Penguins Win 7th Straight Over Panthers In Shootout, 4-3

A month ago, the question most hockey fans were asking about the Pittsburgh Penguins was how far could they fall.

How quickly things can change.

With their 4-3 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers last night, the Penguins won their 7th straight game -- a season high -- and moved into 6th place in the Eastern Conference, 1 point above the Panthers, 2 ahead of the 8th place Carolina Hurricanes, and 3 ahead of the 9th place New York Rangers.

The Penguins also sit only one point behind the 5th place Montreal Canadiens, who won in overtime last night, and 4 points behind the 4th place Philadelphia Flyers, who also won last evening.

For the first time in a while, things didn't look good for the Penguins last night -- at least on the scoreboard. They opened the scoring on a goal by Evgeni Malkin late in the first period, but watched that lead evaporate over the course of the 2nd period when the Panthers scored 3 goals on 7 shots.

One of those goals -- the 3rd one by defenseman Keith Ballard --- was somewhat controversial as the NHL office in Toronto had to review the play to determine if Ballard kicked the puck in.

Personally, I thought it was a close call. Ballard certainly turned his leg to direct the puck in at the very least. The reverse angle also seemed him to show a slight kicking motion with the leg. However, it's hard to say that what Ballard did was a "distinct kicking motion", which is what the rule requires for the play not to count.

On the other hand, I've seen the boys in Toronto waive off goals with less of a motion than what Ballard did last night. Several times.

In any case, the Penguins faced a 3-1 deficit going into the 3rd period. But they were playing well, and outshooting Florida by a large margin, so they had no reason to lack confidence.

And they came out in the final frame showing it.

Jordan Staal brought the Penguins within 1 when he scored about 2 and 1/2 minutes into the period, banging a rebound of a Matt Cooke shot past Florida netminder Tomas Vokoun. About 4 minutes later, Sidney Crosby capitalized on a rush when he redirected a Bill Guerin pass just enough to get it past Vokoun, off the post, and off Vokoun's body across the goal line to tie the score.

The Penguins continued to bring pressure for much of the 3rd period, but the game remained tied --- as it was at the conclusion of a scoreless overtime. Florida should have considered itself fortunate since it blew the lead and was outshot 50-21.

And Vokoun probably thought he was tired after the Penguins put up 47 shots on him last week.

Kris Letang staked the Penguins to an early advantage in the shootout after deking Vokoun and scoring on the forehand.

Fleury then stopped 2 Panther shots, one by Radek Dvorak and the other by Stephen Weiss, to set the stage for Malkin on the Penguins 3rd attempt.

Malkin approached Vokoun, made a deke, and deftly slid around Vokoun's attempted poke check before depositing the puck into an empty cage to seal the comeback victory for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins just keep rolling at this point, heading into their next game Thursday on the road at Columbus. I'll have an up close and personal recap to post on that game, since I'll be there in person.

The only negative to come from last night's game was the Penguin power play, which came up empty on 6 chances. Personally, I think they need to make some adjustments. They are running everything through Crosby on the near boards. That's fine, except that they are looking for him to be the triggerman in that position all too often. Malkin is much better in that spot because his shot is more dangerous.

More later in the week after my trip west ...