NHL - Pens Round Up - November 14-18, 2017

Buffalo Sabres @ Penguins 4-5 OT - Tuesday, November 14, 2017


Sidney Crosby scored for the first time in 12 games, and Conor Sheary got his second goal of the game 16 seconds into overtime to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby battled with Evander Kane behind the net before feeding Sheary, who sneaked a shot inside the right post. With the Sabres leading 4-3 in the third period, Phil Kessel scored for the fourth consecutive game to tie it. Evgeni Malkin sent a cross-ice pass to Kessel, who dropped to one knee and one-timed a shot past Robin Lehner with 6:11 remaining in the period.

The Penguins (10-7-3) are 12-0-1 against the Sabres (5-9-4) since a 4-1 loss on April 2, 2013. After Crosby tied it 3-3 on a power play with 2:45 remaining in the second period, Benoit Pouliot scored a power-play goal to give Buffalo a 4-3 lead with 6.7 seconds left in the period. The goal was Pouliot's sixth of the season, all in the past 10 games. Crosby ended his 11-game drought by collecting a rebound off a shot from Kessel and shooting past Lehner. He hadn't scored since Oct. 20, in a 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers. The drought ended one game shy of Crosby's NHL career high of 12, from Nov. 23, 2011, to March 22, 2012.

Jack Eichel ended a drought of his own when he scored for the first time in nine games to give the Sabres a 3-1 lead 16 seconds into the second period. Crosby turned the puck over behind the Pittsburgh net, which led to Eichel backhanding a shot around the right post for his first goal since Oct. 21, in a 5-4 win against the Boston Bruins. Eichel wasn't pleased with the Sabres' inability to hold that lead. Sheary made it 3-2 with a wrist shot under Lehner's right pad during a 2-on-1 at 4:28 of the second period.

Buffalo seemed set to carry a 2-0 lead into the first intermission before a gaffe by Lehner led to Pittsburgh's first goal. Lehner fumbled the puck behind his net, which allowed Patric Hornqvist to race down the ice and retrieve it. With the net vacated, Hornqvist shot the puck in off Ryan O'Reilly in front to cut Buffalo's lead to 2-1 with 19 seconds remaining in the period. Kane and Sam Reinhart scored the Sabres' two first-period goals. Kane shot the puck off the left post to score on a 2-on-1, giving Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:45. Reinhart scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot, putting the puck between the right post and goalie Matt Murray to make it 2-0 with 3:07 left in the first.

* Sheary's goal 16 seconds into overtime. 

* Murray's save on Eichel at 12:56 of the third period.* Crosby's goal at 17:15 of the second period.* Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had an assist on Sheary's overtime goal for his 400th NHL point in 623 games. … Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella played 26:34 to lead all skaters and had an assist after missing practice Monday with an undisclosed illness.
"I think we've got a character group. They're good people and they care, and they want to win. I think we have to play a little smarter." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan"It's good to come from behind and win," Sheary said after the Penguins twice trailed by two. "I know we're resilient like that. … We want to have a better start and maybe come out with a lead right out of the gate."
"You're happy to see it go in the net," Crosby said. "There were some good chances. I think as long as they're there, hopefully they'll start to go in a little bit more."
 

Penguins @ Ottawa Senators 3-1 - Thursday, November 16, 2017


Matt Murray made 21 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Patric Hornqvist, Jake Guentzel and Riley Sheahan scored in a 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. The Penguins (11-7-3), who ended a four-game road losing streak (0-2-2), have won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 24 and 26. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, and Craig Anderson made 26 saves for Ottawa (8-4-5), which lost for the first time in three games. Center Matt Duchene had five shots on goal and a minus-1 rating in 17:31 in his home debut with the Senators, who played their first game in North America since defeating the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and Saturday in the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series in Stockholm. Duchene was acquired from the Avalanche on Nov. 5 in a three-team trade that also involved the Nashville Predators.

