Penguins defeat the Ducks 3-1 in PIttsburgh

by Theresa · Published November 19, 2013 · Updated November 19, 2013

GIBBONS MAKES IMPACT
Gibbons was watching football when he received the call Sunday night from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach John Hynes that he had been called up to join the Penguins.

Hynes told Gibbons that he was ready to play at the highest level, and just to continue playing his game.

Less than 24 hours after receiving the call, Gibbons heeded Hynes’ advice and made an impact in a huge way.

Gibbons, 25, tallied his first career NHL goal at 3:52 of the third period, breaking a scoreless tie and at the same time propelling the Penguins out of their recent scoring drought.

FLOWER BLOOMS
The Pens may have been slumping going into this game, but it wasn’t because of the play of their goaltender. Fleury has been excellent for his team this season, save for his 5-1 setback against the Rangers on Nov. 6, and continued that tonight against the Ducks.

Fleury was sharp from the start, keeping his team in the game after an opening 20 minutes where the Ducks kept him busy and fired 12 shots at him. But he kept them all out of the net, and his game allowed his teammates to get to theirs in the third – where they ended up scoring a pair of big goals. Fleury then finished strong, preserving the lead for his team.

Fleury made a number of big saves in the game, but perhaps his most important one came with 6:46 left in regulation with Anaheim trailing by two. The Ducks had a 2-on-1 opportunity with Andrew Cogliano getting a pass from Corey Perry and going in alone on Fleury, who slid over and made a magnificent blocker save to keep Anaheim from getting any momentum.

“I saw him coming in the backdoor,” Fleury said. “I wasn’t sure if Perry was going to shoot or pass it so I was just trying to get there and get a piece.”

Fleury finished with 27 saves and improved his record to 12-6. He has now allowed two of fewer goals in 10 of his 11 home starts. >> Continue Reading <<