Pens 3, Islanders 2

When Crosby is in the lineup good things usually happen. I could but this at the beginning of every post and it would be correct just about every time. Crosby returned from a sore groin to assist on Armstrong's first two goals of the season. It was such a great site to see Armstrong finally get that monkey of his back. Armstrong had to do a double take to make sure that it actually made it in the net and there was no one happier for him then Crosby, who basically lifted him up for about 30 secs.

Crosby put his first shift of the game to good use when he was able to find Armstrong in the high slot coming late. Armstrong then put the puck in the net over DiPietro glove and into the corner of the net. The Pens however then seemed to pack it in for awhile as the Islanders were able to get the next two goal and pretty much seemed to control the game. It took Crosby and Armstrong to connect again to liven them back up. Crosby took a nice pass from Recchi and fired the puck on DiPietro. The puck bounced up in the air and as Crosby was being pushed away from the net he batted the puck back toward the front of the net. Armstrong was gliding into that area and tomahawked the puck in the net. Thorburn was then able to use a little more luck and score the game winning goal. Thorburn was able to put a puck in off of the back skate of DiPietro from behind the net.

Fleury played really well in net for the Pens stopping 32 of 34 shots the Islanders put on him. He has had a little luck on his birthday with a couple of shots clanking off the post and Ekman helping him keep a puck from completely going over the line.

Next up are the Devils on Friday...