If the Winnipeg Jets plan to make the playoffs, they should hope to avoid the Pittsburgh Penguins process.
The Penguins beat the Jets 8-4, Tuesday night, scoring just as many goals as they did in their first matchup at Consol early this season. James Neal scored a hat trick, Sidney Crosby added four assists, and Evgeni Malkin led the team with five points en route to extending Brad Theissen’s record to 3-0 as a starting goaltender.
Coming off their first loss in nearly a month, the Penguins scored almost at will, although they hardly dominated the game. After Tyler Kennedy scored his first goal in 18 games, the Jets bounced back to lead 2-1 on goals from Jim Slater and Bryan Little.
The Penguins tied the game four minutes later on James Neal’s 33rd goal of the season. Sidney Crosby fed a backhand pass on the goal line to Evgeni Malkin, who fed Neal on the opposite face-off circle. Neal chipped the puck from 7 feet out past Ondrej Pavelec. Just as they did in their previous matchup on February 11th, both teams equally contributed a combined four goals after the first period.
In the second, the scoring only opened up further. James Neal shot in a loose puck while Pavelec was trying to reassert himself after Malkin barely crashed into him. Bryan Little responded for his second goal of the game to tie the game at 3-3.
From there, it was pretty much all Penguins.
Sidney Crosby took the puck behind the Winnipeg net and fed Tyler Kennedy who slammed the puck past Pavelec for his second goal of the game. Evgeni Malkin added a goal of his own while the Penguins were enjoying a delayed penalty on the Jets. Malkin took the puck in the high slot and fired a slapshot into the far side of the net.
Leading 5-3, the Jets drew closer with a goal by Tim Stapleton. However, James Neal put the proverbial dagger into Winnipeg’s attempts to come back, and maybe their playoff hopes as well.
Neal dropped a pass back to Malkin in the offensive zone. Malkin passed the puck back to Neal who fired a one time slap shot off the crossbar and into the net. The 18,589 fans at Consol jumped to their feet as hats rained down on the ice. The goal was Neal’s 35th of the season and Malkin’s 50th assist, making up two-thirds of one of the best lines in hockey this year.
Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin added a goal each in the third period and the Penguins hung on to clinch a playoff berth for the sixth straight season. More importantly, the Penguins received help from the Florida Panthers who defeated the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night. The Penguins also moved within a point of the idle New York Rangers at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
- The Penguins will host the Nashville Predators Thursday.
- With 3 goals and 1 assist, James Neal reached a career high in points in a single game.
- While Sidney Crosby does not have a goal in four games since his return, he has tallied 9 assists.
- Evgeni Malkin’s first goal of the game was the 200th of his career.
- The Jets are tied for second to last in the NHL in road wins with 11.
- Neal, Malkin and Crosby combined for 13 points.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo!
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