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Sidney Crosby, Brent Johnson power Penguins past Flyers; Could there be a goalie controversy in Pittsburgh?

brentjohnson30

James O’Brien

Is it too early to wonder if there might be a goalie controversy in Pittsburgh?

Probably, but that won’t stop many from wondering if Brent Johnson should be “the man” in net for the Penguins. The team’s dirt-cheap backup (he’ll register a $600K cap hit for the next two seasons) is now 3-0 in this young season while $5 million starter Marc-Andre Fleury is 0-3.

It’s overly simplistic to lay all the praise at Johnson’s feet and make Fleury the scapegoat for those losses, but Johnson has been outstanding. He stopped 81 out of 85 shots in his three appearances so far, allowing only four goals in three games. In a stark contrast, Fleury allowed 10 goals from only 68 shots, registering an abysmal 85.8 save percentage so far this season.

Yes, it’s beyond hasty for the Penguins to crown Johnson their new king in net. Yet in an 82-game season, there’s nothing wrong with riding the hot hand.

Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 1

crosbyvsflyers

James O’Brien

While I’ve voiced my disapproval of the Penguins playing gifted but defensively suspect forward Evgeni Malkin on the point, it’ll look like Pittsburgh’s power play was dominant, going 2-for-7 thanks to two slap shot goals by Sidney Crosby. I’m not the only one to point this out, but the “Crosby sucks” chant in Philadelphia is taking on comical levels of desperation, as the Penguins forward now has 26 goals and 59 points in 33 career games (both in the regular season and playoffs) in the City of Brotherly Love.

Crosby also assisted on Chris Kunitz’s first goal, as the Penguins came back from a 1-0 deficit to score five unanswered goals and win this one to the frustration of their cross-state rivals. Mark Letestu continued his impressive start to the season in place of an injured Jordan Staal, scoring his third goal of the season (and what would stand as the game-winner) in the last minute of the second period. Matt Cooke poured a little salt in the Flyers’ wounds with an empty net goal.

One bright spot for Philadelphia was the play of Danny Briere. The small forward scored his fourth goal of the season in the first period and would have had another if Johnson hadn’t robbed him with two outstanding successive saves.

Despite going 1-3 at home so far this season, the Penguins will probably be tied with the New York Islanders for the Atlantic Division lead once tonight is over (the Islanders are up 4-1 against Colorado while the New Jersey Devils are down 4-1 against the Boston Bruins at the moment). Of course, the Islanders have played one less game - five to the Penguins’ six - so they’ll technically be ahead at the moment. Either way, the Penguins will take it.

The question is, could Johnson take Fleury’s job?