Empty Thoughts: Islanders 4, Penguins 3 (OT)

Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Islanders in Game 1:

It wasn’t the most vital juncture of the game. But it might have been this contest’s most spectacular moment.

Late in the first period, the Penguins were operating on a power play and looked dominant doing it. They were moving the puck around the offensive zone as if it were guided by remote control and appeared to be on the verge of doing something special.

And they nearly did.

Setting up shop to the right of the cage for that tap-in play he loves, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby made eye contact with defenseman Kris Letang, as they’ve done countless times in practices and games. From above the left circle, Letang shuffled a shot/pass to the goal line where Crosby re-directed the puck on net.

Instead of collecting what would have been yet another dazzling goal in a career with far too many to tabulate, Crosby was denied on a stunning left skate save by Islanders rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin at the 18:51 mark.

Crosby has scored that type of goal so many times. And he practices that maneuver in an obsessive fashion. That play doesn’t happen by accident.

But for one moment, Sorokin had his skate out far enough to come away with that save.

A goal there and the Penguins claim a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

As it is, Crosby was able to give his team that advantage early in the second period with another adroit stick deflection in an even-strength situation.

But getting a goal on that power-play could have changed the route this game took.

“(Letang) found me there,” Crosby said via video conference. “I’ve got to bury that. If we continue to put pucks to the net that way and get recoveries like that, we’ll generate some scoring chances and the puck will go in the net.”

Overall, the Penguins were 0 for 3 on the power play. They were better early on with their first chance in the first period — getting two shots — than they were with the two chances in the second period — getting one shot.

Their power play wasn’t necessarily the reason they lost. But it sure wasn’t the reason they won, obviously.

Even if forward Evgeni Malkin is sidelined due to his presumed right knee injury, the Penguins have enough of a track record with forward Jared McCann operating in his place on the top unit to show they can produce, even against a stout defensive unit such as the Islanders. A goal at any point with their power play makes this a much easier game for them.

The Penguins need a little more from their power play entering Game 2.

“The first (two power-play chances), they were really good,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We had a lot of zone time. We had a lot of territory, we had some good looks. The chance Sid had, that was a real good save on their part. The later (power-play chance) we got … we weren’t quite as good. But you have to give them credit. They defended hard as well. We’re just going to keep going. We believe in the power-play groups that we have. They’ve been really good for us. They had some looks. They didn’t finish but we believe in them.”

What happened

The Islanders took the contest’s first lead 7:58 into regulation. Taking a bank pass off the left wing boards of the neutral zone, forward Kyle Palmieri crisscrossed with linemate Olivier Wahlstrom at the offensive blue line and surged into the right circle. With Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson providing minimal resistance, Palmieri lifted a wrister over goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left shoulder on the near side. Assists went to forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenseman Noah Dobson.

Things were tied, 1-1, at 11:10 of the first period. Settling a loose puck in the high slot of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Frederick Gaudreau had a wrister blocked by Islanders forward Josh Bailey. Gaudreau claimed the rebound, veered to the right circle and sniped another wrister past the right shoulder of Sorokin on the far side. Forward Evan Rodrigues recorded the lone assist.

Crosby put his team up, 2-1, 3:47 into the second period. Taking a pass at center point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin lobbed a wrister toward the cage. Above the crease, Crosby shrugged off a check from Islanders defenseman Andy Greene and reached his stick into the shooting lane with his right hand, inducing a course correction on the puck causing it to hop past Sorokin’s right leg and into the cage. Assists were tallied by Dumoulin and forward Jake Guentzel.

Things were tied, 2-2, 3:33 into the third period. Taking advantage of a line change by the Penguins, Pageau gained the offensive zone on the left wing and from the left circle, he lifted a fairly pedestrian wrister that beat Jarry’s left shoulder on the far side. The only assist went to defenseman Scott Mayfield.

The Islanders reclaimed a lead at 15:50 of the third period. After gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier centered a pass to the slot for forward Brock Nelson. Using Letang as a screen, Nelson slipped a wrister under Jarry’s glove. Beauvillier and defenseman Ryan Pulock collected assists.

It took the Penguins only 31 seconds to respond. After forward Jeff Carter gained the offensive blue line, he left a drop pass at the right point for linemate Kasperi Kapanen. Moving into the right circle, Kapanen used Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield as a screen and ripped a wrister past Sorokin’s blocker on the far side to tie the game, 3-3. Carter and defenseman Cody Ceci had assists.

Palmieri struck again at 16:30 of the overtime period. Taking a pass off the Penguins’ end boards from Pageau, Palmieri lifted a wrister from the right circle that glanced off the left shoulder of Jarry and deflected into the cage on the near side. Assists went to Pageau and Wahlstrom.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins had a 42-41 edge in shots.

• Crosby and Pageau each led the game with five shots.

• The only Islanders skater who failed to record a shot was defenseman Nick Leddy.

• Letang led the game with 32:26 of ice time on 37 shifts.

• Defenseman Adam Pelech led the Islanders with 29:18 of ice time on 39 shifts.

• The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 37-33 (53%).

• Islanders forward Casey Cizikas was 14 for 28 (78%).

• Crosby was 16 for 28 (57%).

• Mayfield and Bailey each led the game with four blocked shots.

• Dumoulin and Letang each led the Penguins with three blocked shots.

• Jarry made 37 saves on 41 shots.

• Sorokin made 39 saves on 42 shots.

Randomly speaking

• The elephant in the room is Jarry. To be specific, his glove hand. All four of the Islanders’ goals were on his glove side, with three going high.

