Penguins Storm Hurricanes: Win 4-1

Last night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Mellon Arena showed why I would fear the Penguins if I coached any other team in the NHL.

Going into the 3rd period, the Penguins were down 1-0. They hadn't generated much offense up to that point, and Hurricanes netminder Michael Leighton quickly slammed the door on anything they did generate.

Then the floodgates opened and, in the blink of an eye, the Penguins drove a nail in Carolina's coffin, scoring 4 third-period goals in route to a 4-1 victory before a 73rd consecutive sellout crowd at the Igloo.

Sidney Crosby started the scoring by tipping in a point shot by Evgeni Malkin. Within 3 minutes and 36 seconds, the Penguins added 2 more goals, one by Ruslan Fedotenko -- his first this season and first as a Penguin -- and another by Maxime Talbot, also his first this season.

The Fedotenko goal came before the fans celebrating Crosby's goal could sit down -- 32 seconds later.

Fedotenko, by the way, played his best game this season. His game has been better the last few contests, but contributing on the scoreboard was something he -- and the team -- needed.

Jordan Staal, who assisted on Fedotenko's goal, also had his best game this season.

Meanwhile, the Talbot goal was really a killer. Mad Max made a great play to push the puck past Carolina defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, skate by him, hold off a sweep check with his skate and make a quick backhand deke before shoveling the puck between Leighton's legs.

Malkin scored in an empty net to polish the Hurricanes off, about 30 seconds after Fleury missed a length-of-the-ice shot by about 10 feet after Carolina had pulled Leighton when the game was 3-1 late in the 3rd.

Boy have Fleury's stickhandling skills come a long way.

Fleury, it should be noted, stopped 24 of 25 Carolina shots to record his 4th win of the season and improve on his .924 save percentage. He looks really solid between the pipes.

The Penguins just overwhelmed Carolina with their firepower in this one. They played competitively early on, but when they turned up the volume in the 3rd period, the Hurricanes just couldn't compete with them. The Penguins got the momentum, captured the lead, and used their 1-2-2 system to build that lead --- a formula used to such great success last season.

Daryl Sydor played last night for Hal Gill, who sat out with an unspecified upper body injury. Gill may return for the next game, along with winger Matt Cooke, who is poised to return to the lineup after missing a few games with a rib injury.

Sydor played fairly well, by the way. I've always been impressed with his low panic threshhold out there. That's what you're going to get from a veteran like him. He's a nice insurance policy for our defense corps, albeit a difficult one to afford.

With the win, the Penguins (5-2-1) moved to within 2 points of the Atlantic Division leading New York Rangers (6-2-1), who they happen to play Saturday night in Madison Square Garden. That evening, for the first time in league history, 30 NHL teams will be in action.

The Penguins sit 4th overall in the NHL standings. Only the New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks (who the Penguins will face off against next Tuesday in San Jose) and Buffalo Sabres have more points than our flightless birds. They're on a good streak. Let's hope they can keep the ball rolling.

Go Pens.