Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Islanders 4

Observations from the Penguins’ 5-4 win against the Islanders in Game 3:

Sidney Crosby has been limited thus far in this series, at least in terms of producing offense.

Through three games, he has one stinking goal.

In contrast, Islanders fourth-liner Cal Clutterbuck had two in Game 3 alone.

But the Penguins’ captain is still making an impact even if he’s not scoring goals.

He’s been preventing them.

First, in Game 2 on Tuesday, at 7:46 of the first period, he was Johnny-on-the-spot in clearing a rebound chance by Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau with goaltender Tristan Jarry scrambling to get into position.

A goal there and the game is tied, 1-1. Instead, Crosby kept the Islanders off the scoreboard for the time being and allowed his team to eventually claim a 2-1 win.

On Tuesday, with his team protecting a one-goal late in a chaotic third period, he did something similar, but with much higher stakes.

After Jarry kicked out a wide rebound to the left circle, where Islanders forward Brock Nelson collected the puck and had a seemingly wide-open net to shoot at. But a diving poke check by Crosby deflected the puck out of play at 16:55 of the third.

A goal there likely sends this game to overtime.

That’s two big plays by the NHL’s most complete player in preventing goals.

“I don’t know if he’s been on the scoresheet, but I mean he’s playing real good hockey,” Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said. “You can tell. He made that play late in the game to stop (Nelson) from an empty net. He’s playing committed hockey.”

What happened

It took the Penguins all of 2:03 into regulation to claim a lead. In New York’s right corner, Penguins forward Brandon Tanev hounded Islanders forward Jordan Eberle into a turnover. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang settled the puck at the right point and chucked a wrister toward the net. Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock was positioned above the crease and appeared to have the puck glance off his right leg and through goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s five hole. It was Letang’s first goal of the postseason. There were no assists.

Things were tied, 1-1, at 11:03 of the second period. Taking a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield dragged the puck around a kneeling block attempt from Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese and lasered a wrister from the right circle past Jarry’s glove on the near side for his first goal. Forward Mathew Barzal and Eberle collected assists.

Any momentum the Islanders had generated was quickly snuffed out by Penguins forward Jeff Carter collecting his second goal at 13:34 of the second. Racing into the offensive zone on the right wing, Carter whistled a far-side wrister from the right circle that rung off the far post and hit twine. Forward Frederick Gaudreau and defenseman Marcus Pettersson tallied assists.

The Penguins established a two-goal lead at 18:03 of the second. Corralling a loose puck above the left circle of the offensive zone, Zucker curled to the slot, separated from pursuing Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy and lifted a wrister past Varlamov’s glove hand for his first goal. Malkin and Letang had assists.

A goal by Clutterbuck made it a one-goal contest 3:46 into the third period. After Penguins defenseman John Marino lost his helmet during a battle in his left corner, he retreated to the bench per NHL rules. As defenseman Cody Ceci scrambled to replace him on the ice, Clutterbuck was able to clean up a rebound for his first goal. Assists went to forward Casey Cizikas and Mayfield.

Things were tied, 3-3, with a power-play goal. Following a furious quarrel between all 10 skaters on the ice that resulted in all 10 players being sent to the penalty box for minor penalties at 5:35 of the third period, the Islanders ended up with a power-play opportunity and converted when forward Anthony Beauvillier collected his first goal at 5:54. Taking a pass to the right of the cage, Beauvillier swept a forehand shot through Jarry’s five hole. Forward Barzal and defenseman Noah Dobson netted assists.

The Penguins reclaimed a lead, 4-3, at 7:00 of the third with their first power-play goal of the series. After Malkin corralled a puck at the left point of the offensive zone, he slipped a pass to the left circle for Carter who had a clean look at the cage and snapped a wrister past Varlamov’s blocker on the near side. Malkin and forward Kasperi Kapanen had assists.

It was tied yet again, 4-4, at 14:47 of the third. Mayfield launched a wrister from the right point of the offensive zone. Clutterbuck got position on Ceci to the left of the cage and redirected the puck past Jarry’s blocker. Mayfield had the only assist.

The game-winner came late in regulation at the 16:24 of the third. Off a pass from the left corner of the offensive zone by forward Zach Aston-Reese, Letang chopped a one-timer from the right point. Tanev was positioned above the crease and deflected the shot up in the air then swatted a forehand shot past Varlamov’s blocker. Letang and Aston-Reese netted assists.