Murray's best save came against Mike Hoffman during an Ottawa power play at 13:48 of the first period. Hoffman one-timed Mark Stone's no-look, backhand pass across the slot, but Murray stopped it with the palm of his blocker hand as he rolled across the crease to keep it 0-0. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said it was the turning point of the game. Hornqvist and Guentzel each scored on a deflection late in the second period. At 16:10, Hornqvist redirected a shot by Olli Maatta to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. It was his seventh goal. Guentzel scored his sixth of the season with nine seconds left in the period when he deflected a Brian Dumoulin shot past Anderson. Pageau skated around Dumoulin and scored his second goal of the season at 10:29 of the third period to make it 2-1. Sheahan scored into an empty net with 31 seconds left to make it 3-1. It was his first goal for Pittsburgh since being acquired in a trade from the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 21.
* Murray lunged to his left to stop Hoffman at 13:48 of the first period.
* Anderson got his right pad on Bryan Rust's shot at 16:09 of the third period.
* It was the first game between the teams since the Penguins eliminated the Senators from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on a goal by Chris Kunitz in the second overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on May 25. … Ottawa defenseman Chris Wideman left the game with 3:41 left in the third period after Penguins center Evgeni Malkin fell on him. There was no update.
"We wanted to build off of last game (a 5-4 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday) and keep that momentum. It was nice to get a road win." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"I played [Stone] a little too aggressively on the right side there," Murray said. "I tried to get my stick on the pass and just missed it. I knew Hoffman was over there waiting for a one-timer. He's a lefty. I just tried to kind of barrel-roll over there. I just tried to get whatever I could over there and still track it, still react to it. I was able to get my blocker on it. A bit lucky, but a good battle save, I guess."
"It looks like it's a for-sure goal with the play they made, and he's kind of down and out and finds a way to get his [blocker] on it," Crosby said. "That's a big point in the game. If they score on that, maybe they get some momentum and it's a different outcome. That was a huge save for us. We were able to settle in and generate some chances ourselves."

Blackhawks @ Penguins 2-1 - Saturday, November 18, 2017


Artem Anisimov scored his fifth goal in three games to help the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Twenty-one seconds after Matt Hunwick tied it 1-1 with a shorthanded goal for Pittsburgh 8:00 into the third period, Anisimov re-established Chicago's lead. A shot attempt from Nick Schmaltz missed the net before Anisimov reached below the goal line to retrieve it and tuck a shot inside the right post for his Blackhawks-leading 10th goal at 8:21.

Chicago (10-8-2) is 3-1-0 since losing five of its previous seven games (2-5-0).

The Penguins (11-8-3) lost in regulation at home for the first time this season. They are 6-1-1 in Pittsburgh. Despite an improved effort compared to their 10-1 loss to the Blackhawks on Oct. 5, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan wasn't pleased.

Jake Guentzel seemed to tie it 2-2 at 11:33 of the third period. The goal was disallowed following a coach's challenge, where it was ruled Olli Maatta interfered with Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead scoring on its second power play. Gustav Forsling scored his second goal of the season at 12:32, after Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane and Anisimov each failed to convert on chances with Matt Murray scrambling in his crease. Murray stopped a wrist shot from Anisimov with 7:35 left to freeze the puck. Jonathan Toews won the face-off and Alex DeBrincat passed to Forsling at the inner edge of the left circle, where he sent a wrist shot past Ian Cole.

Chicago could have had a larger lead in the first period, but couldn't convert on two breakaways. Schmaltz was denied at 1:06, and Toews sent a shot over the net at 12:44. Crawford, who made 35 saves, temporarily left the game after being hit by Evgeni Malkin at 8:43 of the second period. Malkin was called for goaltender interference after running into Crawford's head. Anton Forsberg, who didn't face a shot, replaced Crawford until he returned at 11:35. With the Penguins net empty, Crawford made a save on a wrist shot from Phil Kessel with 19 seconds remaining in the third period. After receiving a pass from Sidney Crosby, Guentzel found Kessel gliding toward the left post. Kessel shot toward a seemingly open left side of the net, but Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook partially blocked his shot before Crawford got his right pad on it and reached back to freeze the puck. Murray made 36 saves.

* Anisimov's goal at 8:21 of the third period.* Crawford stopping Kessel with 19 seconds remaining in the third period. * Hunwick's goal 8:00 into the third period.* Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith played after missing practice the previous two days with an undisclosed illness. He had three blocks in 26:56. … Maatta did not participate in Pittsburgh's morning skate Saturday because of an undisclosed illness. He blocked four shots and had one hit in 18:10. … Hunwick returned from missing 15 games with a concussion. … The Blackhawks have won eight consecutive games against the Penguins dating to Jan. 21, 2015, outscoring them 30-10.

Hawks Quotes"I find that we're moving better and skating better. We still think there's better puck management internally, on every single line, and that could make us better. That's where the upside has to come from." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville"[The goal] feels big," Anisimov said. "What happened, happened. We just need to forget it, learn from the mistakes and go forward. Go out there and complete the power play. … I feel nice. Just keep it going and work hard every day, and move forward."

"Both of us just kind of dove over there," Crawford said. "I don't know how it stayed out."

Pens Quotes

"I think it comes down to killing the penalties. Those things happen. Penalties happen. Somebody goes to the box, you just have to make sure you kill the penalty, and right now we're not able to do that. Just have to be better." -- Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta
"I think we see signs that when we play the game the right way, we control territory," Sullivan said. "I also think … there was a lack of attention in the detail and some of the odd-man rushes that we gave up were forcing plays to try to create offense. I don't know if it's maybe because we're pressing because we're chasing the game all night long, but that's a characteristic that we have to get better at if we're going to get to where we're going to go. This team can score goals. We don't have to force plays that aren't there."