Pens 4, Devils 2

The coming of age Penguins may just have taken that big step forward. The First place Pittsburgh Penguins (hey, it has been a long time) were able to beat arguably one of the best goaltenders of all time for 4 goals on a night when the nation was watching. The Pens got a balanced effort from their top 2 lines and some key saves from hopefully the next great goaltender. Malkin was also able to show why the future of the Penguins is not only bright but blinding. His highlight reel goal was able seal away the win.

The Pens went down 1 - 0 when Fleury left a big rebound on a deflected shot that Gomez was able to put in an open net. This usually spells doom for the Penguins who had yet to win after giving up the first goal and the Devils usually then put 5 people across the net in an attempt to let time run out. Ekman however was able to catch the Devils in a line change which gave the Pens some life when he wristed the puck past Brodeur. The Pens were then able to take control in the second when Malkin set up Crosby with a nice feed as Crosby trailed the play. Staal then got his first even strength goal on nice passes from Ekman and Recchi that left Staal with a wide open net to make it 3 - 1. The Devils got back to 3 - 2 on a goal that I still can't figure out how Brylin got it behind Fleury from behind the net. Malkin then used all his tools to make the Devils D and Brodeur look like rookies to put the Pens back up two. If you haven't seen the goal yet find it at ESPN or TSN.

Letang was scratched from the lineup as Welch was called up which makes it look like he is going to be going back to his Junior team which really isn't a major set back as all Defenseman take awhile to develop. Staal on the other hand is pretty much making it impossible to send him back because if they do it is strictly a financial move and a fear of losing him in two years.

Next up the last place Flyers in Philly...