5 Takeaways: Islanders Keep Point Streak Alive in Shootout Loss to Pens

The New York Islanders point streak reached five games on Thursday night following a 4-3 shootout loss vs the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders looked poised for a win with a 3-2 lead late in the third, but Evgeni Malkin tied the score with 18 seconds to play and Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal in a shootout.
Despite the sting of a shootout loss, which ended the Islanders win streak at two, the Islanders point streak reached five games (2-0-3), an all-important point in a shortened season.

"There were a lot of good things we can take from this game and build off of," Anders Lee said. "We've got points in a few in a row here now. Tough to give one up, but bad breaks are going to happen."
Casey Cizikas, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mat Barzal scored for the Islanders, while Bryan Rust and Zach Aston-Reese also scored for the Penguins. Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves, while Casey DeSmith stopped 26-of-29.
Here are five takeaways from a fifth-straight game with a point:

ISLES LOSE LATE LEAD, FALL IN SHOOTOUT:

The Islanders looked destined for two points when Mat Barzal put the Islanders ahead with a jaw-dropper with 6:25 to play.
ISLANDERS VS PENGUINS
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ISLANDERS PENGUINS VIDEO
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Barzal's Beautiful Breakaway
Pageau's PPG
Cizikas Scores While Falling

KINGER'S CALLS
Pageau's PPG
Cizikas' Opening Goal
Barzal's inside-out move on Pierre-Oliver Joseph and a roof job on DeSmith had the Islanders up 3-2 late, in the midst of a seven-minute stretch where the Islanders held the Penguins without a shot on goal.
The Penguins pulled their goalie late and peppered the Islanders in the final 35 seconds, culminating with Malkin's tying goal with 18 seconds to play, a shot through traffic that eluded Varlamov.
"I didn't expect anything other than a really close game. It ended up being a three-pointer," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We wanted it in regulation, but Six-on-five they get it off the post and in. If we get a block or hits the post there… that's a little bit of hockey sometimes."
That sent the game to overtime, where the Islanders outshot the Penguins 5-2. Barzal had perhaps the Islanders best chance, hounding and separating John Marino from the puck looking to feed Eberle for a backdoor chance that was batted out of the air by a Penguins stick.
In the shootout - the Islanders first of the season - Eberle, Barzal and Josh Bailey could not solve DeSmith, while Crosby patiently pulled upwards of five dekes on Varlamov before depositing the game-decider.

BARZAL BEAUTY EXTENDS POINT STREAK:

Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to seven games on Thursday night, delivering a highlight-reel dagger late in the third period.
Barzal picked up a loose puck at center, turned on the jets and sprinted into the Penguins zone, faking a cut inside before going around Pierre-Oliver Joseph and roofing a shot past DeSmith.
"[Lee] made a good wall play, he gave me the loose puck and let me skate onto it," Barzal said. "I knew I was in a one-on-one situation and tried making a move. Sometimes you get into those spots and you went to pull up, but I just put my head down and wanted to go right through him. I was fortunate enough to get it right upstairs in the end. Most of the first period I put it right in [DeSmith's] belly. It was nice to get that one upstairs and score."
The goal was Barzal's ninth point (3G, 6A) in his last seven games, and the seven-game run matches a career-high for the Islanders forward, set in November of 2017. The dynamic goal was reminiscent of Barzal's inside-out move around Tony DeAngelo in the season opener.
"When he's driving the net, he's dangerous," Trotz said of Barzal. "He had another look in overtime that he took to the net. That's how you score goals. You get into that hard area and he's so skilled and can use his speed. I thought he was really solid in his two-way game today."
Barzal was dialed in on Thursday, using his speed to chase Marino around the net in overtime before using his body to separate the puck and keep possession in the Pens end.
Barzal finished the game with 20:45 TOI, four shots and a goal. He leads the Islanders with 13 points (5G, 8A) in 12 games.

IDENTITY LINE SCORES IN THIRD STRAIGHT:

Casey Cizikas extended his goal streak to two games, opening the scoring at 5:39 in the first period with a terrific individual effort. Cizikas hounded and stripped John Marino of the puck in the Penguins' zone, and made a quick forehand-backhand-forehand move around Casey DeSmith while falling to the ice.
"I might have blacked out there for a second," Cizikas joked when asked what was going through his head on the goal.
It was the third-straight game the Islanders Identity Line had found the back of the net, with Cizikas and Matt Martin scoring the only goals in the Islanders' 2-0 win over the Rangers on Monday, while Cal Clutterbuck scored on Saturday vs Pittsburgh.
"With our line, we take a lot of pride in how we play," Cizikas said. "We take a lot of pride in what we bring to this team and how we go out and compete every single night. We're working hard every single day to get better. We're playing together as a unit of three out there. On the forecheck, it's not just one guy coming it's all three out there. We have to continue that, continue playing strong and just play our hockey."
The Identity Line made its presence felt with the forecheck in the first period, but were on the ice for the Penguins 2-2 tying goal in the second period, as Zach Aston-Reese had a pair of whacks to put a rebound by Varlamov.
The line had a brief scare as Clutterbuck left the game with 6:30 to play in the second period after crashing awkwardly in the end boards. Clutterbuck appeared to lose an edge, going into the boards hard with Chad Ruhwedel bearing down on him. Clutterbuck returned for the third period.

VARLAMOV SHAKEN UP, STAYS IN GAME:

The Islanders had a bit of a scare in the first period, as Semyon Varlamov was briefly shaken up after a collision with Noah Dobson on a shorthanded two-on-none. Dobson was hustling back after a turnover at the Penguins blue line and crashed into his goalie after Varlamov came up with a key stop on Aston-Reeese to preserve a 1-1 tie.
"Varly is a competitor," Cizikas said. "It was a little bit of a scare, we were happy to see when he got up and skated on his own. He's the biggest part of our team right now."
Varlamov took a minute to collect himself, but stayed in the game. The Russian was the busier of the two goalies on the night, stopping 32-of-35 shots, including a point-blank chance on Rust with 7:52 to play in a 2-2 tie, which helped preserve a point.

PAGEAU POTS POWER-PLAY GOAL:

Pageau had some jump on Thursday night, scoring a goal, taking three shots and winning 11-of-15 faceoffs (73%).
Pageau created a few quality chances in addition to his goal, notably a shorthanded breakaway in the second period, poking the puck off Jake Guentzel at the Pens blue line, but could not beat DeSmith five-hole.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up a two-game homestand against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.