Malkin
scores in return, Pens shut out Oilers
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[February 05, 2015]
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Pittsburgh
Penguins, looking to get their momentum back after losing six of their
last eight games, took a step in the right direction Wednesday at the
expense of the short-staffed Edmonton Oilers.
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The Penguins scored twice in the second period and then calmly
closed out a 2-0 victory to steady their ship and improve to
29-14-8.
"It feels like it's been a while since I got one," Penguins goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury said of his 22-save shutout. "It was a little
quiet for me the first two periods, but the third was a bit more
one-sided for them. It was nice to finish on a good note.
"January wasn't our best month, that's for sure. But we are starting
to get some guys back into the lineup. Going down the stretch this
is the team we are going to have and we need to start building and
doing things consistently."
The last-in-the-West Oilers were underdogs to start with, and their
odds dropped significantly when two of their top four goal scorers
-- injured wingers Taylor Hall and Benoit Pouliot -- couldn't make
it to the starting gate.
So result was predictable: Edmonton's 38th loss in 52 games.
"We didn't have a great game tonight," said Edmonton winger Matt
Hendricks, adding the game wasn't as close as the score. "We weren't
an aggressive team. Our forecheck wasn't good. Our dumps weren't
good. They were exiting their zone way too freely.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/05/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png) "I give them credit, they're a good hockey team, but we helped them
out tonight."
Pittsburgh carried most of the play in the first two periods and had
the Oilers hemmed in their own end for long stretches at a time, but
despite a 10-5 advantage in shots after 20 minutes, it was still
scoreless, thanks to the netminding of Edmonton's Viktor Fasth.
"A team like that, they know that if they come out really strong and
put on some pressure and work hard early it will set the tone for
the game," said Oilers center Derek Roy. "That's what we have to do.
We're at home, we have to set the tone for the game."
Edmonton couldn't keep the Penguins at bay for very long in the
second period, though. It took center Evgeni Malkin, in his first
game back after missing five with a groin injury, just 24 seconds to
make it 1-0. He jumped on loose puck after Fasth failed to smother
it and put the Pens in front to stay.
"He generates a lot," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. "Not only
his scoring chances, but with his ability to set guys up and create
space for players. I think that line generated more than anybody."
The Oilers, who had just two shots through 11 minutes in the second
period and were being outshot 19-7 at one point, fell behind 2-0
when former Oilers winger David Perron scored with .4 seconds left
in the second.
[to top of second column] |
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"I thought our first two periods were really good," said
Johnston. "Credit the Oilers for putting a big push on in the third.
They generated some momentum and had some good scoring chances.
"I think how we played in the first two periods is how we have to
play. We talked about being more competitive around the crease and
we got two goals out of it. We have to be better in those areas."
Edmonton pressed hard in the third period, as the Penguins protected
their 2-0 lead, but couldn't break Fleury's seventh shutout of the
season.
"I thought we played a sound game the whole game," said Perron. "We
didn't change the plan at all. We kept going with is and we got the
result at the end."
NOTES: The Penguins bolstered their lineup with the return of C
Evgeni Malkin, who was out of the lineup for five games with a groin
injury. The Penguins went 2-2 in those games and were shut out
twice. ... Edmonton was without both LW Taylor Hall (leg) and LW
Benoit Pouliot (foot). Both players are listed as day-to-day and
will accompany the Oilers on their upcoming six-game road trip. ...
Wednesday marked the first game back in Edmonton for former Oilers
LW David Perron and C Mark Arcobello. ... Pittsburgh D Christian
Ehrhoff (head) missed his third straight game. ... Oilers C Anton
Lander put up as many points (eight) in 15 games this season as he
did in 97 previous NHL games during the past four seasons. ...
Oilers G Viktor Fasth started for the sixth time in eight games
after starting just two of the previous 15.
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