DeSmith, Penguins, Pluck Ducks 1-0

Hey all. This is going to be more a blurb than traditional game summary. A windstorm took down the top of a tree in front of my condo last night. Which took down the power and cable lines. Which took down my Wi-Fi access. Pretty much putting my typing fingers on IR.

Fortunately, there isn’t a whole lot to describe concerning last night’s Penguins-Ducks clash at PPG Paints Arena, although by no means does it diminish the importance of our win. Loaded with up-and-comers, the Ducks are vastly improved. The fact that we shut out a team that ranks seventh in the league in goals scored speaks volumes about where we’re at (Pittsburgh-ese) as a team.

A truncated game summary and Puckpourri rolled into one:

• Brock McGinn tallied the lone goal of the night five minutes into the contest, thanks to a pretty cross-ice backhand feed from Zach Aston-Reese. Chad Ruhwedel also assisted. It was Brock’s seventh goal of the season.
• Back from the dead following a miserable stretch, back up Casey DeSmith faced down 35 scoring chances and 15 high-danger chances, making 33 saves in all. Over his past three outings, Casey’s stopped 89 of 93 shots for a sterling .957 save percentage.
• Sidney Crosby’s point streak was snapped at seven games.
• The fourth line (Brian Boyle, Drew O’Connor and Dominik Simon) dominated in terms of possession (Corsi of 93.33). Jeff Carter, Jason Zucker and ex-Duck Danton Heinen were also strong (52.63). However, the first and third lines were both under water.
• With the win, our fourth in a row, we maintained a hold on fourth place in the Metro with 33 points, four points ahead of Columbus. Wild card contenders Boston (three games in hand) and Detroit have 30 and 29 points respectively.
• Next up, Montreal on Tuesday at the Can.
• Oh, and we wore our new alternate jerseys, the ones with the diagonal Pittsburgh across the front in block letters. An ode to the team’s very first uniforms. Pretty sweet.

That’s all folks. Go Pens!