Penguins blow late lead, fall to Islanders in overtime
The crown jewel of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ modest accomplishments through all of 21 games of the 2019-20 season has been their penalty kill.
Entering Tuesday, it was the second-best penalty-killing unit in the NHL. Much of that success could be attributed to how infrequently that squad had been utilized.
Prior to Tuesday, the Penguins also had been the second-least penalized team in the NHL. Discipline had been as much a part of the penalty kill’s success as blocking or preventing shots.
On Tuesday, the Penguins turned away every power-play opportunity they faced but the third one they gifted the Islanders led to a crucial goal in a come-from-ahead 5-4 overtime loss to the rival New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.
Forward Bryan Rust took his first penalty of the season at 13 minutes, 37 seconds of the third period, a tripping minor on Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy. While the Penguins did officially deny the Islanders’ attack during the ensuing two minutes, they allowed forward Josh Bailey to score only four seconds after Rust bolted out of the penalty box to make it a 4-3 contest at the 15:41 mark.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan called that goal “the killer.” Rust labeled the call by officials on his infraction as “terrible.”
That sequence allowed the Islanders tie the score, 4-4, at 18:28 on a goal off a one-timer from the point by defenseman Ryan Pulock. At 2:55, Islanders forward Brock Nelson converted a defensive zone turnover by defenseman Justin Schultz into the winning score and gave their Islanders their first regular-season overtime triumph against the Penguins since a score by forward Patrick Flatley on goaltender Frank Pietrangelo produced a 4-3 win at the Civic Arena on Dec. 23, 1990.
While the Penguins earned a point, this setback was particularly unappetizing considering it came on the heels of a thorough demolition of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6-1 home win Saturday.
“It’s a tough one,” said goaltender Matt Murray who finished with 37 saves on a season-high 42 shots against. “It’s a tough one for sure. It felt like we had it right there and just couldn’t get it done.”
“It (stinks),” Schultz said. “I thought we were in control there. It doesn’t feel good right now. We’ll learn from it and try to get better for Thursday.”
The Penguins get a rematch with the Islanders on Thursday in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
They started off this game in a fashion which suggested they were in control. A power-play goal by Rust at 11:34 of the first and an even-strength goal by forward Brandon Tanev nearly five minutes later at the 16:18 mark put the Penguins up 2-0.
The Islanders forced a tie, however, when forward Anthony Beauvillier and Nelson scored even-strength goals at 2:39 and 5:30 of the second period, respectively.
Another even-strength score by Tanev at 14:31 of the second and a power-play tally by forward Jake Guentzel at 2:39 of the third restored a seemingly secure two-goal lead, 4-2, for the Penguins.
Just not secure enough.
The Penguins’ record in overtime games dropped to 3-3 this season.
“We’ve got to get better at three-on-three,” Schultz said. “That’s one thing that sticks out. For whatever reason, it’s just a struggle for us right now. We’ve just got to figure that out.”
“When we play five-on-five, we play differently,” forward Evgeni Malkin said. “Systems, we don’t play man to man. In (overtime), three-on-three, it’s man on man. We’re a little bit confused. In the (defensive) zone, on five-on-five, we never play man on man. But still, it’s our job. You see an (assignment) who you play, you need to stay with him close. Maybe we need to start to work a little bit more in practice.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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