For the love of Tom Selleck, don’t shave the stache! Pascal Dupuis, still sporting the facial hair he was forced to grow after losing the team shootout competition at the start of the month, scored two goals to lead Pittsburgh to a 3-0 win at Carolina Saturday. The victory ended the Pens’ 0-2-1 slide and got their four-game road trip off to a good start.
Dupuis has four goals in 12 games with the stache. Why ruin a good thing? I think Dupuis needs to keep it until he cools off. Arron Asham made a sweet play to set up Max Talbot’s second-period goal. Asham looked a little rusty in his first couple games back from injury, but he looked good Saturday and was rewarded with an assist.
Saturday’s win also showcased Brent Johnson, who was brilliant once again in stopping all 33 shots he faced. It was his first shutout since 2006. Johnson improved to 5-0-1 with a ridiculous 1.16 GAA this season. In case you were wondering, the Pens’ “backup” is currently second in the league in GAA and save percentage (.960).
If there was any doubt before Saturday, there can’t be any now – Johnson needs to play ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury. I’m not saying Johnson should supplant Fleury as the number-one goalie, but he’s playing great right now and the team is feeding off him. It’s quite obvious to this blogger: the team hasn’t lost in regulation with Johnson between the pipes. He needs to start Wednesday in Dallas. In fact, he needs to start until he loses.
Original Story:
http://penslabyrinth.com/2010/10/31/s...
