The Pittsburgh Penguins, who had been on a successful 9-3-1 run before the holiday break, faced a setback against the New York Islanders. The Islanders secured a 6-3 victory at UBS Arena in the first game of their home-and-home series.
Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan commented on his team’s performance: “I don’t think we played as smart. We just didn’t play a conscientious game like the game we’ve been playing for the last six weeks.” He noted that their decisions with the puck were not up to standard and emphasized the importance of simplicity in gameplay.
Typically, Metro Division opponents face each other after the holiday break, with travel restrictions due to the CBA. This year, with their match scheduled for December 28, Pittsburgh was able to practice on Friday and have a full morning skate on game day. This preparation initially seemed beneficial as they performed well early on.
Despite an early power play advantage and successfully challenging an Islanders’ goal for goalie interference, New York managed to score first. Michael Bunting responded by scoring his third goal in two games and marking his 200th career point. A scoring change later left Rickard Rakell with the only assist instead of Sidney Crosby.
In the second period, the Islanders gained momentum by scoring three unanswered goals within four minutes. Noel Acciari helped swing momentum back towards Pittsburgh with a goal, followed by Rakell cutting the deficit to one before entering the final period.
However, New York maintained control in the last frame. Casey Cizikas scored again to make it 5-3, while Anders Lee sealed their win with an empty-net goal. Rickard Rakell expressed dissatisfaction with their performance: “We got to do a better job controlling the puck… We didn’t get the job done.”
The teams will meet again at PPG Paints Arena for another match scheduled at 5:30 PM. Erik Karlsson reflected on their loss but looked forward: “The only good thing is that we get to play another game against the same guys in less than 24 hours… hopefully we can be better tomorrow.”
