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In their second meeting this week the Penguins and Bruins will battle this time in Mellon Arena which welcomed the Pens back home with a relatively uneventful 4-1 lambasting at the hands of the Devils on Thursday. About the only positive out of the loss was the fact that Pittsburgh finally lit up the scoreboard on their side after a goalless drought that lasted over 160 minutes. Tonight there are some positive vibes in the air in spite of the recent struggles as the Penguins welcome back the NHL’s reigning scoring champion Evgeni Malkin to the lineup after missing a week and a half with a strained right shoulder. Of his return, Malkin said: “My body is ready and I’m ready to play. I hope I play. I feel great. I missed seven games. I’m excited to get back. I supported my team in the locker room and on the bench. I miss playing and skating. I’ve been working out and a couple weeks of rest and I feel great. I think I’m 100 percent.” One hundred percent of Evgeni Malkin is just about what the doctor ordered for Pittsburgh and their struggles to get the puck into the net recently. The Pens should have a solid gameplan laid out having digested the loss to Boston from Tuesday night and developing a strategy to attack the B’s.

Hopefully the jump is back in Malkin’s skates tonight and the rest of the Penguins lineup for that matter as the puck hits the ice and things get underway at the Mellon. Brent Johnson is in the net for his fourth start of the year tonight and this outing will give Marc-Andre Fleury a much needed rest. Evgeni Malkin doesn’t waste any time announcing his return to the ice for the Pens as he records a quick assist on a threaded pass to Jay McKee who roofs a backhander over the shoulder of Tim Thomas to open the scoring for the Pens at 1-0. The Bruins come right back into the Pittsburgh zone and set up shop moving the puck around and keeping the puck in the zone making the Penguins defense work. Despite giving up the early tally, Tim Thomas looks sharp in net stopping a Chris Bourque shot with ease. Persistence from the Bruins in the Penguins zone forces the Pens on the ice to work really hard to keep the puck from getting to their net. Deryk Engelland throws down in his first round of fisticuffs as a Penguin taking down Byron Bitz earning the crowd’s approval. A shot from Blake Wheeler ends up just in front of Brent Johnson and Michael Ryder tries to finish it off but is denied by Johnson looking stout in the early going. Some great work behind the net by David Krejci and a delivery to Wheeler who finds some room between the near post and Johnson’s pads to tie the game at 1-1. The Pens go to work on the power play courtesy of a holding the stick call on Brad Marchand. Some quality puck movement from the Pens on their opening chance of the game but they come up empty in the early going with the man advantage. A great play at the blue line by Ben Lovejoy sets up the puck on the doorstep for Matt Cooke who creates a rebound that’s buried home by Pascal DuPuis to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

After a successful first 20 minutes of hockey, the Pens really need to focus on finishing what they have started here tonight. Pittsburgh starts period two on the power play and moves the puck well with the man advantage to start the but they are unable to get one behind Thomas as the penalty expires. A sloppy turnover in the neutral zone leads to a rising shot by Michael Ryder that beats Brent Johnson over his left shoulder to even the game up at 2-2. After the equalizer some pressure from Pittsburgh as Mark Eaton rings one off of the post and the presence in front of the net by Jordan Staal is giving Thomas a bit of trouble in the Boston net. Chris Bourque carries some speed into the Boston end and feathers a great pass to Alex Goligoski whose shot creates a rebound chance fanned on by Staal. Some great teamwork in the corner by Crosby and Malkin creates an open blue line alley for Goligoski to get a shot toward the net that gets deflected in by the originator of the opportunity Sidney Crosby regain the lead for Pittsburgh 3-2. A ridiculous save from Tim Thomas maintains the one goal margin as he reaches back into his net to deny a shot from Mike Rupp off of a ricochet from the end boards. After the repairs to the glass broken by Goligoski, the Bruins come down into the Penguins end and score off of a deflection as the point shot by Derek Morris hits a Pittsburgh stick and goes behind Brent Johnson to even things up at 3-3. Malkin shows he is back to full strength on a breakaway forcing Thomas to make a spectacular save while drawing a penalty in the process to put the Pens on the power play. Another fruitless power play sends this game to the 3rd as a stalemate.

This one has the feel of something special as both teams are playing some dead even hockey to this point. The final 20 minutes begin with the Penguins scrambling a bit in their own end as the Bruins forecheck is bringing some heat here in the 3rd period. There is a penalty called on Malkin for tripping Zdeno Chara and the B’s will have a power play early in the final frame. Malkin is released from the sin bin and it’s back to five on five hockey for the time being. A fantastic rush from the Penguins applies the pressure to the Bruins zone as Thomas is forced to make another stellar save on a chance from Malkin. Some great work in their own zone by the Penguins defenders as Jay McKee blocks yet another shot and add to his league lead. On an entry into the Boston zone, Sidney Crosby delivers the puck onto the tape of Mark Eaton who slaps a one-timer into the back of the Boston net to push the Pens back ahead 4-3. An accidental high stick on a collision in the corner between Matt Cooke and Byron Bitz results in a four minute double minor as the stick drew blood. Less than one minute into the penalties the Pens take another as Crosby is sent to the box for a trip and there will be two minutes of five on three hockey for Boston. This is going to be scrambling time for the Pens in their own zone to keep the Bruins from getting this one back to even. Despite some phenomenal spacing and denial on the puck from the three Penguins on the ice for a minute and a half, the Bruins ultimately knot this game up at 4-4 on a second David Krejci goal. The Penguins create an incredible shorthanded opportunity as Crosby breaks away on Thomas but the keeper has great positioning and closes the door keeping this one all square. A heavy shot from the point by Zdeno Chara goes through traffic in front of Johnson and changes direction before it finds its way into the net to give Boston their first lead of the night at 5-4 as the goal is credited to Marco Sturm. Pittsburgh sends Brent Johnson to the bench for the man advantage in the closing minutes of the game and something magical happens in the Mellon. Evgeni Malkin carries the puck down the boards into the Boston zone in the closing seconds and feeds Bill Guerin who buries the puck behind Thomas with just .4 seconds remaining to earn the Penguins at least one point.

Courtesy of Geno’s magic it will take five more minutes of overtime hockey to decide this one. A mishandle behind the cage by Tim Thomas less than a minute and a half into the OT allows a takeaway by Staal to feed DuPuis in front of an open net to end the Penguins four game losing streak in style and give the Penguins a much needed two points. What a rush the final minutes of this game were with the play of Evgeni Malkin tonight just electrifying the crowd in Mellon Arena. It’s incredible how much Malkin means to this team and just his presence on the ice puts six goals up on the board for the Pens. The Penguins will have a chance to continue this momentum on Monday night when the Anaheim Ducks visit Pittsburgh.

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Anaheim Ducks, Ben Lovejoy, Bill Guerin, Blake Wheeler, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brent Johnson, Byron Bitz, Chris Bourque, David Krejci, Derek Morris, Deryk Engelland, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke, Mellon Arena, Michael Ryder, Mike Rupp, New Jersey Devils, Pascal DuPuis, Sidney Crosby, Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara