Heading into Thanksgiving, our Pittsburgh Penguins may have discovered a winning recipe. Start with a generous portion of production from superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Skate hard for a full 60 minutes. Season with a total-team effort. And voila…a delicious 4-3 overtime victory over St. Louis.
A fortnight after serving up a turkey in New Jersey, the Pens gave their most determined and spirited performance of the campaign on Wednesday evening. One that enabled the black and gold (13-8) to wrap up a solid 3-1 home stand at the quarter pole and maintain a grip on third place in the tough Metropolitan Division.
Crosby led the way. Breathing fire from the opening draw, Sid dominated like “The Kid” of old. The Pens’ captain scored two huge goals and fired off a single-game high of nine shots. He was—in a word—inspired.
“When Sid’s shooting the puck like that and with the determination he plays with offensively, he’s really hard to handle,” coach Mike Johnston said.
Ironically, the two-goal outburst came hot on the heels of a rumored rift between No. 87 and owner Mario Lemieux. One that Mario immediately and publicly squelched. It also marked the third-straight game in which Sid registered at least one point.
Malkin likewise shone. Oozing passion, “Geno” earned a helper on Sid’s power-play tally in the second period. He was nothing short of brilliant on the game-winner, deking left before shifting right and backhanding the puck past Blues goalie Jake Allen.
The heroics didn’t stop with the dynamic duo. Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 29 shots, including a spectacular save on Paul Stastny. The trio of Matt Cullen, Eric Fehr, and Sergei Plotnikov hounded the Blues’ defense all night long. In particular, the tenacious Plotnikov (four shots and three hits) was a force along the boards and around the St. Louis cage.
The defense chipped in, too. Skating with customary verve, Kris Letang unleashed four shots and recorded two assists. For good measure, “Tanger” had three hits and four blocked shots. The newly formed tandem of Adam Clendening and Ian Cole each finished plus-1. Following a tough stretch, the latter has quietly registered a plus-3 in his past four games.
Don’t forget Ben Lovejoy. “The Reverend” blasted the puck past Allen to stake the Pens to a 3-2 third-period lead. And he made a terrific play in overtime to pry the puck loose from Alex Steen along the wall and feed Phil Kessel, who in turn sprang Malkin for the game-winner.
A winning recipe, indeed.
