Crosby, Penguins Explode for 4 in the 1st

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby wasted no time in asserting their dominance against Philadelphia, Tuesday night. The Penguins roared out to a 4-0 lead to conclude the first period with fireworks. Despite the Halloween Theme happening in the stands, what happened on the ice in the first was nothing short of spooky……for Brian Elliott.

Justin Schultz kicked off the festivities with his first goal of the season just under six minutes into the game. Schultz’s shot from the post didn’t appear lethal but it caught Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott off guard and flutter over his right shoulder for the games first tally. Jared McCann took a Dominik Kahun feed 2:16 later to stretch the Penguins’ lead to two. The play was made possible by Kahun’s work on the goalline to strip Ivan Provorov of the puck and send a quick pass to the waiting stick of McCann. The Penguins’ top line added the final two goals through a Sidney Crosby-Dominik Simon connection. Simon scored the third goal by taking a feed from Crosby and snapping a shot under Elliott’s blocker. Crosby capped the scoring by receiving a cross-ice pass from Dominik Simon and roofing a wrist shot over Elliott’s glove to give the Penguins a 4-0 lead.

The first period proved to be just another stop on the Penguin’s domination trip of Philadelphia of late. Last season, the Penguins picked up points in three of the four meetings with Philadelphia, going 1-1-2. Going back further, the Penguins have points in seven of their last eight games (5-1-2) and are 10-4-2 in their last 16 games against Philadelphia.

Speaking of themes, the scoring trend didn’t escape Dan either,

If you're named Dominik, you may also get two points tonight.

Kahun (0g, 2a). Simon (1g, 1a).

— Dan Kingerski 🇺🇦 (@TheDanKingerski) October 29, 2019