Brandon Sutter has first multi-goal game in 84 games
Brandon Sutter scored his first goal in 11 games at 3:46 of the second period and scored 3:22 later for second goal of the game to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead over the Avalanche. The significance of Sutter scoring 2 goals….Tonight is the first time he has posted a multi-goal game in 84 games. Sutter’s Latest 2-Goal Game: 4/17/13 vs Montreal
Beau Bennett will play one more game in WBS
The Penguins will stick with their initial plan of Beau Bennett appearing in three games during a conditioning stint in Wilkes Barre/Scranton. After playing in back to back games over the weekend, Bennett will stay down with Wilkes Barre and play Wednesday against Providence. The Penguins plan right now is to activate him after Wednesday night’s game. Pittsburgh plays home against LA on Thursday night and play in Columbus on Friday night. Bennett has 1 assist with 3 shots on goal in two games with WBS.
Travis Snider batting .429 during eight game hitting streak
RF Travis Snider (.357 – 0 HR – 4 RBI) has been a surprising bright spot for the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-8) through 18 games. Snider went 2-3 with a double, 1 run and 1 walk in the Pirates 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Snider who is 6-11 with 4 doubles and 1 RBI in his last three games, is hitting .429 (12-28) during his eight game hitting streak.
Jason Grilli earns 5th save in five chances
Jason Grilli (0.00 ERA, 5 SV) pitched a scoreless 9th inning, earning his 5th save in five chances as the Pittsburgh Pirates were victorious with a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night. Grilli who came into the season with just five career saves, has made Pirate fans forget about Joel Hanrahan for now. Grilli tonight allowed no hits, walked one and struck out one in one inning pitched. Grilli threw 13 strikes on 18 pitches. On the season Grilli has given up no runs in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking three.
Penguins – Flyers Post Game Player Reports & Grades
Post-Game Player Reports Game 17 Wednesday, February 20, 2013 Flyers 6 @ Penguins 5 Centers Sidney Crosby| 1 Assist, -3 rating, 4 SOG, 1 GV, 27:00 TOI 21 FW – 7 FL, 75% Earned his 25th point of the season tying Thomas Vanek for the league lead and was excellent again in the faceoff circle, winning 21 draws, including 9 of 12 offensive zone draws. Crosby has won 233 faceoffs this season. Crosby though was on the ice for 4 even strength goals against.| Grade: C | Season Stats: 7 G – 18 A – 25 Pts – +8 Evgeni Malkin | 1 Goal, 1 Assist, -1 rating, 5 SOG, 4 PIM, 1 Hit, 21:30 TOI, 7 FW – 3 FL, 70% It was a promising
Penguins Player Reports & Grades vs Devils
Premium Post-Game Player Reports Game 13 Sunday, February 10, 2013 Devils 3 @ Penguins 1 Centers Sidney Crosby| 0 Points, even rating, 4 SOG, 21:40 TOI 19 FW – 5 FL, 79% Pointless for the second straight game but the Kunitz – Crosby – Dupuis line led the Penguins in even strength scoring chances and Crosby was tremendous in the faceoff circle, winning 19 draws. In the offensive zone, Crosby won 14 of 16 draws, 88%, as he’s playing the best overall hockey of his career. | Grade: B- | Season Stats: 5 G – 12 A – 17 Pts – +7 Evgeni Malkin | 1 Assist, -2 rating, 5 SOG, 2 BS, 2 TK, 24:01 TOI, 7 FW – 7
Penguins player reports vs Rangers: Despres a potential power play Quarterback?
Premium Post-Game Player Reports Game 7 – Thursday, January 31, 2013 Penguins @ Rangers Centers Sidney Crosby| 1 Assist, even rating, 6 SOG, 1 TK, 1 GV, 22:32 TOI, 16 FW – 12 FL, 57.1% Crosby picked up his 4th assist of the season on a beautiful slap pass to James Neal who re-deflected a shot past Lundqvist glove for the Penguins first power play goal in 17 opportunities. Crosby had a team high 6 shots on goal and was 6 of 9 on defensive zone draws.| Grade: B | Season Stats: 3 G – 4 A – 7 Pts – +1 Evgeni Malkin | 1 Goal, 1 Assist, + 1 rating, 3 SOG, 2 PIM, 1 BS, 1 GV, 18:29
Penguins player reports vs Islanders: Despres, Jeffrey bright spots; Neal earns first “F”
Premium Post-Game Player Reports Game 6 – Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Islanders @ Penguins Centers Sidney Crosby| 1 Assist, even rating, 4 SOG, 1 GV, 21:00 TOI, 14 FW – 12 FL, 53.8% Crosby picked up a late assist but for the most part struggled in the Penguins 4-1 loss as his passes were off the mark for most of the night. The official scores sheet had Crosby listed with just 1 giveaway and that’s being awfully generous. Crosby, overall was 53.8% in the faceoff circle but was just 36% (4 of 15) in offensive zone draws.| Grade: C- | Season Stats: 3 G – 3 A – 6 Pts – +1 Evgeni Malkin | 0 Goals, even rating, 3 SOG, 1 hit, 1 GV, 21:17 TOI, 8FW – 5 FL,
Penguins player reports vs Senators: Martin, Orpik earn high marks; Letang doesn’t grade out well
Premium Post-Game Player Reports Game 5 – Sunday, January 27, 2013 Penguins @ Senators Centers Sidney Crosby| shootout goal, even rating, 3 SOG, 2 BS, 1 TK 1 GV, 24:25 TOI, 16 FW – 15 FL, 51.6% Scored a beautiful back hand goal in the shootout. Crosby, though, continues to struggle to score goals against the Senators in his career. Has just 5 in 23 career games and missed a great scoring opportunity near the end of the second period when Pascal Dupuis created an Erik Karlsson turnover on the right half boards and Crosby came in with time and space down the right side and couldn’t beat Anderson. Bylsma relied heavily on Crosby in the faceoff circle where he
Penguins player reports vs Jets: Poor d-zone play from Neal, other forwards a growing concern
Premium Post-Game Player Reports Game 4 – Friday, January 25, 2013 Penguins @ Jets Centers Sidney Crosby| 2 Goals, even rating, 3 SOG, 2 BS, 4 Hits, 1 GV, 24:07 TOI, 8 FW – 6 FL, 57.1% Crosby scored two first period goals and led the Penguins offensive attack but his two-goal night wasn’t enough for the Penguins. Crosby opened the scoring at 4:26 of the first period, taking a pass from Kunitz in the slot and with Olli Jokinen on him, snuck a snap shot inside Pavelec’s right post for the goal. On Crosby’s second goal of the night at 14:48 of the first period, he came through the neutral zone with speed after taking a pass off the