I’m not sure where the New York Islanders celebrated their critical 4-1 playoff win against the Penguins on Saturday night. They could have done a lot worse than Dan Feeney’s house.
Did you see Feeney, the New York Jets’ huge, mullet-headed offensive lineman, in the stands at Nassau Coliseum during the second period after Josh Bailey scored to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead? He crushed a beer, much to the amazement of the Jets’ No. 1 pick, quarterback Zach Wilson, who sat next to him but doesn’t look old enough to be anywhere near an alcoholic beverage and went to BYU where beer-drinking is frowned upon. It brought back wonderful memories from a few years ago of Big Al Villanueva ripping off his shirt and pouring a beer all over himself after a Penguins playoff goal at PPG Paints Arena.
Ah, the good old days.
The point is, the Islanders and their fans had plenty to celebrate on a steamy hot May day on Long Island.
The Penguins and their fans, not so much.
The glaring reason the Penguins came up short was their penalties. They took six, with the Islanders scoring two power play goals in the third period to break open a close game.
But just as obvious was the continued lack of production from the Penguins’ top line. It’s getting a bit ridiculous, isn’t it? Let’s review how little Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel have done offensively in this series, which is now tied at two games apiece.
• Crosby didn’t get a point for the third consecutive game after scoring a marvelous deflection goal in Game 1. He had just one good scoring chance Saturday when he glided across the Islanders’ goal crease early in the second period only to be denied by rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
• Rust didn’t have a point for the third time in four games. He scored a goal in Game 2, but that was an absolute gift from goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who flubbed a glove-save attempt early in the first period. He has just two goals in his past 18 playoff games.
• Guentzel has gone three games without a point despite putting 19 shots on net in the series. His only point was a secondary assist on Crosby’s goal in Game 1. He has just two goals in his past 14 playoff games.
Who saw this coming?
Crosby, Rust and Guentzel combined for 69 goals and 161 points during the regular season. They were right at the top of the list of reasons the Penguins won the East Division.
On the other hand, maybe we should have expected this. This isn’t the first time the Islanders have tormented Crosby, Rust and Guentzel.
When the Islanders swept the Penguins out of the 2019 playoffs in the first round, Crosby, Rust and Guentzel had just one goal from Guentzel and one assist from Crosby. They were a combined minus-10 in the four games. It was no surprise the Penguins managed only six goals in the series.
It was no fun watching that bad movie.
It’s been no fun watching it again this spring.
“These guys are good offensive players,” Mike Sullivan insisted before the Penguins headed back to Pittsburgh Saturday night, suddenly facing a best-of-three series. “We’ve just got to stay with it.”
It’s nice to think the goals and points will come from the Crosby line, beginning in Game 5 Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Crosby is Crosby. He has 69 goals in 172 postseason games. Never underestimate him, right? Rust was a clutch playoff scorer earlier in his career. He had a total of 13 goals when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. Guentzel, who has taken a physical beating from the Islanders in this series but keeps getting up, has 25 goals and 47 points in 49 postseason games. You have to figure the puck is going to go in for him if he keeps getting shots on net.
At least that’s what Sullivan is figuring — not just with Guentzel, but with his top line.
“It’s going to take just hard work and stick-to-itiveness,” he said.
If only it were that simple.
