\After an ugly 7-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, the Pens needed a solid overall performance on Friday to redeem themselves. The team did just that, responding with a decisive 4-1 victory against New Jersey.
\Christmas came early for Chad Ruhwedel, who scored his first career NHL goal Friday on a wrist shot past Devils netminder Cory Schneider from the blue line after a beautiful feed from Chris Kunitz. Evgeni Malkin got an assist on the goal, his second of the night, continuing his dominance at PPG Paints Arena. The Russian-native has 29 points (7G-22A) in just 19 games at home.
\After making a season-high 41 saves against Toronto in his last start on Saturday, Marc-Andre Fleury had an equally impressive game on Friday. He made a flurry of spectacular saves on the night, but the play that stuck out most to me was when Fleury was able to kick out the stick of Devils captain Andy Greene on a mini breakaway to turn the shot to the post and prevent a second Devils' goal.
\The defensive pairs got a shakeup on Friday, with Ruhwedel slotting in for Derrick Pouliot and the duo of Justin Schultz and Ian Cole being split up. The changes seemed to work as the defense played one of their best games since losing both Kris Letang and Trevor Daley to injury. Olli Maatta in particular stuck out. The young Finnish-native played a strong, physical game all night, which was nice to see from a guy who usually flies under the radar. He finished the evening with a plus-3.
\Sidney Crosby remains red hot. His opening power-play goal on Friday night was his 24th in his 29 games played this season to remain on the top of the NHL. Crosby has now scored the first goal in the Pens' last three contests. The captain is playing on a whole other level. Fleury testified after the game that even after a long career together, Crosby still amazes him.
\Schultz has been on a tear of his own. The defenseman recorded the assist on Crosby's goal, continuing his December dominance. Schultz leads all NHL defensemen in points for the month with 15 points (5G-10A).
*A day after welcoming his son into the world, Eric Fehr scored his fourth goal of the season when a Devils' clearing attempt went off of his body and into the net. Goal No. 1 for 2-day old Benjamin Stanley. Props go to Matt Cullen for some sweet moves as he squeezed through the New Jersey defense.
