The New York Islanders were unable to find their grove on Thursday in the Steel City and their eight game point streak came to a close at the hands of Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-1.

First Period

The first period was fairly even for the most part. The shots in the frame were 14-11 in favor of New York, but the story of the period was turnovers. Pittsburgh led the game in takeaways in that frame by an 8-3 margin, and the Islanders found themselves stuck in the defensive zone for long stretches. As a result, the Penguins benefitted early as a Brock Nelson turnover at the left dot led to a Kasperi Kapanen takeaway and shot. Sidney Crosby tipped it home to put the Penguins up 1-0 on his sixth goal of the year at 4:15 of the opening period.

Second Period

After both teams failed to convert on power-plays throughout the middle period, Pittsburgh was able to take advantage of another structural collapse by New York. After a long shift in the Islander end, Michael Matheson collected his own rebound on a board shot and put the rebound on net, and the puck squeaked through Semyon Varlamov’s pads. A busted coverage by Noah Dobson left Teddy Blueger wide open to bury it for his third of the season, assisted by Matheson and Zach Aston-Reese, at 18:01 of the period.

Third Period

The Islanders’ struggles continued into the third period, as a lost board battle set up a nifty passing play between Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Jason Zucker to put Pittsburgh up three at 9:11 of the final period. Brock Nelson finished a passing play around the outside on the doorstep to make it 3-1 on a power play goal, but Bryan Rust put the game out of reach on an empty netter, finishing off a 4-1 win.

Game Notes

For Pittsburgh, the offense was a marquee reason for the win. Eight different skaters registered points in the game, including Rust, who has now earned points in four of the last five games. His season totals now read six goals and nine assists for 15 points with eight points in his past four (4-4-8).

Also, Jarry, who has struggled thus far this season, enjoyed his best performance of the season for the Penguins with 31 stops on 32 shots by the Islanders.

Despite the Islanders’ loss, Semyon Varlamov once again played a strong hockey game. Varlamov made 33 saves on 36 shots against, and he made several strong saves to keep his team’s ambitions afloat.

Josh Bailey extended his point streak to three games as well with five assists in that span. Nelson, who has also struggled on offense to this point, got the team’s lone goal, his second in three games.

Although it was not tremendously meaningful, the Islanders hope this is the beginning of a hot streak for the center.

A Dirty Hit

However, an interesting development came late in the third. Inside the final five minutes, Matheson hit Mathew Barzal from behind, setting up a power-play for the Islanders’ lone goal. The hit bothered the Islanders, and several players on both sides got into scrums, leading to several late penalties.

With both teams getting a day in between games, the Islanders will likely remember that as the rematch approaches on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Matthew Page

I am a first year student at Hofstra University and an avid Islanders fan. I have been writing for Drive4Five since March 2020. My family has been season ticket holders for the team since 2016, and hockey is my favorite sport. As I expand my knowledge in the field of Journalism, I am writing to express my love for the Islanders and the NHL.