The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the New York Islanders in their home opener on Thursday night. The Penguins carried their momentum from their 3-0 win over the New York Rangers to defeat the New York Islanders 4-3.
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Aside from one goal, Tristan Jarry was outstanding, making 34 saves. Ilya Sorokin picked up the loss, making 24 saves.
Game Recap
Just three minutes into the game, the Islanders found themselves down a man. Alexander Romanov was called for high-sticking. On the ensuing power play, Evgeni Malkin needed just 32 seconds to put the Penguins up 1-0. At 12:02, Matthew Schaefer picked up his first point in the NHL with an assist on Jonathan Drouin’s game-tying goal. The Islanders came close to taking a lead late in the period from a shot by Anthony Duclair, but Jarry managed to get a skate on the puck, redirecting it off the post and out. The teams went into the intermission deadlocked at one, with New York leading 12-11 in shots.
The second period saw plenty of goals and a big period for the rookies on both sides. Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead as he skated down the right-wing wall and rifled a shot by the blocker of Jarry. Just over a minute later, Harrison Brunicke scored his first career goal to tie the game at two. Sidney Crosby came in clutch to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 8:58 after a tap-in pass from Malkin. In the first game of his career, the Islanders’ Max Shabanov scored his first goal with 41 seconds left to tie the game. The Islanders outshot the Penguins by a 14-9 margin.
The third period was a tightly contested one. It took just over 14 minutes for someone to break through as Justin Brazeau continued his solid play. Anthony Mantha made a quick-up play to Malkin in their defensive end. Malkin sprung Brazeau on a breakaway, who went forehand to backhand and over the stretched-out pad of Sorokin. The Islanders made a valiant effort to tie the game, but ultimately fell 4-3.
Both teams return to the ice Saturday night (Oct. 11). The Islanders return home to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Penguins remain on home ice as they welcome Mike Sullivan for the first time since becoming the New York Rangers’ bench boss.
