ELMONT, N.Y. — Sidney Crosby returned from injury and produced two assists, the second of which was the 1,100th of his career.
And it was an afterthought.
That’s how dominant the Pittsburgh Penguins were on Monday night at UBS Arena. In their biggest game in many seasons, the Penguins fell behind by two goals on two occasions in the second period before overwhelming the New York Islanders with an array of offense in an 8-3 win that catapulted them back into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Anthony Mantha and Rickard Rakell scored twice for the Penguins. Elmer Söderblom, Avery Hayes, Bryan Rust and Ryan Shea also scored for the Penguins, who produced five goals in the second period. They chased all-world goaltender Ilya Sorokin in the third.
“Up and down the lineup, you saw a lot of guys contribute to this win both offensively and defensively,” Rust said. “You’d always like to win games 8-3 and to score eight goals every game. But more importantly, I think this win is going to give us confidence.”
How could it not?
The Penguins trailed 2-0 early in the second period and then 3-1 after Soderblom’s goal was countered by Brayden Schenn’s.
It was a shaky start to the period. Goaltender Arturs Silovs, who was not particularly good in this game, was badly struggling with his rebound control. The Penguins looked to be in trouble. They responded by scoring four times in 6:17 to essentially put the game away.
The Penguins rolled four lines and all of them overwhelmed the Islanders.
“Most of our looks came from a good forecheck,” Rakell said. “Getting the pucks behind their net, spreading them out.”
It was Rust and Rakell who turned the game for good. The Penguins were down 3-1 and the Islanders were on a power play midway through the second period. Rakell triggered a rush in the neutral zone, got the puck to Rust, and then received a feed back to score a short-handed goal that unquestionably changed the game.
“Raks made a great play,” Rust said. “And we knew they had some guys out there for a long time, so they were vulnerable. You can’t always think defense-first on the penalty kill. It was a chance to create some offense, and that’s what we did.”
There was not, however, a sense of celebration in the Penguins’ locker room. Much work remains to be accomplished before they can clinch a playoff spot.
“Nope,” Rust said, when asked if there was time to celebrate this win. “We learned some tough things against Dallas on Saturday, and we’ll learn from this game, too. Now it’s onto the next one. Time to get ready for the Red Wings.”
10 postgame observations
• The Penguins undeniably had a lapse in the first few minutes of the second period, when they allowed three goals. Most of that, however, was the result of poor goaltending.
The truth is, the Penguins dominated this game pretty much from start to finish. They were very good in the first period despite it being scoreless. They put the Islanders to sleep impressively in the third. But in the middle period, they were sensational. It wasn’t a bad night for Sorokin. There was simply nothing he could do.
• Nothing but respect for what Rust and Rakell are doing right now. Rakell again was asked to play center because of Tommy Novak’s recent struggles, and he filled in admirably at a position that doesn’t come naturally to him. Then there is Rust, a player whose will to win is the greatest of his many wonderful attributes.
While the Penguins were the better team all night, they were down 3-1 and shorthanded midway through the second period. That’s not a good place to be. Then two of their most respected leaders went to work.
• It’s far too early to be talking about potential playoff matchups, but humor me for a moment. The Penguins historically have their issues with the Islanders, but this isn’t the typical Islanders team. And there’s nothing typical about these Penguins at all.
I think they match up well with New York. They’re 2-0-1 against the Islanders this season and have scored 16 goals in three games against Patrick Roy’s team.
The Islanders have a world-class goaltender and a very special 18-year-old defenseman. They are not, however, a good defensive team, and the Penguins have outplayed them on all three occasions this season. If these teams met in the playoffs, the Penguins, despite a very clear disadvantage between the pipes, would likely be the favorite.
• I’m not sure what else can be said about Mantha. Both of his goals in this game were brilliant. That’s 29 on the season as he continues to expand his career-high goal total.
His ability to slow the game down and use his long reach is in excellent form. Mantha also has showcased a knack for scoring big goals all season and that attribute was on display again.
• This may have been Kris Letang’s finest performance of the season. His decision-making was outstanding and he played a brutally physical game.
You know the drill. The Penguins go as he goes. And while that hasn’t been a perfect science this season, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Letang played perhaps his best game of the season in one of the team’s best performances. He was outstanding.
• The 6-foot-8 Söderblom not only scored the Penguins’ first goal, he also had his way with Scott Mayfield in a fight. It was Soderblom’s first NHL fight, and he didn’t look out of place.
I asked Söderblom after the game if he was tempted to avoid a fight since the Penguins were up at the time and riding a wave of momentum. He said he was aware, but didn’t like the way Mayfield was snapping his head back in an attempt to draw a penalty. I don’t think many people will be challenging Söderblom to a fight anytime soon.
Elmer Soderblom and Scott Mayfield dropped the gloves during the third period. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
• Justin Brazeau finished with three assists and played his best game in quite some time. He made a fabulous play to spring Mantha on a breakaway when he gave the Penguins their first lead. Something about playing with Mantha brings out the best in Brazeau. Those two simply click.
• What a game from Ben Kindel. This was one of his best NHL performances.
Oh, he only finished with a lone point, assisting on Hayes’ goal. But he was everywhere, an extra burst of speed in his stride quite evident. He made one bad play all game, a turnover in the first period. Otherwise, he was flawless and played with his customary poise. I loved his game tonight.
• I can’t say the same for Silovs. His rebound control was terrible.
Calling up Sergei Murashov isn’t a bad idea, in my opinion. I also think Stuart Skinner is the best goaltender currently on the Penguins’ roster, even though he didn’t enjoy a great game against Dallas.
No, Silovs wasn’t a disaster. But after months of his game improving, his game has declined in recent outings. Now isn’t the time of season for that to happen.
• Stick tap to Crosby for reaching 1,100 assists. It happened late in the game and wasn’t the story, but it is a story. He nearly had an even bigger night, hitting the crossbar on a first-period breakaway.
Crosby, by the way, is now two points from passing Steve Yzerman on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. At 1,753 points, he will reach Yzerman with a two-point outing on Tuesday in Pittsburgh against … the Detroit Red Wings.
In six games since returning from the injury from the Olympics, Crosby has seven points, even though he didn’t play most of the game in Ottawa. He needs four points in the Penguins’ final eight games to extend his record streak of point-per-game seasons to begin a career to 21 consecutive seasons.