The New York Islanders will head to Pittsburgh with an even series, tied at two games a piece.  While two of the last three games of this best of seven will be on the road, the eight seed from Long Island looks poised to make a move on the Eastern Conference favorite, Penguins. John Tavares scored the game winning goal 10:11 into the third period and Casey Cizikas added another late goal to route the Penguins 6-4, Tuesday night. For the Penguins, it was a carbon copy of last season's ... Read More

If this opening playoff between the Penguins and the New York Islanders has not said anything about the parody in the NHL, then people must not be watching the same series.  The Penguins have found themselves in a tighter battle than they might have expected but many do not seem to be surprised. The New York Islanders have been the forgotten franchise in not just the Atlantic Division but the whole New York sports scene.  A franchise that has four Stanley Cups in their history and great Hall ... Read More

The Penguins have had a lot of trouble with the New York Islanders through the first three games in this series.  What was expected to be a quick stroll through the first round of the playoffs has turned into a major struggle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh's problems stem with poor puck management in their own end, undisciplined play, and lack of composure.  When Douglas Murray is your best puck-moving defenseman through three games, you should be in trouble.  When ... Read More

The Penguins beat the New York Islanders, 5-4, in overtime today at Nassau Coliseum to take a 2-1 lead in the teams' first-round playoff series. Chris Kunitz scored off of a feed from Sidney Crosby at 9:44 of overtime for the winner. The Islanders got a quick start, getting several bats at the puck from the crease before Matt Moulson pushed it in for a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period. Casey Cizikas made it 2-0 at 5:41 on a shot from the left circle. The Penguins came back thanks ... Read More

The New York Islanders knew their effort would have to be better to avoid a repeat performance in Game 1 when they were whitewashed in a 5-0 Penguins victory. Playing against Sidney Crosby looked like it was going to be an uphill battle ten minutes into the first period.  But the Islanders settled down and chipped away at a 3-1 Pittsburgh lead to come back and win Game 2. The Penguins looked a lot like the team that lost in six games to the Philadelphia Flyers a year ago.  They turned the ... Read More

What a difference a year makes. The Penguins got out to a 3-0 lead and, instead of losing in overtime as they did in Game 1 last year agains the Flyers, they added two more goals and defeated the New York Islanders 5-0 to take a 1-0 series lead. The shoddy defense and poor goaltending that led to the demise of the Penguins cup run last year was nonexistent.  The Penguins shutout the Islanders, killing all four Long Island power plays and refusing to allow any odd-man chances.  The speed of ... Read More

The last time the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted a playoff game, they won in thrilling fashion, defeating the Flyers 2-1 to stay alive for one more game. Most notably, the electricity in the Consol Energy Center.  No doubt, the crowd at Consol was the loudest in it's short history and the fans were engaged on every shift.  The camera shook because of the crowd and the transformation from corporate luxury to hellacious bloodsport was completed. The question is, will there be a repeat ... Read More

In Game 3 of last year's horrific quarterfinal matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, Kris Letang had the most undisciplined game of his NHL career, and arguably his worst. The defenseman took a cross-checking penalty that led to a Flyers goal.  Shortly thereafter, he got in a fight with Kimmo Timonen, then was ejected from the game.  To make matters worse, he attempted to shush the Philadelphia crowd like Max Talbot did in 2009.  Like the Penguins, he was unsuccessful. This all came ... Read More