\Sidney Crosby has been stealing a page from the playbook of Mario Lemieux. Crosby scored another bank shot from below the goal line off of a goaltender. With less than a minute to play in the second period Crosby threw a shot off of keeper Antti Niemi that was stopped. Crosby hacked at his own airborne rebound and caught Niemi leaning off of his post. The puck hit him in the shoulder and fell in the net to give the Pens a 3-2 lead with 21.5 seconds left in the period.
\Though he's struggled at times on the road, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been lights out at home. He continued his dominance in Pittsburgh with a spectacular effort. He stopped Dan Hamhuis on a breakaway, Brett Ritchie twice from short range and a tough sliding pad stop on a Cody Eakin wraparound. Fleury improved to 6-2-1 at home and 20-5-2 in his last 27 home games at PPG Paints Arena.
\Phil Kessel the setup man picked up one more assist in the game, adding to his team-leading 16 helpers on the year.
\Ian Cole picked up his second goal of the year with a first-period snipe. Justin Schultz scored for Pittsburgh in last night's game against the NY Islanders. The Pens are finally getting some goal production from the blue line. Cole added an assist and Schultz picked up 2 helpers. The duo has quietly been the team's best pairing.
\The Pens are now 7-0 this season following a regulation loss. They are 16-0-1 in their last 17 games following a regulation loss dating back to last season. Pittsburgh hasn't lost consecutive games in regulation in nearly a calendar year.
\Wampum, Pa. native Stephen Johns had the chance to play in Pittsburgh against his hometown team for the first time in his career. The Pittsburgh Hornets product picked up an assist on Dallas' first-period goal. To make it even more special, Johns' family was in the arena in a suite provided by the Pens for this special moment. A cheer erupted from the suite on the play.
