Snap Shots: Round 1, Game 1 vs. NYI

WHAT HAPPENED:

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Obviously, it wasn't good to see the Penguins take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission and ultimately lose the game, as results are what matter at this time of year.
But there's a lot of hockey left to be played in the series, and I agree with Sidney Crosby when he said the Penguins did a lot of good things in this game. I thought they outplayed the Islanders for the first two periods and overtime, and should have had more to show for it. If they continue to trust in the process and have faith in their game plan, they should be just fine.
The captain set the tone for Pittsburgh from the drop of the puck, as his line with Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust came out flying, and the rest of the team followed. Head coach Mike Sullivan said it would be important for the Penguins to push the pace and dictate the terms, and that's exactly what they did.
"I thought we were on our toes, created a lot," Crosby said. "I still think there's still some things to improve on, but we came out with the right mindset and generated a lot of chances. We'll look to continue to do that."
After Gaudreau tied the game 1-1 in the first period, Crosby deflected a puck past Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin to give the Penguins a lead just 3:47 into the second. And while it's a positive the chances Crosby mentioned were there, you started to get the feeling that some of those missed opportunities might come back to haunt the Penguins.
It was a combination of great goaltending from the rookie Sorokin, who ended up making his NHL playoff debut after veteran Semyon Varlamov couldn't go after suffering a strain in the Islanders' regular-season finale, and the Penguins not being able to execute and bear down.
"I thought that we had some chances to build on our lead when it was 2-1, and we didn't, and they were able to hang around," Crosby said. "So it would have been great to hold on to the lead, but a team's going to push, and they did."
And unfortunately, the Penguins just were not able to find a way to swing momentum back onto their side for an extended period of time - and the Islanders ended up scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead. The Penguins did have a good response with the goal from Kapanen with 3:30 remaining to force overtime, where they controlled much of the play, but just weren't able to find the winning goal.
"I don't think there was any moment where the game turned," Sullivan said. "I think there were surges on both sides, and that's playoff hockey. You've got to try to simplify the game and get back on your toes when you're on your heels and the other team surges. … That's the nature of this time of year. We've got to make sure that we minimize the times when we're on our heels and we've got to try to get to our game often as we can."

OTHER THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

- MALKIN SITS OUT
Evgeni Malkin did not play in today's contest.
After missing 23 contests with a lower-body injury, Malkin returned to play in the last four games of the regular season. He sat out the final 8:48 of the third period in the finale after thinking he tweaked something in a collision. Malkin then practiced with the team all week, but did not do line rushes or work with the first power-play unit during Saturday's skate.
The rest of Pittsburgh's core leadership group stepped up with strong performances in Malkin's absence. Crosby was just operating on another level throughout the course of the game, with Islanders head coach Barry Trotz calling him "the gold standard." I thought defenseman Kris Letang was fantastic as well, playing terrific hockey in all three zones.
In other lineup notes, Brandon Tanev returned to game action after missing the last 18 games of the season with an upper-body injury, and Evan Rodrigues slotted back in after missing the last four games of the season with a lower-body injury.
- UP AND DOWN BETWEEN THE PIPES
It was a game filled with ups and downs for Jarry. The Penguins netminder certainly had a couple of goals he'd like back, primarily Palmieri's first goal and Pageau's tally, which both beat him glove side from the circle.
But Jarry also came up with some huge timely saves at different moments of the game, like when he stopped Cal Clutterbuck on a breakaway, denied Pageau on a quality shorthanded chance and kicked back his pad for a huge save to open the second.
"I thought Tristan made some big saves throughout the course of the game to keep the game where it was at," Sullivan said of the 26-year-old, who is in his first NHL postseason as the starter. "There were there were some good saves at both ends of the rink. I just think we have to be better as a group."
Jarry's teammates are completely confident that he's going to bounce back in a big way.
"He's been great for us all season long," defenseman Cody Ceci said. "He's still won us a lot of games, even tonight he gave us a chance. There was a few times where they could have ended it and he's made some made some big saves, so he was a key part of our team and we're not worried about him. He's a great player and he's going to be there for us next game."
- SPECIAL TEAMS SUMMARY
And speaking of ups and downs, the Penguins' penalty kill experienced its fair share of those throughout the course of the regular season, finishing 27th in the league. But today, they came up incredibly clutch at a crucial time after Jeff Carter was given a double minor for high sticking in the second period with Pittsburgh holding a 2-1 lead.
The players that went over the boards for Pittsburgh did a phenomenal job, putting on a clinic and not giving the Islanders anything. They were absolutely suffocating, playing hard and playing smart to put themselves in position to get clear after clear.
"That was big for sure," Gaudreau said. "I think we were all on the same page and obviously you want to kill those penalties. It gives a momentum to the team and for sure it was good to get that done."
The power play didn't fare as well, as the Penguins ended up going 0-for-3 on the afternoon. I thought they started off incredibly strong, as the first unit held the zone the entire time on their first chance and had some great looks, including one from Crosby. They didn't have quite as much zone time on the second chance, but still generated some momentum. However, the third time was not the charm, as the Islanders ended up getting the best chance of the power play.
"The third one we had I thought we didn't quite move as well, but definitely that first one we got some momentum, got a lot of shots," Crosby said. "Tanger found me there, and I've got to bury that. So if we continue to put pucks on the net that that way and get recoveries like that, we'll generate some scoring chances and the puck will go in the net."
With Malkin out, Jared McCann slotted onto the first unit with Letang, Crosby, Guentzel and Rust.