Staal Falls

photo credit

The Pens seem to be on something of a roller coaster lately. Last week's rematch against the Bruins was one of the best games I've ever seen. Billy Guerin rescued the Penguins by scoring the last goal in regulation, with .4 seconds remaining to tie up the game. Pascal Dupuis proved to be the real hero of the game, bringing the Pens an overtime victory and scoring his 100th career goal. Well done, Dupuis.

The next game against the Senators did not go so well, mostly due to poor defense, but the Pens didn't sink into a slump this time. With Malkin, Gonchar and Talbot back on the ice, the latter for one of the first times this season, last night's game against Atlanta fell in the Penguins' favor.

++Times Jordan Staal fell: 2

++Most players involved in a Staal fall: 1

++Falls resulting in a goal: 0 (though he did score, so well done there)

++Number of times Malkin landed in the box: 1 (it could have been more, but he actually managed to shrug off a challenge from the Thrashers as the Pens carried a 3 goal lead)

The Jordan Staal award is issued to Michael Rupp...again. His attempts to defend the goal by falling are truly awe-inspiring. Please keep it up!

As well as Talbot played last season, we haven't quite determined whether or not he deserves his self-proclaimed "Superstar" title. But we did learn something new from his actions last night. He was awarded a penalty shot, which we had not seen the Pens earn before. Apparently these are awarded in lieu of a power play when the shooter is clearly robbed of a goal opportunity. In this case, the Thrashers goalie dislodged the net, causing delay of game as it was reset. Talbot failed to score, but the Pens still came out with a 3-2 victory.