Penguins – Islanders Series Buzz
As the series shifts back to Pittsburgh tonight and is now a best-of-3, are the Pittsburgh still a slight favorite by default due to having home-ice?
Home-ice is rarely a significant advantage in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Penguins at home this season are just a different type of hockey club. There’s no denying that.
They have an ability to storm out of the gates that also played out in games 1 and 2 of the series, and they’ve just been more of a 60 minute type hockey club at home compared to the road.
Trying to predict what plays out the rest of the way, the Penguins have that going for them.
Other than that, the Islanders should feel good about where things are trending their way.
Over the last four periods of play, the Islanders have outscored the Penguins 7-3 and even the likes of Sidney Crosby have admitted the Islanders have been the better team at dictating the terms of late.
The disappointing part of the Game 4 loss wasn’t that the Islanders evened up the series, it was how the Penguins lost the game.
Sometimes there are signs of a carry over from game to game in the postseason, especially as a series progresses from Game 3 and on.
Around the league, you saw a lot of carryover from the Game 3 winner to the Game 4 winner but not with the Penguins.
Pittsburgh’s Game 3 win was a thrilling resilient win and the pressure was on the Islanders for Game 4. The Islanders came out blazing in Game 4 and were ‘shooting their shot’ in period, one but came out empty on the scoreboard. The Penguins survived the initial Islanders wave where the game was on the platter for Pittsburgh after that Islanders early big push but there was just no killer instinct from the Penguins. Pittsburgh imploded, and went away from everything that helped turn them into the contender they surprisingly re-emerged back into this season.
The Islanders are all-in on how they want to play the Penguins. Try to punish the Penguins best players below the dots, get under their skin after the whistle and this series now hinges on whether the Islanders have cracked the Penguins a bit or not.
Does the return to home ice see the Penguins tighten things back up and attack the Islanders with layers of a fast-skilled-disciplined game or have the Islanders actually taken control of the series in dictating the terms?
The Penguins came into the series as the favorite and the pressure has turned back onto them for Game 5
MORE BUZZ
— Mike Sullivan today called Tristan Jarry’s play in the series “great”. Jarry who ranks 17th out of all goaltenders in ‘expected saves’, has been anything but great. Coming off a bad loss and back at home, Expect a fast-paced start for the Penguins but can they get to Ilya Sorokin early? Could tell where Game 5 goes……
— Not earth shattering, but Marcus Pettersson and Jason Zucker have been among the lowest graded players this series in the Penguins inTo read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Another player near the bottom of the Penguins internal tracking, defenseman JTo read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
MAF would not be topped… 3 goals on 14 shots!!! But I am sure it is someone else’s fault.
Pens in 8
Do you comment on the Pittsburgh Hockey Now site?
Just heart breaking to lose a game on a bonehead play like that…
I would almost start Maxime Legace in game 6 what do we have to lose…. look what Spencer Knight did in Florida first start team rallied he was brilliant…
Screw almost, he should def be the starter. Even if by some miracle the Pens win the next two, Boston will feast on Jarry.
Boston vs Colorado in the finals.
The Penguins looked terrific and dominated most of the play. They are right there unlike Washington who looked old and slow versus Boston.
We won the division something we haven’t done in a long time we are a correct tweak or two from going deeper.
Goaltending has cost us two games and that will kill you…
Penguins if they don’t comeback will need to add some sand paper and lose some dead weight (Zucker Petterrsson Mccann.
Time to let young Pierre Oliver Joseph play on defense next year…
The Penguins played a terrific game and dominated most of it…the difference plain and simple goaltending. Sorokin stole this game Jarry as in game 1 gave it away with that bonehead play in double OT..
Pens lost because of puck luck
Zucker and McCann should be scratched next game. Empty jerseys. Whoever signs Rutherford should have to take Zucker. That guy is so fing worthless.
Zucker, Pettersson, Mccann all need to go…
Which is about $13 million…
That is great… good luck getting rid of them. Pettersson has 4 more yrs at $4,025,175 and Zucker has 2 more yrs at $5.5 with a M NTC. McCann is the only movable piece with 1 yr left at $2.94 and then he is an RFA. JR fuckked this team hard.
Yeah that is true but Detroit Seattle, and a few others could use a steady (all be it soft ) defenseman to fill up cap space and their rosters. (Pettersson)
Blackhawks have cap space and are in dire need of scoring and maybe they take Zucker for Zadorov who is a beast and would give us some much needed muscle, grit and sandpaper.
Does Jarry get an assist on that goal?
Yeah the primary one.
Jarry cost his team two games in this series.
yep which is why we will lose probably……….they may have to search for a goaltender.
Columbus has two good ones… just saying
2 goals on 14 shots. Nice one Jarry. His mentor fraud murray did a good job showing him those skills
Considering Murray won two cups, it’d be great if Jarry could replicate that. Unfortunately he was drafted when MAF was here, so there’s also the chance he’ll be a 5mil backup.
So did fraud Price.
9.5m Investment to show up only on powerplay
Paging Evgeni Malkin.
“You have a telephone call at the front desk”
It looks like he received it.
Jarry hasn’t been great. For that reason, the over at 5.5 at +120 is pretty appealing.
How about MAF
According to your agenda partner npl he has done worst than fraud murray this year
I stopped caring about MAF when he got traded. He torpedoed half of 87/71s prime, got benched for Vokoun, benched for MM who then won two cups and benched for lehner who got brought in because MAF is a disaster in the playoffs. His imminent meltdown will probably come next series when they’re actually playing a contender. You should pretend you don’t have his balls in your mouth every now and again when you post.