Statistically speaking

• The Islanders led in shots, 30-27.

• Barzal led the game with five shots.

• Marino, Tanev and Matheson each led the Penguins with three shots.

• Letang led the game with 24:20 of ice time on 26 shifts.

• Pulock led the Islanders with 22:15 of ice time on 28 shifts.

• The Islanders had a 30-27 lead in faceoffs (53%).

• Cizikas was 10 for 14 (71%).

• Carter was 14 for 20 (70%).

• Pulock led the game with three blocked shots.

• Defenseman Brian Dumoulin, forward Jared McCann, Aston-Reese, Malkin, Matheson and Pettersson each led the Penguins with two blocked shots.

• Jarry made 26 saves on 30 shots.

• Varlamov made 22 saves on 27 shots.

Randomly speaking

• In case there were a few of you still mad about the Penguins giving up a third-round pick to get Carter… are you convinced yet?

When his new team needed him, he delivered. He arrived from the Los Angeles Kings as a proven playoff performer and he has delivered thus far with three goals in three postseason games.

What is uncanny about his scoring is how effortless he makes it look. When he shoots, it’s almost like he’s just lobbing a floater on net. But when it arrives at the net, it’s some pinpoint missile that looks like it’s been guided by radar. Most players have to squeeze atoms out of their sticks to pick their shot. He just places his shot so casually.

• Malkin returned to the lineup after missing two games due to a presumed right knee injury. He didn’t look like the dominant entity on the ice that he typically is but he was adequate. His mobility was fine but he wasn’t necessarily all that physical. He seemed to read the play well and distribute the puck well to his linemates. It was a solid but hardly spectacular first step back into the lineup for Malkin.

• This game was just pure chaos in the third period. There were 15 penalties alone in the period, all of them minors.

As mentioned above, there was a simply bizarre sequence at 5:35 of the third period. After the Islanders essentially tried to push Jarry and the puck into the net for a goal, the Penguins objected and a scrum broke out. And it never seemed to end. It would die down then spark up. Die down then spark up. By the time officials calmed things down and sorted everything out, all five non-goaltenders — forward Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Crosby, Letang and Brian Dumoulin of the Penguins as well as forwards Kyle Palmieri, Oliver Wahlstrom, Pageau, Mayfield and Leddy of the Islanders — were given roughing minors. Guentzel was given an additional slashing minor.

As a result, each penalty box had five players taking up temporary residence.

This author can’t recall having seen that many players in the penalty box on minor penalties alone. Usually, major penalties are involved for a scene like that.

• Later on, Clutterbuck was given a goaltender interference minor at 6:23 of the third after he appeared to try and pin Jarry to the ice like a wrestler. Then Islanders forward Matt Martin tried to wrestle Crosby and Marino to the ice before Jarry pulled him off. Martin and Marino ended up with minor penalties

• A lot of this was by the Islanders’ design. They work through chaos. That fourth line of Martin, Cizikas and Clutterbuck wants to create bedlam in order to drag the opponent to somewhere they don’t want to go. And with the ear-splitting atmosphere, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum provides, it just gets amplified.

The Islanders got some benefit out of this approach in how they kept coming back but the Penguins were able to forge through and claim a win.

• The NHL issued an explanation of why Crosby was allowed to leave the penalty box after the Beauvillier goal:

“As all penalties were assessed at the same stoppage, the Coincidental Penalty Rule (19.5) is applied — cancelling as many minors as possible regardless of occurrence. PIT designates the player to serve the remaining minor before penalty starts. In this instance PIT chose Crosby.”

• Zucker getting a goal was no small thing. He does a lot of little things well. Stuff like plays off the boards and getting back to help out defensively. But he needs to score to provide his full value to this team. It has largely been a disjointed season for him with injuries but it’s fair to scrutinize his lack of scoring. He (and his team) needed that goal in a lot of ways.

• The anti-Letang brigade had a quiet night. He just drove so much for this team in Game 3. He wasn’t perfect but so much of what he did in this game was on the positive side. And he simply created offense by putting pucks to the net.

• The Penguins getting a power-play goal was a big step in the right direction. They were 0 for 5 through the first two games then cashed in on a pretty important sequence in the third period. There remains work to be on this unit but it took a good step forward.

• This fourth-line of Aston-Reese, Tanev and forward Teddy Blueger was just a force in Game 3. They contested every inch of the ice the Islanders tried to claim. Furthermore, they helped generate the first and last goals of the contest. It says a lot about this team’s depth to have that trio as its fourth line.

