Where Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is getting criticized for his lineup decisions in Game 1 of the Penguins’ playoff series against the Islanders, Barry Trotz is getting praise for one of his.
The Islanders coach decided to dress former Penguins winger and two-time Stanley Cup champion Tom Kuhnhackl. And he was excellent in the Islanders’ 4-3 overtime win. At times he looked more like Mike Bossy in an Islanders uniform than he did the gritty penalty-killing specialist when he was in Pittsburgh during championship runs in 2016 and 2017.
“He was dancing, he was skating,” Trotz said, according to the New York Post. “The one thing about Tommy, he’s got two rings with that team across the hall. There’s a reason that he has been part of two champions. When the moment is big, he knows how to be big in that moment.”
Kuhnhackl played 17:42 on the right wing of a line with Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson. Twice he got the puck by Penguins goalie Matt Murray. But neither goal was able to withstand replay review.
Trotz decided to play Kuhnhackl over 22-year-old Michael Dal Colle. He said he made that call based on the former Penguin’s penalty-killing abilities. But the Isles got far more offensive push than they expected from him.
And likely, more than what the Penguins expected, too.
