Penguins embarrassed at home; lose 4-1 to Islanders

The Penguins were blown out by the Islanders in front of a record 18,634 fans. Their power play continued to struggle, going 0-3 with only three total shots, while the Islanders cashed in on both power play chances to put the game out of reach. While Marc-Andre Fleury struggled, allowing four goals on 17 shots in two periods, Evgeni Nabokov shined, shutting down the Penguins when the game was still close. The Islanders were quicker, grittier, and flat-out better, looking like a different team than the one that had lost 19 of their last 22 games in Pittsburgh.

Casey Cizikas got the Islanders on the board, taking advantage of a rare Paul Martin turnover. After the Islanders were buzzing around the Penguins’ zone, Cizikas took a puck off the boards and buried a wraparound on Fleury’s glove side. Cizikas’s goal marked the first time the Penguins gave up the first goal of a game this season.

There would be more.

The Penguins were sustaining pressure in the offensive zone, but Deryk Engelland whiffed on a puck at the blue line, giving Michael Grabner a breakaway. His snapshot trickled through Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the second.

Again, the Penguins found their way into the Islanders’ zone. They had quality chances on Nabokov with Pascal Dupuis firing over an open net. Moments later, Dustin Jeffrey missed a wide open cage after Kris Letang’s shot produced a huge rebound. As the Penguins continued to attack the Islanders, James Neal took a hooking penalty and put the Islanders’ 13th ranked power play on the ice.

The Isles went tic-tac-toe and John Tavares roofed a shot over Fleury’s right shoulder to extend the lead to 3-0. As if things couldn’t look any worse, Tyler Kennedy took a cross-checking penalty less than two minutes later. Matt Moulson would jump on a lose puck in front of the net and beat a sprawling Fleury who was still turning around to face the shot.

Fleury would be pulled to start the third period in favor of Tomas Vokoun.

With just over a minute remaining in the second, Colin McDonald took a major boarding penalty when he crushed Ben Lovejoy, head-first, into the boards. It was a game misconduct for McDonald and a five minute major. Lovejoy, who lay on the ice for a moment, returned to the game.

For the Penguins, it was the biggest break all season. They were granted a five minute power play and an opportunity to get back in the game. However, the Penguins squandered the chance, registering just two shots on goal. Even after the power play, they gained some momentum and had quality chances; but, Nabokov was there to make key saves on Sutter, Malkin and Jeffrey.