UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Leading up to Game 1, there was a lot of talk about how difficult the Islanders were going to be to play against because of their defensive game, and for good reason.
The Penguins' dropped a tight Game 1 4-3 in overtime in Uniondale on Wednesday night, but the Penguins showed some encouraging signs in their ability to possess the puck and produce offense.
As I wrote earlier this week, the Islanders are a tough team to get clean shots off against on rushes. The Penguins managed to attempt three such shots during five-on-five play, one more than the Islanders were able to attempt themselves.
Although the Penguins did ultimately struggle to record many shots from within a few feet of the net (16 to the Islanders' 19), the Penguins were attempting shots at a rate we've rarely seen from them this season. In total, the Penguins attempted 83 shots to the Islanders' 62. During five-on-five play, the Penguins attempted 70 shots to the Islanders' 49.
The last time the Islanders allowed at least 70 five-on-five shot attempts in a game? 82 games ago -- opening night in a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes.
This chart illustrates the flow of the game in terms of shot attempts. Clearly, the Islanders were quicker out of the gate with the Jordan Eberle goal. After falling into that hole, the Penguins became the team creating the most offense, increasing the rate as the game went on:
Not bad, especially when the narrative prior to the game made it sound like the Penguins weren't going to get a good shot off all series.
"I think we can do a better job handling their pressure," Mike Sullivan said after the loss. "Having said that, I thought we had a lot of real quality chances. We had 40-plus shots. I thought we got to their net. We've just got to continue to do that."
Phil Kessel was a significant part of that, not just including his own goal. More on that below in "The Good.”
Evgeni Malkin recorded the most shots on goal of any Penguin in the loss, with six on eight attempts. He scored the lone goal of the second period on the power play to knot the game up at two apiece:
The defense contributed heavily to the production, with four defensemen (Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, and Justin Schultz) attempting at least six shots. Schultz was the one who was able to finish, scoring a massive goal to send the game to overtime in the final two minutes:
So ... where did the Penguins go wrong?
They overthought this one. Dejan explains how in his column.
Now, if the Penguins can correct their own lapses while keeping up a level of offense anywhere near this? They'll be tough to beat.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• NHL scoreboard
• NHL standings
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Josh Bailey
Islanders left winger
The overtime game-winner. No question here.
2. Jordan Eberle
Islanders right winger
His series-opening goal put the Penguins in an early hole and got the crowd even more into the game.
3. Phil Kessel
Penguins right winger
He shifted into another gear for this one.
THE GOOD
Kessel was great.
In the first period, trailing 1-0, Dominik Simon skated up ice carrying the puck. The Islanders' Scott Mayfield poke-checked the puck right into Kessel's lap, who tied the game off of a wrister:
Kessel attempted the most shots of anyone on the team, with 10, and had the second-most shots on goal with five. He wasn't credited with a single turnover.
The new-look third line of Simon, Nick Bjugstad, and Kessel had a really solid game overall. Simon is strong defensively, and a good playmaker. Bjugstad's size and reach contributes to making the line hard to play against, and he has a great shot, too. Kessel is Kessel. He hasn't had the strongest year defensively, and part of that is just a byproduct of being paired with Malkin so often. Both of those players are playmakers, and don't always go for the simple play, which is always going to be risky. Matching Kessel with two players who have better two-way games allows Kessel to be Kessel.
When that trio was on the ice together, the Penguins attempted 19 shots and only allowed seven attempts. That's a great ratio.
THE BAD
There are a few defensemen who could be picked on here. But Olli Maatta had more lapses than most.
There are several examples to choose from, but this non-goal in overtime is one that stands out because it made Tom Kuhnhackl look Mario-esque for a brief, fleeting moment with this move between Maatta's legs. You can't let Tom f---ing Kuhnhackl of all people undress you in overtime like this:
Maatta was also credited with two giveaways in the game. This one came in the Penguins' defensive zone on a penalty-kill:
Maatta was on the ice for 19 shots for and 27 against, the worst ratio of any defenseman on the team and a 23.34 percent decrease from his teammates' numbers when he was not on the ice.
Jack Johnson was the odd man out with Brian Dumoulin's return. Given the pairings used in the two practices prior to Game 1, it seems as if it was either going to be Johnson or Maatta. It is possible that Maatta was given the spot because it allowed the defensemen to all play on their natural sides. You don't want Johnson on his off side. After some of these lapses though, it might be Maatta who finds himself squeezed into the cramped Nassau Coliseum press box for Game 2.
THE OTHER SIDE
When the Penguins are putting 41 shots on goal, you have to acknowledge the strong play of Lehner.
"Robin made some huge saves at the right time," Trotz said of his goaltender following the win. "They're throwing a lot of pucks, they put pucks to those hard areas and they've got high-skilled guys who can turn those loose-puck type of battles or races into offense. I though he fought through all that and made some big saves at key times tonight."
Josh Bailey, of course, was the star with the overtime-winner. He previously came within inches of ending the game before overtime, when he hit the left post in the final seconds of regulation.
"That was tough to shake," Bailey said of his miss in regualtion. "I was worried I was going to have to see that one in my nightmares for a while. A little bit of redemption, I'm just happy to get the win. It's a crucial game, but there's still a long way to go."
THE DATA
• Jake Guentzel was the only Penguin to not record a single shot attempt
• Bjugstad led the Penguins with eight hits
• Goals allowed by Matt Murray were an average of 25 feet away, while goals allowed by Robin Lehner were an average of 38.33 feet away. These trends are reversed when you look at average shot distance -- the Islanders' shots were an average of 37.94 feet away, while the Penguins' shots were an average of 32.7 feet away.
• Patric Hornqvist was on the ice for 33 shot attempts for, and just seven against in 16:51 of ice time.
• Teams that win the first game of a best-of-7 series at home have an all-time series success rate of 75.5.
THE INJURIES
• Brian Dumoulin, defenseman, returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
• Zach Aston-Reese, forward, returned after missing 13 games with a hip injury.
• Chad Ruhwedel, defenseman, missed his 20th game with an upper-body injury and is also considered to be out longer-term. He is skating on his own.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Guentzel -- Crosby -- Rust
McCann -- Malkin -- Hornqvist
Simon -- Bjugstad -- Kessel
Aston-Reese -- Cullen -- Wilson
Dumoulin -- Letang
Maatta -- Schultz
Pettersson -- Gudbranson
And for Trotz's Islanders:
Lee -- Barzal -- Eberle
Bailey -- Nelson -- Kuhnhackl
Beauvillier -- Filppula -- Komarov
Martin -- Cizikas -- Clutterbuck
Leddy -- Boychuk
Pelech -- Pulock
Mayfield -- Toews
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice at Nassau Coliseum at 1 p.m. They'll have an 11:30 a.m. morning skate prior to Game 2 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The full schedule for the first round can be found here.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
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Penguins at Islanders, Game 1, Uniondale, N.Y., April 10, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS[/caption]
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