhanded a shot toward the upper-right corner of the net, but Murray shrugged off the shot with a shoulder save with 8:01 remaining in the first period.

* McDavid helped give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with his second assist late in the first period after stripping Penguins forward Carl Hagelin in his own zone. McDavid turned up ice and beat Dumoulin along the far wall to the net-front, where he backhanded a pass through defenseman Kris Letang. Maroon deflected the pass into the net with 2:42 remaining in the period.

* Sullivan chose to match Crosby against McDavid through the first period and into the second. After Edmonton took a 3-1 lead early in the second period, Sullivan temporarily chose to play Malkin's line against McDavid and mostly turned away from the Crosby-McDavid matchup through the rest of the game.

* Murray started for the first time at home. He had allowed one goal on 65 shots in his first two starts entering Tuesday since recovering from a broken hand. … Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi played 12:32 after missing Edmonton's 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday because of a charley horse.

"I don't think too many people were watching that [the matchup between Crosby and McDavid]. It was a good effort from everybody tonight. It was a good comeback win and an important two points. … Even at 3-1, I thought we were playing well. We were getting our chances. They were just kind of capitalizing on theirs." Sheary said.
"I can bounce [Sheary] around on any line. He's a good two-way player, but he has great offensive instincts. He can play the left wing. He can play the right wing. He's a good player." Mike Sullivan
"[McDavid's] speed, he doesn't need a lot of time and space. It's one thing to kind of watch games and see it, but out there you can really tell he needs no time and space at all." - Sidney Crosby