The New York Islanders skated to a resounding 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at UBS Arena, with Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee shining brightly by each scoring twice.
This win was particularly important for the Islanders, who had faced challenges recently, losing three of their previous four games. Ilya Sorokin stood tall between the pipes, notching 22 saves against the Penguins' 25 shots. The other side of the rink saw Tristan Jarry making 28 saves, but it was not enough to keep the Islanders at bay.
It was an energetic start to the game, though initially marred by penalties against the Islanders. Maxim Tsyplakov found himself sitting shortly after the game kicked off, but strong defensive plays—including killing off multiple penalties—helped them gather momentum. Jean-Gabriel Pageau ignited the crowd with the opening goal, converting on Mathew Barzals excellent pass.
Pageau’s goal at 14:47 set the tone, but only 1:16 later, the Pittsburgh Penguins responded through Michael Bunting’s power-play tally, tying it and momentarily shifting momentum. Penguins' coach Mike Sullivan faced some misfortune, as they had earlier challenged for goalie interference on the Islanders’ initial strike but the call stood.
Then the second period turned the tide decisively for New York. Just 5:39 in, Anthony Duclair scored off an impressive 2-on-1 break, giving the Islanders their second lead of the night. Lee followed soon after, adding to the horror of the Penguins defense: after hitting the post, defenseman Kris Letang inadvertently poked the puck over the line, putting the Islanders comfortably up by two.
Within three minutes, Cizikas jarred the puck past Jarry to give the Islanders a commanding 4-1 lead at 9:39, and the anticipation for victory was palpable. Yet, the Penguins were not ready to concede. They managed to claw back with goals from Noel Acciari and Rickard Rakell, reducing the Islanders' lead to just 4-3 before the end of the second period.
Entering the third period, the tension among fans and players alike grew even thicker. The Islanders had to brace for the forecast of another comeback attempt from Pittsburgh. Despite the pressure from the Penguins, New York held firm defensively, limiting them to only four shots on goal throughout the period.
Then, with just 5:17 remaining, Cizikas completed his breakaway with another brilliant finish, pushing the score to 5-3. Lee sealed the deal when he netted the final goal with 22 seconds left, capping off the Islanders' strong performance.
The locker room buzzed postgame with excitement and relief. Cizikas noted, "Those are hard games, hard-fought games. You know what needs to be done, night in and night out. We didn't veer away from our game. We accepted the challenge at hand, and the way our group played in the third period, there's a lot of good things to take away from it."
Pageau added to the energy, praising Barzal's assist with enthusiasm, albeit with some colorful language. "The only thing I could've done [wrong] there is f**k it up and miss the net," he shared, indicating how precious every goal felt during this tough match.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan reflected on their struggles, stating, "I just don't think we did it well enough. We didn't play straight ahead. We talked about playing simple before the game, just the importance of simplicity and playing straight ahead, but our decisions with the puck weren't where they needed to be."
With this victory, the Islanders not only improved their standing, moving to seventh place in the Metropolitan Division but also provided their fans with much-needed confidence. They will face the Penguins again for the second part of their back-to-back series, this time on Pittsburgh's home ice—an immediate opportunity for redemption for the Penguins. Anticipation is already building for what promises to be another thrilling contest between the two division rivals.