Playoffs by period: Penguins couldn't solve Islanders' strategy or avoid a sweep
THIRD PERIOD: Islanders 3, Penguins 1
The strategy for the New York Islanders is simple: Sit back and wait for the opponent to make mistakes.
The Penguins were all too happy to comply.
That made their Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series a bad matchup for the Penguins, despite the two teams being separated by only three points in the regular season.
We could blame the Penguins for being spent after being forced to play playoff-caliber hockey in March, just to qualify for the postseason for the 13th consecutive season.
But Tampa Bay provided the counterpoint to that argument. The Lightning cruised into the President’s Trophy by winning 62 games and finishing with 128 points, only to be swept by Columbus with a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
And it would be shortchanging the effectiveness of the Islanders.
They didn’t just outplay the Penguins. They totally neutralized them, whether it was holding the Penguins to five even-strength goals in four games or stifling one of the NHL’s top power plays into going 1 for 11, including 0 for 6 at PPG Paints Arena.
The Islanders were known for their stingy defense after going from worst to first in goals-against from 2018 to ‘19 under coach Barry Trotz, but the way they stymied a star-studded cast is still surprising. Phil Kessel, who scored 27 goals in the regular season, Evgeni Malkin (21) and Jake Guentzel (40) scored one goal apiece. Sidney Crosby didn’t score a goal and was held to an assist, on Guentzel’s goal 35 seconds into Game 4.
It wasn’t that the Penguins didn’t possess the requisite level of urgency or desperation in the final period to tie this game and extend the best-of-seven series.
They had their share of shots, but couldn’t capitalize.
And the Islanders weren’t willing to give them any second chances, as Josh Bailey’s empty-netter with 37.7 seconds left sealed the Penguins’ fate.
SECOND PERIOD: Islanders 2, Penguins 1
The Penguins haven’t quite figured out their power-play problems – it might just be the post – but Patric Hornqvist tried another tactic to get under Robin Lehner’s skin.
Drop the gloves and go after the goalie.
That’s something you don’t see every day.
First, the power play: Mike Sullivan drew laughter at the morning skate when he cracked that he’s asked Jake Guentzel whether he thinks the Penguins coach is crazy for not playing the team’s leading goal scorer on the top power-play unit.
Guentzel scored 40 goals this season but was stuck on the second unit until Game 4, when Sullivan switched him with Hornqvist. The Penguins were 1 for 8 with the man-advantage through the first three games and went 0 for 1 in the first period.
But they almost cracked the code, thanks to another move. In the second period, Sullivan moved defenseman Justin Schultz to the top unit for Kris Letang, and the Penguins did a better job of not just moving the puck but also setting up shots.
Schultz’s slap shot from the left point was wide of the net, but Phil Kessel corralled the puck and slipped a backhand to Sidney Crosby in the left circle. Crosby’s shot ricocheted off the left post and behind Lehner’s back but didn’t find the net.
Guentzel and Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck got into a scrum, and the chippy play carried over when the second unit came onto the ice. Hornqvist was in the crease when Lehner whacked him with the back of his blade.
Hornqvist poked him back. When Lehner whacked Hornqvist again, they started scuffling and Hornqvist dropped his gloves and took a shot. Never mind that Lehner is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound goalie and maybe the toughest character on the ice, or that Hornqvist stands 5-11, 189. It was a mismatch but a matchmaker’s dream.
And it got a quiet crowd pumped up again for the first time since the Penguins lost the lead.
Even if Hornqvist drew a minor penalty for slashing, the Penguins showed some fight.
If they are going to get swept, at least they’re going down swinging.
FIRST PERIOD: Islanders 2, Penguins 1
It took only 35 seconds for the Pittsburgh Penguins to gain a lead on the New York Islanders.
Keeping it was another story.
The shuffling of the top line for the third time paid immediate dividends for the Penguins. Jared McCann replaced Dominik Simon, who had replaced Bryan Rust, and got the secondary assist on Jake Guentzel’s first goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sidney Crosby forced a turnover on the forecheck, and McCann returned the puck to Crosby. The Penguins captain fed a backhand to Guentzel, skating through the slot to the bottom of the left circle for a top-shelf wrist shot past Robin Lehner.
The PPG Paints Arena crowd came alive, celebrating the type of fast start necessitated by a 3-0 series deficit. While the Islanders faced pressure with the chance to clinch, the Penguins had all the momentum to start Game 4.
That lasted all of 1 minute, 34 seconds.
The Penguins got caught on a two-on-one breakaway, with defenseman Kris Letang trailing the play as Mathew Barzal fed Jordan Eberle for his fourth playoff goal to tie it at 1-1 at 2:09.
That has been the story of this series. It’s not just that they can’t keep a lead – they have held the scoring edge for only 4:51 – but that they haven’t responded well to their success or answered their adversity. They had a chance to capitalize on the power play but failed to score there.
The Islanders did, as Brock Nelson gave them a 2-1 lead at 18:06.
Making mistakes, even major mistakes, is inevitable in the postseason. That the Penguins haven’t responded to their gaffes with goals has been their biggest error of the playoffs.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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