The Penguins came out fast and hard tonight against the Albany Devils, dominating play and looking about as solid as a team heading down the stretch can.
They outshoot the Devils 34-11 tonight en route to a 4-0 victory, and didn't even need the services of forward Beau Bennett, who was held out as a healthy scratch tonight. Head coach John Hynes said Bennett is still in town and there's a possibility he could be in the lineup tomorrow.
First, it was Chad Kolarik finishing off a broken play just 48 seconds in to get things started for the Penguins. The team got the fans into the game early and continued to feed off the energy from there.
"Even if your legs felt like junk from the four-hour bus ride last night, it all falls to the wayside," said Chad Kolarik on feeding off of the packed house at Mohegan Sun.
Trevor Smith made it 2-0 in the final minute of the first frame, roofing a puck past Jeff Frazee in what was a highlight-reel goal. Credit to Frazee for keeping the Devils in the game early. WBS outshot the Devils 17-1 through the first twenty minutes and took the 2-0 lead into the third period.
The Penguins never really took their foot off the gas tonight, extending the lead to 3-0 in the third period while on a powerplay. Alex Grant let loose a shot from the point that eluded Frazee, giving the Pens their third power play goal of the night.
Paul Thompson crashed the net a few minutes later and got a piece of Jayson Megna's shot to make it a 4-0 lead and really deflating the Devils from that point on.
Jeff Zatkoff picked up his 4th shutout of the season tonight with an 11-save performance. And while Zatkoff wasn't peppered with shots, he made some big saves at some key moments throughout the course of the game.
"Not as physically demanding but mentally it's a more of a grind," Zatkoff said of tonight's game.
"It's just staying in it and focusing and making that next save," Zatkoff added.
Zatkoff faced only one shot in the first period and was tested with some point-blank chances in the second. He shut the door on the Devils when he needed to tonight.
The win puts the Penguins in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of idle Portland. The Pirates have three games in hand on the Penguins. The Pens are also now just five points behind 4th place Binghamton.
The Penguins conclude a three game weekend with an important Sunday matinee with the Hershey Bears, who after losing in regulation tonight are now tied for the 8th and final spot in the Eastern Conference. Expect a Bears team coming in tomorrow to be playing with purpose.
ROSTER NOTES
Jeff Zatkoff got the start in net for the second straight night. Beau Bennett and Steve MacIntyre were scratched and replaced by Chris Collins and Dominik Uher. Rest of the lineup stayed the same.
Lines:
Holzapfel - Smith - Kolarik
Megna - Gibbons - Thompson
Collins - Peters - Payerl
Farnham - Sill - Uher
Reese - Dumoulin
Mormina - Samuelsson
Grant - Wild
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