No, that score is not a typo! Seriously, what kind of Wheaties did the Boys eat before this game?! Geez! It's been almost 2 years since the Pens' last 8 goal game, and it's been since April 1993 since the Pens have had a 2 hat trick night (the players were Mario Lemieux and Joey Mullen), but on the eighth anniversary of the Return of The King, the Pens made the Islanders look like complete amateurs.
And Philippe Boucher, Petr Sykora, and Pascal Dupuis had a spectacular night of firsts! Strap yourself in - it's gonna be a long one...
(Apologies for the lack of photos - there aren't many out there right now, and because I have a day job, I can't wait for them to be posted. I might add pictures tomorrow.)
FIRST PERIOD
John Curry was in the net for his second start (third appearance), and Tim Wallace's parents were in the house after only making it to New Jersey from Anchorage, Alaska, in time for the 3rd period yesterday - even though they left at 6:00am! It took just 6:25 for Pascal Dupuis to draw first blood. He fired a shot from the far wall that hit Joey MacDonald, bounced up and over the goalie, and slid right over the goal line. Siddo was going hard to the net to ensure that the puck went in, but he went so hard that he ended up going into the net right after the puck did. [Pens 1, Isles 0]
Doug Weight got the night's first penalty. He went to the box for interference. Andy Sutton drilled Ruslan Fedotenko with a big hit during the Pens' power play, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage. Not to worry, though. The Islanders gave the Pens ample opportunity to get a power play goal with a series of overlapping penalties that gave the Pens an extended 5-on-3. First, Freddy Meyer went for holding. While he was in the box, Nate Thompson hooked Jordan Staal. This gave the Pens 1:07 with the 2 man advantage. Then with 12 seconds left on the first two penalties, Brendan Witt was busted for slashing. Since there is no 5-on-2, the Pens ended up with 52 additional seconds of 5-on-3. After shot after shot, Miroslav Satan added to the Pens' tally by going from his forehand to his backhand for the goal. [Pens 2, Isles 0]
The Penguins still had almost a minute and a half on the power play, but they didn't get another PPG. The Isles got their first power play of the night when Matt Cooke was called for tripping. On the Isles' ensuing power play, Mark Streit fired a quick shot for a goal. [Pens 2, Isles 1]
A mere 11 seconds later, Kris Letang got the puck after a faceoff win and took the hit that allowed Geno Malkin to rush the net with his friend Petr Sykora. A lightning quick shot from Syko sealed the deal. [Pens 3, Isles 1]
Only 39 seconds after that, Philippe Boucher returned to score his first goal as a Penguin with a wicked shot from the point right through MacDonald's 5-hole. [Pens 4, Isles 1]
SECOND PERIOD
Predictably, MacDonald was pulled and replaced by Yann Danis. He was put to the test right out of the gate as Sid fired a shot that Danis in fact caught but didn't realize it. (It was in his glove.) Just after that, the Pens developed a 3-on-2. Alex Goligoski shot the puck, but Danis blocked it. The rebound went towards Geno, who kicked the puck to his stick and scored. [Pens 5, Isles 1]
Joshua Bailey went to the box for holding, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage. The Isles got a power play when the Pens were caught with too many men on the ice. Syko served the penalty for his team. With about 30 seconds left on the Pens' penalty, Bill Guerin was called for slashing. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4, but after Syko emerged from the box, he shot the puck as he fell as he was hit from behind to score his second goal of the night. [Pens 6, Isles 1]
Now, Syko has had 44 - let me repeat that - FORTY FOUR 2-goal games. He was, until tonight, the highest scoring player that never had a hat trick. But we all thought the wait was over as he fired another shot that found the back of the net a short time later. But it was not to be. The ref had lost sight of the puck. In that occasion, he must blow his whistle and stop the play. The (non)goal was scored after the whistle. Despite the utter domination by the Pens, watching Petr plead his non-hat-trick-getting case to the ref was absolutely heartbreaking. But as they say, it ain't over...
Tim Jackman took a penalty for roughing after trying to rally his team with a little physicality. On the ensuing power play, Saint Siddo got the puck and patiently waited while Syko got in position in front of the net. He centered the pass for Syko, and with a quick wrist shot, he finally got his first career hat trick!!! [Pens 7, Isles 1] He nearly crushed Siddo to death with a flying, leaping, laughing hug (see below). :)
Sutton was called for roughing after he tried to take Satan out. Incidentally, he missed and nearly killed Bob Errey, who was between the benches for this broadcast. Syko hit the post on the power play, but the Pens didn't score. Gronk somehow managed to drag the puck to the net around practically everyone and set Dups up for another goal. [Pens 8, Isles 1] As the period ended, Paul Steigerwald was singing the Spyhunter song for Petr Sykora, LOL!
THIRD PERIOD
Okay. I'm not going to list all the craziness from this period. Just know that the Islanders were frustrated and began taking liberties with the Pens. Boucher was called for hooking. The Isles did everything but score, as Curry was a brick freaking wall tonight. Siddo tried to set Dups up for his first hat trick while they were shorthanded, but to no avail. The Isles did not score on their advantage. A short time later, Geno tried to set Dups up, but Sutton lay down and blocked the shot. Gronk, who had set Dups up for goal #2, tried to help him get the third, but again - no such luck.
Geno and Raggedy Ruslan found themselves in a battle with the Isles in which both men lost their lids. (I never really noticed before, but Ruslan has some pretty glorious highlights in his hair... :P LOL!) The Isles ended up with the man advantage after Geno, Tank, and Andy Hilbert went to their respective boxes for roughing, but Curry made an unreal save on Bill Guerin to hold them at a single goal. Before the penalty was over, Dups got hooked by Weight, and Siddo made a fool of Streit on his way to the net, but his shot was blocked by Danis. Sutton scored on the ensuing 4-on-4. [Pens 8, Isles 2]
The Pens still had a power play, and it seemed like Dups couldn't buy a goal. With 6 seconds left on the power play, Jackman punched Geno in the chops and earned a roughing penalty. The Pens didn't score on the brief 5-on-3. On their power play, Gogo got nailed with a hooking penalty. With 1 second left on the 4-on-4, Matt Cooke led the charge with Super Duper by his side. He passed number 9 the puck for the 9th goal of the night, giving him his first NHL hat trick!! [Pens 9, Isles 2]
Despite the fans' calls for a tenth ("We want 10!! We want 10!!"), this was the final score of the game. Before it was all said and done, though, Chris Campoli crosschecked Syko in the arm during a faceoff. That wasn't enough, so Campoli went after Geno. He caught Geno low with a pretty big hit. Luckily, Geno's a big guy so it didn't hurt him, but Sykora took exception to it and rushed in to defend his linemate. The Isles' captain Guerin, who had been barking at the refs for most of the 3rd, finally crossed a line when he griped about this incident. He was given a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (served by Blake Comeau) and a 10 minute misconduct and was escorted off the ice.
As is tradition these days, tonight's creamed player was Super Duper. The video of his postgame interview (he had been creamed off camera) comes to us from Friend of The Show Traci M.:
Thanks so much to Traci for uploading the clip and sending it my way! :) The Pens head to Philly for an afternoon game this Saturday.
GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!
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