The Pittsburgh Penguins emerged from the NHL’s three-day break for the holidays with a rollicking 7-0 triumph against the normally defensively stout New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday.
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang spearheaded the onslaught with six assists and became the first defenseman in the history of the 106-year-old NHL to tally five points in a single period (during the second frame).
“That’s an unbelievable feat when you think about it,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said to the Associated Press in Elmont, N.Y. “Especially in today’s game when the parity in the league is so high. Against a good team like the Islanders, it’s not an easy thing to do. Couldn’t be happier for him. Obviously he’s an elite player for us.”
In his league-leading fourth shutout of the season, goaltender Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots, improving his record to 10-11-2.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the Islanders (0-3-1)
Following a scoreless first period that saw the teams combine for all of nine shots, the Penguins erupted for a touchdown’s worth of goals in the second period beginning at the 6:44 mark.
Taking a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson whacked a one-timer at the cage that forward Jake Guentzel, stationed at the right hashmarks, re-directed on net with the forehand of his stick blade. After goaltender Ilya Sorokin made the initial save, the puck trickled behind him in the crease. From the left of the crease, Rakell jabbed a forehand shot as a referee’s quick whistle sounded. Officials immediately waved off the goal but quickly consulted video to review the sequence. After a brief audit, officials awarded Rakell his second goal of the season. Guentzel and Pettersson had assists.
Guentzel found his 15th goal at the 10:15 mark.
Off a cross-ice pass, Letang chugged his way up from the right wing boards of the offensive zone and flung a wrister from the half-wall. Planted directly in front of Sorokin, Guentzel re-directed the puck by the goaltender’s glove on the near side. Letang and Pettersson tallied assists.
A mere 12 seconds elapsed before Guentzel scored again.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Jarry corralled a dump-in behind his cage and left it for Letang, who fed a pass to the left wall. Turning his attention up ice, Rakell identified Guentzel sprinting forward and snapped a stretch pass, springing his linemate on a breakaway. Attacking the cage, Guentzel ripped a wrister by Sorokin’s sizzled glove. Rakell and Letang registered assists.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin got in on the act with his 12th goal at the 12:48 mark.
Off a give-and-go sequence, Malkin dished a pass from the right point of the offensive zone to linemate Reilly Smith low in the right circle. Backtracking a bit to the right half-wall, Smith waited for Malkin to surge down the slot and slid a pass back to him, allowing Malkin to lift a wrister from between the hashmarks by Sorokin’s blocker. Assists went to Smith and Letang.
Malkin scored again at the 16:06 mark.
Claiming a loose puck in the high slot of the offensive zone, Letang pushed play into the left circle. Avoiding a poor sliding block attempt by Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly, Letang slid a clever backhand pass to the middle of the blue paint. Establishing position on Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho, Malkin easily tapped a forehand shot into a vacant net. Once again, Letang and Pettersson had assists.
Forward Radim Zohorna’s fourth goal of the season and first in 21 games came at the 17:13 mark.
Settling a loose puck in his own left corner, Letang fed a short-area pass to the near circle for Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen, who initiated a two-on-one rush with Zohorna against Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov. Gaining the Islanders’ zone on the right wing, Puustinen went deep into the right circle and forced a pass to Zohorna. Romanov slid to the ice and managed to get his stick on the puck, only to deflect it on net. Sorokin managed to keep the puck out initially with his left leg but could not deny a persistent Zohorna, who jabbed in a backhander. Puustinen and Letang claimed assists.
After Sorokin was pulled – possibly for humanitarian concerns – to open the third period and was replaced by Semyon Varlamov, Puustinen scored his first career goal 9:48 into the final frame.
Claiming a loose puck at the center point of the offensive zone, Pettersson faked a one-timer and then coolly slid a pass to the right point for Letang. Surveying his options, Letang slipped a pass to the left circle where Puustinen wound up and struck a one-timer by Varlamov’s blocker on the near side. Letang and Pettersson had assists.
“After a break, the first period is always ugly,” Letang said to the Associated Press. “After that, once your legs get going, your hands are coming back, we took advantage offensively, played in their zone, putting pucks at the net. … When you come back and you are about to win a game against a division rival like this and somebody you are chasing, it’s huge.”
Notes
• Letang tied the NHL record for assists in a single game by a defenseman. He’s also the second defenseman to reach the mark while with the Penguins, joining Ron Stackhouse:
• Letang also tied the franchise mark for assists in a game (regardless of position):
-While Letang tied the record for assists in a period by a defenseman, he merely tied the record for assists in a period by any player regardless of position. Hockey Hall-of Fame forward Dale Hawerchuk initially set the mark with the Winnipeg Jets during the second period of a 7-3 road win agianst the Los Angeles Kings on March 6, 1984.
• The NHL record for assists in a game is seven, shared by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky (three times) and Chicago Black Hawks forward Billy Taylor Sr. (who initially set the record in 1947).
• The iconic Mario Lemieux holds the franchise record for points in a game, having scored eight on two occasions. Each came during the 1988-89 season.
• The Penguins’ most recent shutout of the Islanders was a 1-0 road win on Nov. 26, 2021. Jarry made 25 saves in that contest.
• Pettersson set a new career high with four points.
• Pettersson (107 points) surpassed forward Craig Simpson (105), defenseman Duane Rupp (104), forward Andy Bathgate (103) and defenseman Dick Tarnstrom (103) for 87th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.
• In passing Tarnstrom, Pettersson became the career leader in points by a Swedish defenseman in franchise history. The only Swedes – regardless of position – who have more points with the Penguins are former forwards Patric Hornqvist (264) and Tomas Sandstrom (155).
• Puustinen became the 563rd player to score a regular season goal for the Penguins.
• The Penguins were 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. They are 11 for 11 over their past four games since forward Noel Acciari and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel returned the lineup after recovering from undisclosed injuries.
• Penguins forward Vinnie Hinostroza and defenseman P.O Joseph were healthy scratches.
• Three of the Islanders’ top six defensemen — Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock — missed the game due to undisclosed injuries.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
