Madden Monday: Penguins' opening game against Islanders 'looked like a loss out of the 2019 sweep' | TribLIVE.com
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Madden Monday: Penguins' opening game against Islanders 'looked like a loss out of the 2019 sweep'

Tim Benz
| Monday, May 17, 2021 9:55 a.m.
The New York Islanders’s Kyle Palmieri celebrates Sunday after his winning goal in overtime to beat the Penguins, 4-3, in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series at PPG Paints Arena.

Yes, Tristan Jarry had a rough day in net for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their 4-3 playoff-opening loss to the New York Islanders. But their problems didn’t begin and end with goaltending.

• The Penguins blew a 2-1 lead in the third period before losing in overtime.

• The Pens went 0-3 on the power play.

• The team was outhit 72-47.

• The Penguins had 10 giveaways while the Islanders only had two.

During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE says he has an eerie feeling about what that loss might mean for the rest of the series.

“This looked like a loss out of the 2019 sweep,” Madden said, referencing the Islanders’ 4-0 series win in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.

“The Penguins attacked off the rush almost exclusively. They didn’t spend enough time down low. Even less time down low as the game wore on. (Penguins head coach) Mike Sullivan didn’t have any adjustments to what (Islanders head coach Barry) Trotz was doing. The Islanders dictated the pace of the game. They made it a back-and-forth track meet, clogged the neutral zone best as they could. And as the game wore on, the Islanders controlled more and more of the puck — and of play.”

Madden thought a turning point in the contest was when Jeff Carter took a four-minute high-stick penalty in the second period.

“It’s just a bad penalty to take,” Madden continued. “And even though the Islanders didn’t score in those four minutes, they really seized momentum there and didn’t give it back.”

Carter had a rough night. Even though he tallied an assist, the Penguins veteran forward was a minus-2 and had three giveaways along with taking that penalty.

For the first time since fans were allowed back in PPG Paints Arena, that moment was the first time I felt as if a partial crowd wasn’t enough. The pop after killing off those four minutes was underwhelming given the 2-1 Penguins lead that was in the balance at the time.

I’m not faulting the fans who were there. But that’s just the difference between 4,672 and 18,087.

Also, during this week’s podcast, Mark and I talk about some forwards who didn’t show up, readjusted expectations for the rest of the series and the absence of Evgeni Malkin.

Along with lots of hockey discussion, we analyze the Steelers’ schedule release, Devin Bush’s comments over the past week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions and how Mark managed to make good with sports business figure Tony Khan.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden break down the first game of the Penguins-Islanders first-round playoff series.


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