3 takeaways: New York's Anders Lee, Brock Nelson continue to own Penguins

Three takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss to New York Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena:

A pair of Penguins killers

Few players across the National Hockey League have been more troublesome for the Penguins this season than New York’s Anders Lee and Brock Nelson.

Lee scored a pair of goals Thursday, including the equalizer with 75 seconds remaining in the third period to tie the game 3-3, while Nelson buried his 28th goal of the year just over two minutes into overtime, elevating the Islanders to an impressive comeback victory.

OUR CAPTAIN. ANDERS LEE. pic.twitter.com/RU6MxiZx2p

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 10, 2023

Sorokin with the perfect stick and Brock Nelson with the OT GWG for an INCREDIBLE EXCITING THRILLING #ISLES ENDING!! pic.twitter.com/VK54FRiuFu

— Isles on MSGSN (@IslesMSGN) March 10, 2023

With their win Thursday, the Islanders swept the regular-season series against Pittsburgh, winning all four games.

It would be an understatement to note that Lee and Nelson played major roles in every affair.

Lee scored two goals against the Penguins on Dec. 27, added two goals and an assist Feb. 17 and scored yet another goal two nights later Feb. 19.

As for Nelson, he logged multi-point games (four goals, three assists) against the Penguins in their three prior meetings this season.

“They’re good players,” Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry said. “They go to the net hard, and they occupy a lot of space around the blue paint. That’s the toughest spot to defend in the NHL nowadays. You see a lot of goals being scored there, and obviously, they’ve got good hand-eye (coordination) and are very good in front of the net. It’s hard to box them out.”

Inexplicable collapses

The way Lee and Nelson have performed serves as a fitting microcosm regarding how New York as a team has played against the Penguins this season.

When the teams met for the first time Dec. 27, the Islanders cruised to a 5-1 victory.

But in their three meetings since, Thursday evening included, the Penguins have managed to blow third-period leads.

They led 4-3 in New York on Feb. 17 before allowing two third-period scores. On the 19th, they were up 2-1 after two periods only to surrender three unanswered goals in the third.

As for a correlation between the collapses, coach Mike Sullivan was unable to oblige with much of an explanation, with Thursday’s result falling into the same bag as the games the Penguins played against New York in February.

“I wish I had an answer for you,” he said. “I thought for the majority of the night, we were the better hockey team. It just seems like (New York) was being opportunistic. They pushed in the third period and got a couple of goals. It’s natural.

“I thought for the most part, we handled it pretty well. There were a couple of instances where (the puck) ended up in the back of our net.”

Glass half-full

It’s unlikely Sullivan or any Penguins players was much in the mood for a glass-half-full analysis of Thursday’s game.

Ultimately, two points slipped through their hands in frustrating fashion, going instead to New York, the team immediately above them in the Eastern Conference standings.

But at this point in the season, the Penguins should be pros at shaking off tough losses, of which there have been many to date.

On Friday morning, the Penguins will still sit only two points behind the Islanders for the first wild-card spot, with three games in hand over New York.

The next three games for the Penguins are at home, including two against nonplayoff teams in Philadelphia and Montreal.

Despite the setback Thursday, ample opportunities remain in the near future to rack up points.

That said, the Penguins are far from in a position to continue shooting themselves in the foot.

Having barely escaped a loss Tuesday against Columbus — the worst team in the NHL — Saturday’s game vs. the Flyers will be an opportunity to regroup, refocus and get back in the win column.