The Penguins on Saturday continued their domination of the New York Islanders in February, fighting back to beat them, 4-3, in overtime at Nassau Coliseum.
Kris Letang was the hero in the extra session, snapping a shot through a screen and past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov with 26 seconds on the clock.
The Penguins have won seven of eight games that went longer than 60 minutes.
Jared McCann scored 18 seconds into the third period to tie the score at 3. The speedy winger, playing his first game since Feb. 6, darted into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 rush. Evgeni Malkin got the pass across to McCann, who whipped a wrist shot past Varlamov’s blocker for his first goal since Jan. 24.
Saturday’s game was the fifth matchup with the Islanders in February. They have won their last four games against them and are 4-0-1 against them overall.
As has often been the case this season, the Penguins had to rally from behind.
The Penguins got a pair of power plays in the first period but did nothing with them. Then, with Cody Ceci in the penalty box after a questionable penalty call, Brock Nelson tipped a hard pass behind Tristan Jarry to make it 1-0. The Islanders have a power-play goal in four of five games against the Penguins this season.
Seeing an opponent score another power-play goal with a big body parked in front of the Pittsburgh net, one couldn’t help but think about Patric Hornqvist and how the Penguins have missed that element on their power play in 2021. Hornqvist, in case you are wondering, had five power-play goals entering Saturday.
Mathew Barzal scored a fluky goal off of John Marino’s stick to make it 2-0 early in the second period. But just 69 seconds later, the Penguins tied up the score.
With the Penguins on another power play, Sidney Crosby happened to put a slap shot on goal just as Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov took an odd tumble, leaving most of the net exposed. Letang buried a one-timer 26 seconds later and boom, just like that, the visitors suddenly had the home team on its heels.
All four of Letang’s goals this season have been scored against the Islanders.
The Islanders held firm and took advantage of a defensive breakdown to regain the lead before the end of the second. Crosby and Marcus Pettersson chased after the same guy, leaving Letang alone with two Islanders. Anthony Beauvillier got a pass through him to Josh Bailey, who banged a point-blank shot past Jarry.
The Penguins controlled the third period after McCann tied it up. They sent line after line after line at the Islanders, who had six harmless shots in the period.
The Penguins shook up their lineup after Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. McCann, back from injury, took over for Zach Aston-Reese on the Malkin line. Big Anthony Angello made his season debut with Mark Jankowski scratched. And Pettersson replaced Pierre-Olivier Joseph on the top defensive pair.
It was not immediately known why Jankowski, who signed a cheap one-year deal in the offseason, was out of the lineup. He got rocked by an illegal hit by Tom Wilson in Thursday’s loss. He also had not recorded a point in his last 16 games.
Either way, the Penguins have gotten hardly any offense or energy from their fourth line so far this season, preventing coach Mike Sullivan from rolling four lines like he would prefer to do. He is searching for a spark on that line, especially knowing his team has 31 games scheduled during the months of March and April.
Joseph being dropped down to the third pair was not exactly surprising given that Sullivan had glued the rookie to the bench in two recent games. But it is noteworthy with Brian Dumoulin on track to return in the near future. Joseph, who has cooled off after a strong start, could be the odd man out when that happens.
One constant in the lineup Saturday was Jarry, who made his seventh start in a row, tying a career high. He had won four of his previous six starts, two of those wins against the Islanders, while posting a .928 save percentage over that span.
Jarry stuffed Jean-Gabriel Pageau on a breakaway in overtime, setting the stage for Letang’s winning goal. He made 24 saves, two in OT, to earn another win.
The Penguins will conclude their four-game road trip Sunday on Long Island. It will be the first time this season that they play games on consecutive nights.
