Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his third career
shutout with 40 saves and Sidney Crosby tallied a goal and an assist, as the
Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-0, in the season opener
for both teams at Mellon Arena.
Michel Ouellet notched a goal and an assist while Jarkko Ruutu and Josef
Melichar also scored for the Penguins, who finished 15th in the Eastern
Conference last season but started the 2006-07 campaign with a strong effort
amidst major news from the front office.
Earlier Thursday, the Penguins announced that Jim Balsillie, chairman of
Research in Motion, has signed a purchase agreement to buy the franchise. The
pending sale must be approved by the NHL Board of Governors, which will vote
on the matter at some point over the next few months. The 45-year-old
Balsillie held several executive positions in the business world before he
joined Research in Motion -- a Canadian-based company -- in 1992.
Robert Esche allowed four goals on 21 shots for the Flyers, who lost to the
Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs in April. Philadelphia,
which finished 0-for-10 on the power play, has several new faces up front
including Geoff Sanderson and Kyle Calder. Simon Gagne was re-signed to a
five-year contract prior to training camp, and center Peter Forsberg replaced
the now-retired Keith Primeau as the team's captain.
Pittsburgh completely dominated the contest from the start and scored two
goals before the midpoint of the opening period.
In the early stages of the first stanza, the Flyers lost control of the puck
in their offensive zone when an errant pass by Forsberg deflected off a stick
and sent the Penguins through the neutral zone on a 3-on-2 rush. Ouellet held
control across the blue line and fired a wrist shot from the top of the right
circle that slid underneath the pads of Esche at 6:46.
Less than three minutes later, Ouellet was again at the center of the action
when the Pens grabbed a two-goal lead. He picked up the puck following a
Philadelphia turnover and fired a wrist shot from nearly the same spot as his
goal was scored. This one was saved by Esche, but the rebound caromed directly
out into the goal mouth before Ruutu punched it into the back of the cage with
10:26 remaining.
"We capitalized on our chances early in the game," said Penguins coach Michel
Therrien.
The beginning of the middle session was more of the same for the Penguins, who
increased their lead to 3-0 before two minutes elapsed. Nils Ekman held
control along the left half-wall near his own blue line and sent a long pass
ahead for Crosby. The young phenom crossed the blue line with the puck,
hustled down the left-wing side on a partial breakaway and beat Esche with a
high wrist shot to the near side at the 1:57 mark.
Throughout the middle portions of the stanza, the Flyers wasted several
offensive opportunities, including a lengthy two-man advantage during which
Fleury was stellar. Twice during the power play, Mike Knuble had open looks
from the low slot, but could not find the back of the net.
"He played great," said Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock of Fleury. "(Even) the ones
he didn't see, he stopped. He made a lot of saves, especially in the second
period."
With less than three minutes to play before the second intermission, the Pens
made it 4-0. Crosby's strong puck control in the high right slot gave him
room to maneuver toward the top of the right circle. Crosby waited for an open
teammate along the top rim of the circle and spotted Melichar, who picked the
puck away from Philadelphia's Randy Jones and fired home a snap shot from near
the inner portion of the lower left circle at 17:06.
The Flyers produced eight shots on goal in the third period, but Fleury stood
tall and protected the four-goal advantage.
"I thought in the second period we lost focus, but then in the third period we
played better," Therrien added.
