Game Recap: Penguins 6, Islanders 2

The New York Islanders had an off night on Thursday and it resulted in a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, their second straight regulation defeat.
Brock Nelson's shorthanded goal had the Islanders in a 1-1 tie in the first period, but the Penguins rattled off four straight scores, including three in the second period, to take control of the game. Anders Lee's teaming-leading 11th of the season made it 5-2 in the third, but that's as close as the Islanders came, as Sidney Crosby halted the comeback bid.

Phil Kessel had a game-high four points (2G, 2A), while Crosby (1G, 2A) and Jake Guentzel (3A) each had three-point nights. It was an out-of-character night for an Islanders team that has spent the early part of the season developing an identity as a structured, hard-working group.
"We just didn't bring the effort. We just weren't invested enough, we have to work harder," Scott Mayfield said. "We're not a team that can take nights off and we know that. We have to make sure we bring it every night."

LETANG SCORES TWO, NELSON NETS 10TH IN FIRST PERIOD:

Kris Letang scored both Pittsburgh goals in a 2-1 first period. The offensive defenseman opened the scoring with a snap over Thomas Greiss' left shoulder at 8:34 and re-established the Penguins lead off a slap shot from the point with 29 seconds to play in the period.
Sandwiched between Letang's tallies, Nelson put the Islanders on the board with a shorthanded goal. Former Penguin Tom Kuhnhackl dug the puck out of the corner on the shorthanded forecheck and fed Nelson, who out-waited Casey DeSmith before sliding a backhander five-hole.
Head Coach Barry Trotz felt Nelson's goal should have been a momentum-swinger for the Islanders, but the push was prematurely cut short by Letang's second goal - which even interrupted the in-arena announcement of the Islanders goal.

PENGUINS SCORE THREE IN THE SECOND PERIOD:

The game got away from the Islanders in the second period, as the Penguins scored three goals to extend their lead from 2-1 to 5-1 in a span of 10 minutes. Riley Sheahan batted an Evgeni Malkin rebound out of the air to make it 3-1 at 7:21, while Kessel finished a pair of Crosby setups for the fourth and fifth tallies.
"We just gave them too much space, back-door tap-ins and left Greisser out there," Mayfield said.
In total, the Penguins outshot the Islanders 13-4 in the middle frame, a period Trotz felt his team did not play hard enough.
"We played too friendly of a game," Trotz said. "We didn't have enough skin invested in the game. Right across the board, we needed a couple of saves, some D could play a bit better and some of our forwards who are a little more physical could be more assertive in that area. Our skill guys are going to have to produce. No one was immune today."

GIBSON MAKES SEASON DEBUT IN THIRD PERIOD:

Christopher Gibson got his first game action of the season in the same building he made his NHL debut back in 2016, relieving Thomas Greiss (16 saves on 21 shots) for the final frame.
Gibson made six saves on seven shots including a breakaway stop on Crosby, though the Penguins captain got revenge later, beating Gibson with a sharp-angled snipe to make it 6-2.
"We haven't had a game like that in a long time," Mathew Barzal said. "It's probably the only positive thing to come out of this. For the most part we've been in every single game and made a push. We just have to re-group and the next game is a big one."

NOTES:

Lee's goal extended his scoring streak to four games… The Islanders power play went 0-for-2 and is now 0-for-19 in the past nine games.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head to the Motor City to face the Detroit Red Wings for the first time this season.