Islanders Advance as Pittsburgh Sees Another Early Exit

The New York Islanders will be shipping up to Boston as they advance to the second round, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. It was another early exit for the Penguins who were Stanley Cup Champions favorites heading into the playoffs. The team were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in 2020 and the New York Islanders in a four game sweep the previous year. 

The Penguins outshot the Isles 37-24 but still lost, 5-3. The Islanders ran away with the night scoring three unanswered goals after Jason Zucker scored the go ahead goal for Pittsburgh. . Anthony Beauvillier, Kyle Palmieri, and Ryan Pulock scored one apiece. Brock Nelson had himself a night with 2 goals and 3 on the series. 

Trade deadline acquisition Jeff Carter had himself a wild series with 4 goals in 6 games. The forward was traded from Los Angeles and earned 9 goals in 14 regular season games. One would not assume that a 36 year old would see a rejuvenation but I guess that’s not the case for Carter. Jake Guentzel scored in the first period as well right before Palmieri answered to tie it up. Unfortunately for the Pens, they couldn’t keep it going. Jason Zucker scored to open up the third period but that was it. That was all she wrote. 

The Islanders were 6-2-1 against the Boston Bruins. A good portion of the games were prior to the trade deadline. Both teams respectively acquired power forwards in Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri had 3 goals against Pittsburgh while Hall tied his career postseason total with 2. The teams are expected to kick off their series this weekend in Boston.