It’s just lazy to simply blame Jarry for this loss. But it’s disingenuous to not lay a lot of the blame at his feet. The factors in determining success or failure for his position are pretty binary.

He came through with some incredible saves at various times in this contest. Perhaps the best was a short-handed denial of Pageau off a fantastic opportunity created by Islanders forward Leo Komarov at 19:01 of the second period.

But some of the goals he allowed were very preventable.

He needed to be better. Period.

• Obviously, Malkin’s absence wasn’t ideal. Even at less than 100%, he is still a pretty dangerous entity. That said, the Penguins weren’t exactly waylaid with him missing, at least in five-on-five situations. Jeff Carter replaced Malkin as the center on the second line and he helped Kapanen generate a vital goal. Then Gaudreau replaced Carter as the third line center and he scored the Penguins’ first goal.

Are the Penguins a better team with Malkin in the lineup instead of …. say … Evan Rodrigues? Absolutely. But they managed his absence well.

• Penguins forward Brandon Tanev returned to the lineup after missing 18 games due to an undisclosed injury. He just looked like Happy Gilmore at a tryout. Just about every shift he took, Tanev tried to put someone in a white jersey through the wall.

He logged 16:27 of ice time on 30 shifts and had four shots as well as a game-high nine hits.

• Rodrigues returned to the lineup after missing five games due to a presumed left ankle injury. In addition to recording an assist, Rodrigues had 12:17 of ice time on 20 shifts and one shot attempt.

• The legend of Frederick Gaudreau continues to grow. It’s baffling how this guy went nearly two years between games at the NHL level. He’s not great at any one thing but he does a little bit of everything at a competent level. In addition to his goal, he logged 1:49 of short-handed time.

• Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson had a bit of a rough game as he returned to the lineup after missing four contests due to a face injury and almost looked the way he did in the early weeks of the season when he struggled to figure out his new team. He had a handful of turnovers and just looked overwhelmed by the Islanders’ forecheckers at points. Perhaps he had some rust from his layoff or wearing a face shield for protection threw him of. Regardless, the Penguins needed better from him.

Matheson logged 24:48 of ice time on 33 shifts and had one shot on two attempts.

• The Penguins’ first power-play chance was created as a result of a really dangerous trip by Sorokin against Guentzel. As Guentzel went wide to the left side with the puck on New York’s net, Sorokin swung his stick out for a poke check. Instead, he clipped Guentzel’s skate and caused him to crash violently into the end boards.

If you recall, Guentzel suffered his devastating right shoulder injury in December of 2019 after being tripped into the end boards.

Thankfully, this time, Guentzel popped back up and kept playing.

• For all the attention Malkin’s absence got, it completely overshadowed the Islanders turning to Sorokin with starter Semyon Varlamov still nursing an injury. After the game, Islanders coach Barry Trotz suggested Varlamov was held out of the game as a precaution and he could very well be in the lineup for Game 2. Regardless, Sorokin played a pretty strong game. He wasn’t perfect but none of the goals he allowed were all that leaky.

• Palmieri was one of the big targets at the trade deadline and the Islanders landed him. But he largely disappointed down the stretch of the regular season as he only scored two goals in 17 games with the Islanders. He made up for lost time in a big way on Sunday. Blessed with a laser beam of a wrister, Palmieri took advantage of Jarry’s wonky glove and cashed in.

• Speaking of trade targets, back at the 2018 trade deadline, the Penguins were looking at the Ottawa Senators’ depth chart for a center to pivot their third line. They landed Derick Brassard and that project was nothing short of a disaster. They had also kicked the tires on Pageau before ultimately pursuing Brassard.

It’s very easy to say this now but Pageau would have been a far better fit for the Penguins’ needs at that time. He plays a hard game, he has a great set of skates and he also offers a fair amount of skill. That was evident in this game.

Historically speaking

• The Penguins have lost 10 of their past 11 postseason games.

• The Penguins’ last overtime loss in the playoffs was a 3-2 neutral site setback against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the qualifying round of the NHL’s jury-rigged postseason tournament at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Aug. 1, 2020. Defenseman Jeff Petry scored the winning goal.

• The Penguins’ last overtime postseason loss to the Islanders was a 4-3 road defeat at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Game 1 of a first-round series on April 19, 2019. Bailey scored the winning goal.

• This was the longest postseason game between the Penguins and Islanders at 76:30. The previous high-water mark of 68:44 came in a 5-4 road win by the Penguins in Game 3 of a 2013 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, May 5, 2013. Forward Chris Kunitz scored the winning goal.

• Rodrigues made his postseason debut and recorded his first career postseason point.

• Gaudreau has four goals in nine career postseason games. In contrast, he has five goals in 103 career regular season games.

• Palmieri became the first player in Islanders history to score an overtime goal in his first postseason game for the franchise.

• Sorokin made his postseason debut.

Publicly speaking

• Sullivan on the game:

“I know we have more to give. We have the ability to be a better team. I thought there were moments when we were real good in the game. There were moments when they had momentum. It was a really even game. That’s what we expected. They’re a good team. We believe we’re a good team also.”

• Ceci on Jarry:

“He’s been great for us all season long. He’s won us a lot of games. Even (Sunday), he gave us a chance. There were a few times they could have ended it and he made some big saves. He’s a key part of our team. We’re not worried about him. He’s a great, great player and he’s going to be there for us the next game.”

• Gaudreau on Jarry:

“(Jarry) is a (heck) of a goaltender. We’ve always had great confidence in him. We know how good he is. Our level of confidence towards him will never change. He’s awesome.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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