“Ned” Shines, Penguins Blank Vegas, 3-0

Unless your favorite hockey team happens to be a reincarnation of the great Canadiens dynasty of the 1970s (or the present-day Bruins), losing hockey games is as inevitable as death and taxes. The key is to nip potential losing streaks in the bud.

Our Penguins did just that last night at PPG Paints Arena. Entering the contest on a two-game slide, the black and gold righted the ship with a surprisingly strong team effort against defending Cup champion Vegas.

The result? A brisk 3-0 triumph. All the more impressive since we played (and lost to) Carolina the night before.

Fresh off a stint on LTIR, backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic earned the heroes laurels, not to mention top-star billing, with a sparkling 38-save performance. The Parma, Ohio native and unabashed Cleveland Browns fan had some help, mostly in the guise of a solid defensive effort by his teammates, who for the most part kept his sight lines clear and the Golden Knights away from the prime scoring areas.

Too, the Pens received something as rare in these parts as an alligator paddling down the Mon. Namely, secondary scoring.

Ryan Graves got us off and running just past the two-minute mark of the opening frame thanks to a great bit of work by our third line.

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