Letang gets 5 assists in 2nd period, Penguins cruise against Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Kris Letang became the first defenseman in NHL history to get five points in one period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins cruised to a 7-0 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

Letange had five assists during a six-goal second period for the Penguins. He added an assist in the third period to tie the NHL record for most in a game by a defenseman.

“I only [found out] after the game,” Letang said about setting an NHL record. “I think Todd (Reirden) mentioned it to me, but he was not 100 percent sure. It's one of those nights where everybody seemed to score every time I gave it to them.”

Jake Guentzel had two goals and an assist, Evgeni Malkin scored twice, and Marcus Pettersson had four assists for the Penguins (16-13-4), who extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1). Tristan Jarry made 22 saves for his NHL-leading fourth shutout of the season.

“I thought the first period was a pretty low event period on both sides. There weren’t a lot of plays, there wasn’t a lot of extended zone time for either side,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought in the second period we did a much better job of controlling territory and establishing some offensive zone time. I think a lot of it starts in the neutral zone, and we made good decisions with the puck. I thought our guys did a real good job, and that goes a long way to setting the game up the way we want to play it.”

Ilya Sorokin allowed six goals on 25 shots through two periods for the Islanders (16-9-9), who have lost four of six (2-2-2). Semyon Varlamov made six saves on seven shots in the third.

“I mean, just a really bad stretch,” New York forward Mathew Barzal said. “We poured it on in the first period, could have had a couple then. ... So, as bad as the score is, the game could have been a lot different if we score first in the first period.”

Rickard Rakell gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 6:44 of the second period, jamming in a rebound after Guentzel's redirection got behind Sorokin.

Guentzel made it 2-0 at 10:15 with a redirection of Letang's point shot that was going wide of the net. He then scored 12 seconds later on a breakaway off a stretch pass from Rakell to push the lead to 3-0.

Guentzel's second goal came after a timeout by Islanders coach Lane Lambert.

“We had to wake up. [There was] a lot of hockey game left,” Lambert said. “Then, clearly, it didn't work this time.”

Malkin made it 4-0 at 12:48. He skated in from the blue line, took a pass from Reilly Smith all alone in the slot, and scored short side past the blocker of Sorokin.  

Malkin scored his second of the period by tapping in a backdoor pass from Letang to make it 5-0 at 16:06.

Radim Zohorna extended it to 6-0 at 17:13, scoring on a rebound in the crease with his backhand off a 2-on-1 with Valtteri Puustinen.

It was the first time Pittsburgh had scored six goals in one period on the road since March 21, 2000, when it also scored six times in the second period against the Islanders in an 8-2 win.

“I thought the team played a great game. We had a well-structured game, we were sticking to the plan,” Jarry said. “That helps us execute. I think that puts us in a good place. You see how many goals we got in and around the net. I think that’s a recipe for success.”

Puustinen scored his first NHL goal to make it 7-0 at 9:48 of the third period. He buried a one-timer from the left circle off a diagonal cross-ice pass from Letang.

“It's always fun when you're the guy that sets up the first NHL goal,” Letang said. “I think Sid [Crosby] had all of them, but it's cool. It's a special moment for the player, and you just saw it on his face, how special it was. It was cool to do.”

NOTES: Dale Hawerchuk is the only other player in NHL history to have five assists in one period, doing so for the Winnipeg Jets in a 7-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on March 6, 1984. ... Letang is the first defenseman with six assists in a game since April 4, 1986 (Gary Suter). ... Rakell has scored in consecutive games after not getting a goal in his first 19 games this season. ... Pettersson's four assists were an NHL career high.