• Jarry looked like he was trying to hold back the ocean at times in the third period. Pucks and Islanders players kept trying to enter his net and he denied most of them entry. The numbers don’t look great but he was fantastic under the conditions in the third period.

• The Penguins took a couple of bad penalties through this game. Specifically, Blueger took a slashing minor late in the first period while McCann was nabbed for cross checking in the third period. They were lucky the Islanders failed to truly make them pay for those mental miscues.

• The Islanders are not getting enough from their top line. Barzal and Eberle finally got points, but they have been mostly empty jerseys out there.

Eberle is the most surprising considering how he usually collects offense against the Penguins.

Their inability to score has been a testament to the Penguins’ commitment to defense.

• It’s hard to say one would ever predict Mayfield to be an offensive driver, but he had a nice tidy game with a goal and two assists.

• The Islanders needed more from Varlamov in this game. If he makes even one customary save on Carter’s goals or Zucker’s score, this game goes to overtime.

• It was fantastic to be in person for this game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It’s such a cramped imperfect building but that’s what makes it marvelous.

Attendance was listed as 6,800 due to capacity limits related to the pandemic but it might as well have been three times that number. With the low ceiling, all the noise generated by fans bounced around like a rebound off the boards. And the Islanders fans create that atmosphere with tons of individual chants for specific Islanders players or the opposition. The Islanders are slated to move into their new building next season, but this is a special venue when the Islanders’ fans get amped up.

• Speaking of the attendance, most of it was situated in the end the Penguins’ defended twice while the other end was much more spaced out:

There’s a vaccinated end of the building and a non-vaccinated end: pic.twitter.com/1XA2KoEm0s

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) May 20, 2021

The difference was based on whether or not fans were vaccinated. It was a very unique approach to a very unique situation.

• This photo by colleague Chaz Palla of Tanev? A work of art:

Historically speaking

• Gaudreau recorded his first career postseason assist.

• Letang had his fifth career three-point postseason game.

• This was the first postseason game in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum since April 22, 2019.

• Leddy was penalized for his role in that never-ending scrum mentioned above. That was his first postseason penalty in nearly seven years. His last infraction in a playoff game came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks on May 24, 2014.

Publicly speaking

• Letang on the chaos in the third period:

“You have to stay calm, collected. We have a lot of guys that have been in those situations. We knew going into this game, it’s a loud building, they’re really good at home. They have a lot of guys that bring energy in that building. You just try to play the same way. … In the playoffs, the momentum swings back and forth and it’s important that when it’s not in your favor, that you grab it as quick as possible.”

• Carter on his team’s toughness:

“You look at our roster, the way that it’s built, you probably wouldn’t think that. There’s a lot of different ways in this league to be a tough player. It’s a resilient group, they don’t back down from anybody. And they stick up for each other, they stick up for their teammates. It’s fun to see, it’s nice to see.”

• Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on his team’s toughness:

“You can define toughness different ways. My experience of coaching this group since I’ve been here suggests to me that this is one of the toughest cores that I’ve ever been around. They’ve played through whatever they have to win. There’s a certain resilience about it. … There were a lot of emotions but I thought we did a really good job just responding through some of the adversities throughout the course of the game but in particular the third period.”

• Islanders coach Barry Trotz was succinct on Carter:

“He’s got three goals in three games. He’s been a little bit of a difference-maker for them.”

• Letang on Carter’s second goal:

“You can’t teach that. That’s like pure goal-scoring ability. He’s been really good for us since he (joined) our team. It’s a tough shot. I don’t know if he expected (it) but he’s one of the guys that can make it happen. It was just an unbelievable shot.”

• Carter on Malkin:

“He looked strong. He was moving well, making plays. On my second goal there, he made a great play to me. I was just trying to go to the net. I didn’t expect the pass. But good players make those plays. It was fun to have him out there. He brought a big boost to our lineup.”

• Trotz was less than complimentary on Varlamov’s play:

“We’ll have to look at it. Sometimes, your first reaction might not be favorable.”

• Beauvillier on the atmosphere in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum:

“You could feel the energy of the crowd. Every hit you would make, they were cheering. It obviously got us going. A lot of energy. The games are going to get harder and harder. We hate each other a little bit more every game. It’s going to be tough games coming up but we’re looking forward to it.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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