3 Takeaways: Islanders Get Shut Out 7-0 By Penguins

The New York Islanders seemingly had a built-in advantage heading into Wednesday’s game, as the team who didn’t have to travel day-of in the first contest after the NHL’s Holiday Break.  

Instead, they were the team who fell flat, losing 7-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at UBS Arena.

“It was pretty ugly,” Brock Nelson said following the Isles first 7-0 loss since Feb. 25, 2017 and first game allowing seven-or-more goals since Dec. 17, 2019. “For whatever reason we were the team that wasn't really ready. We felt a little unorganized, a little lost. [It’s] unacceptable for us, not a whole lot of good to take from that one.”

A six-goal second period was the main culprit – the Isles first time allowing six goals in a period since March 21, 2000 – and sent the Islanders to just their second regulation loss in the month of December.

“A weird lull in the second period obviously cost us the game,” Mathew Barzal said. “Sold out rink like that tonight in front of our fans, it's unacceptable. We have a game in two days that we'll be ready for and put on a better show for them.”

Kris Letang’s six-assist night – including the first five-point period for a defenseman in NHL history – led the way for the Penguins. Jake Guentzel (2G, 1A), Evgeni Malkin (2G), Rickard Rakell (1G, 1A), Radim Zohorna and Valtteri Puustinen (1G, 1A) scored for the Penguins, while Marcus Pettersson dished four assists and Tristan Jarry recorded a 22-save shutout.

With the loss, the Islanders’ three-game point streak overall and four-game home winning streak against the Penguins came to a close. However, the Isles (41 points) still maintained second place in the Metropolitan Division, as the Philadelphia Flyers were idle.

Islanders Surrender Six Goals in Second Period:

The second period was an ugly one for the Islanders, who allowed six goals to the Penguins in the middle frame. It marked the 10^th time in team history the Islanders allowed six or more goals in a period – and first since March 21, 2000.

“We're definitely going to have to address something after tonight,” Barzal said. “They got a couple of free looks close to Ilya tonight in the crease that we can't be giving up so we'll clean that up.”

Rickard Rakell opened the scoring for the Penguins at the 6:44 mark, shoveling in a loose puck in the crease after Ilya Sorokin was only able to partially stop Sidney Crosby’s deflection of a Marcus Pettersson point shot.

It appeared that the referees had blown the play dead, but after a review from the officials, the officials overturned their original ruling due to the puck still being in continuous motion.  

The Isles fell behind 2-0 10:15 into the second period, as Jake Guentzel reached out for a slick tip on a Kris Letang point shot, one of his five assists in the period, which tied an NHL record for most assists in a period and set the mark for defensemen.

The Isles called their time out, but it did not have the intended effect, as the Penguins extended their lead 12 seconds later. Guentzel was sprung on a breakaway and he beat Sorokin with a glove side snap shot.

Things continued to unravel after the 3-0 tally. Evgeni Malkin scored a pair of goals at 12:48 and 16:06, first snapping a wrister stick side on Sorokin and later tapping in a loose puck on a backdoor play. Radim Zohorna capped the period with a goal at the 17:13 mark.

The game was already a goner by the time Valtteri Puustinen beat Semyon Varlamov with a one-timer in the third period, but the frustration was still palpable in the room after the game.

“The concerning part is just our lack of ability to stop the bleeding and have a response,” Anders Lee said. “You're going to have moments where they pop one or two quick, but to let it get to where it got it's just part of our DNA… The lack of the bite to end that is the part that's going to sit with us the next couple of days until we can rectify it.”

Islanders Offense Comes Up Empty

It was an uncharacteristic night for the Islanders offense, which had scored three-or-more goals in 17 of the team’s last 19 games heading into Wednesday. The Isles were shut out for just the second time this season and first since a 1-0 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Nov. 25.

The offense had a hard time finding traction from the jump, generating four shots in a low-event, but scoreless first period and were only credited with seven shots by the halfway point of the game.

To fully illustrate the disparity in the second period, consider the Islanders finished the frame with seven shots, while the Penguins scored six goals – and peppered Ilya Sorokin with 20 shots. (Semyon Varlamov relieved Sorokin in the third period.)

In the shutout loss, Anders Lee’s three-game point streak (3G, 2A) came to a close.

Wahlstrom In, Gauthier Out

Lane Lambert made one lineup move ahead of Wednesday’s game, with Oliver Wahlstrom drawing in for Julien Gauthier.

Wahlstrom, who was a healthy scratch in nine of the 10 prior games, played on a line with JG Pageau and Simon Holmstrom, recording 8:19 TOI with one shot attempt blocked.

Noah Dobson played 26:03 in the loss and in the process set an Islanders record with his 16^th straight game averaging over 25 minutes.

Next Game

The Islanders vowed to be better their next time out, which comes on Friday night when they host the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m.