So the Penguins are on their way to Long Island, tied with the Islanders at a game apiece after winning a 2-1 nail-biter in Game 2. There is a school of thought – and it’s not wrong – that had Tristan Jarry played half as well Sunday as he did Tuesday the Pens would be up two games to none.
But there is another important area that helped cost the Penguins in Game 1 and could have also cost them Game 2. That, of course, is the power play, now 0-for-5 in the series.
The first two power plays Sunday afternoon looked sharp. On one of them they controlled the puck for the entire 2 minutes; they just couldn’t score. So when they were awarded a third power play late in the second period it appeared they’d have an excellent chance to take a 2-goal lead.
Instead, with little to lose, the Islanders cranked up their penalty kill and became even more aggressive. The Penguins were lucky to get away with not allowing a shorthanded goal and went on to lose, anyway.
Tuesday night, the Islanders penalty killers continued their attacking ways and if the Pens got a shot on either of their power plays I don’t remember it. I don’t remember them even able to set up a power play; both were that bad.
The thing is, if the Islanders are going to be that aggressive a man short the Penguins players should be skilled enough to be able to exploit that. And the coaches are smart enough, and experienced enough, to figure out a way to do that. Mike Sullivan says that they’re on it.
“I just think it comes down to execution,” Sullivan says. “We’ve got to support the puck; we’ve got to make the puck work. We’ve got to recognize where our release points are but, most importantly, I think it’s more about support and puck battles. If we can win some puck battles, if we can support the puck I think we can try to beat their pressure.”
The funny thing is, after that first failed power play in Game 2 Sullivan unleashed Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese and Branden Tanev on the ensuing 5-on-5. That looked more like a power play than when Sully’s top 2 line players had the man advantage. Maybe the guys who are supposed to have the skill can learn from that.
“They’re a very good penalty kill, we knew it was going to be a big challenge going into this,” Sullivan concluded. “But any time you’re playing against a kill that’s as aggressive as the Islanders’ (penalty kill) is both down ice but also in zone we’ve got to do our best to support the puck and make the puck work. If we do that we should be able to generate some chances.”
If not, Sullivan can always give Blueger, Aston-Reese and Tanev – his penalty killers – a shot on a power play. It may not hurt.