Penguins/NHL
You may not see a worst goaltending performance this season than what happened Tuesday night between Marc Andre Fleury and Craig Anderson. It was as bad as it can get.
Neither goaltender could track the puck all night and I can’t remember the last time a goaltender was looking behind him after making a save as much as Anderson was.
Pittsburgh came out with a 6-5 win over the Senators despite Marc Andre Fleury posting a .783 save percentage in the victory. The Penguins continued their surge offensively and they continue to beat teams they should and light up mediocre goaltending.
Ottawa the second worst defensive team in the NHL could not handle the Penguins speed and Pittsburgh dominated play in outshooting Ottawa 44-23. After being lit up by Sidney Crosby, the Senators who have allowed five goals or more in three of their last five games, get to welcome Connor McDavid to town next.
Simply unbelievable. 💯 #CBJvsEDM pic.twitter.com/fc9FTCUhHs
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 3, 2016
CROSBY’S SURGE CONTINUES
Top Performers vs Senators
[Sidney Crosby 3 goals, 1 assist]
[Chris Kunitz 1 goal, 2 assists]
[Kris Letang 1 goal, 1 assist]
[Evgeni Malkin 2 assists]
Sidney Crosby again led the way with his ninth career hat trick, finishing the night with 3 goals and 1 assist. Crosby led the Penguins with 8 shots on goal.
Crosby has 6 goals and 14 points in the midst of an eight game points streak. He has scored in eight straight home games. At the 1/4 mark of the season Crosby was on pace for 45 points.
Crosby now has 20 goals and 45 points on the season and he’s just six points behind Evgeny Kuznetsov for fifth in the NHL in points.
The key stat for Crosby — 14 goals and 26 points in 21 games since the coaching change —
As more and more continue to indicate that Mike Johnston was basically running the team like it was a junior team, big surprise there, Jim Rutherford’s hiring of Johnston in the first place continues to look worse by the day. The way Johnston shackled the offensive talent the Penguins have should go down as one of the worst coaching performances in Penguins history.
For the Penguins these last four wins have been what you could call easy games for them, despite all four being one or two goal games. Those were games at home they should have been winning and they did their job in doing so.
These next three games will be a good evaluation period for the team in that they’re playing three teams that are surging like them.
Back-to-backs on the road against Tampa Bay and Florida, two potential Stanley Cup contenders, and then return home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. Anaheim being a team that’s starting to find their game.
