PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania:
The Pittsburgh Penguins took another step toward history yesterday in Jarome Iginla’s debut despite an injury to National Hockey League scoring leader Sidney Crosby.
Penguins captain Crosby was hit in the face with the puck and was taken to hospital for repairs in the first period but his teammates stepped up to beat the New York Islanders 2-0 and extend their win streak to 15 games.
After being hit in the face by a shot from teammate Brooks Orpik just 1:28 into the game Crosby was able to leave the ice under his own power before being taken to hospital for emergency dental repairs.
“Sidney Crosby took a puck to the teeth, and lost a few of those,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “He had to have oral surgery. We’ll continue to evaluate and monitor that. That’s the report on Sid, going to the hospital and losing teeth.”
Crosby leads the NHL with 15 goals and 41 assists this season.
Pittsburgh’s 15-game streak matched the Islanders’ run from January 21- February 20, 1982 as the second-longest in league history.The Penguins set the NHL record with 17 consecutive wins during the 1992-93 season.
Goaltender Tomas Vokoun stopped all 35 shots he faced for the third straight shutout by a Pittsburgh netminder.
“It’s nice come up with the shutout, but to preserve the win streak, it’s even better,” Vokoun said.
“We have a lot of fun with it and it’s been great.” Czech Vokoun combined with Marc-Andre Fleury for 37 saves in a 1-0 decision over Montreal on Tuesday, then stopped 20 shots during Thursday’s 4-0 win over Winnipeg.
Iginla played his first game as a Penguin after being acquired from the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
He played on a line with Crosby during the Olympic hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Games but Crosby’s injury meant Iginla never got a chance to reunite on the ice with his fellow Canadian yesterday.
Iginla, who spent all his 17 previous seasons in Calgary, didn’t score any points but he did finish with three shots on goal in 17:30 minutes of ice time. AFP
