Penguins-Devils postgame

Saturday, 09 February 2013 17:34

Written by Dave Molinari

Final score: Devils 3, Penguins 1.

Why it matters: New Jersey snapped the Penguins' five-game winning streak and hurdled them to take over first place in the Atlantic Division.

In a nutshell: The Penguins squandered a first period goal by Brandon Sutter and some excellent early work by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and their penalty-killers by taking enough penalties that they ended up being shorthanded no fewer than 10 times. The Penguins survived five Devils power plays during the first two periods, but New Jersey capitalized on two of its five opportunities with the extra man during the third to earn the victory.

Turning point: It's part to pick a penalty that really hurt the Penguins, since the effects are being shorthanded so much tend to be cumulative, but the hooking minor assessed to Tanner Glass that led to Adam Henrique's game-winner at 10:56 of the third is as good a choice as any.

Under the radar: Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky didn't earn a point, but was visible throughout the game and ended up with a team-high six shots on goal to go along with a hit and a takeaway.

The brightest star: New Jersey rookie Stefan Matteau was named the game's No. 1 star after scoring his first NHL goal, but Devils center Adam Henrique had a typically strong two-way game. He not only scored the game-winning goal but recorded a couple of his, although his 6-of-16 showing on faceoffs was hardly a plus.

The last word: Center Sidney Crosby, who had a six-game assists streak end, on how the Penguins weren't done in simply by taking so many penalties. "We could have played better. We definitely didn't play the type of game we wanted to. Whether the momentum of those kills and that kind of thing tired guys out ... I think the bottom line is, we probably didn't deserve to win that one."