5 Takeaways: Palmieri Lifts Isles to OT Victory in Game 1

'W'elcome back, playoff hockey.
The New York Islanders earned their first win of the postseason as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime of a riveting Game 1 of their First Round series on Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
The Islanders took a 1-0 series lead over the Pens as Kyle Palmieri bookended the scoring with a first-period icebreaker and the overtime winner. Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1G, 2A) and Brock Nelson also scored in regulation. Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves on 42 shots in his playoff debut and was backed up by Cory Schneider as Semyon Varlamov was unavailable.
Pittsburgh received scoring from Frederick Gaudreau, Sidney Crosby and Kasperi Kapanen, while Tristan Jarry made 37 saves on 41 shots.

"That's a big win," Nelson said. "Coming in, we knew this was going to be a tough series right from the drop of the puck. We came out with some good energy, we put ourselves in a hole, the PK did a good job, we got a good mix of some offense. We were able to grind one out. It's not always pretty, but a win is a win right now."
Here are five takeaways from the Islanders' OT win in Game 1:

DEADLINE ACQUISITIONS SEAL IT IN OVERTIME

Palmieri sealed the win with his first-career OT winner at 16:30 of the extra frame. From below the hash marks, Pageau dished the puck out to Palmieri at the goal line where the winger roofed a shot through a tight window below the crossbar and just over Jarry's left shoulder.
Both Palmieri and Pageau were deadline acquisitions for the Islanders over the last two seasons and both players rose their compete levels in Game 1 to contribute to the win.
"If you look at the two trade deadline acquisitions, last year Pageau, this year Palmieri, they're veteran guys that are proven," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "When it comes to playoff hockey, in big moments you rely on their experience, their character is exceptional. I'm really glad for [Palmieri], I know he probably put a little undue pressure [on himself] when he joined us, we knew when the games got tight and you have to go to the dirty areas a guy like him is able to produce and he was able to do that tonight."

Ahead of the series when questioned about an X factor in the playoffs and a prediction on who it might be for the Islanders, Trotz named Palmieri as a potential candidate. He noted that Palmieri, who the Islanders acquired at the deadline and had scored just two goals for the team through 17 games, had been playing the right way to get rewarded and looked more like himself as in most of his recent games he played with an edge.
The winger did just that and scored the first goal of the postseason for the Islanders and later the OT winner.
"[Palmieri] is an Islander," Pageau said. "You see him out there just doing his thing. He's so competitive, winning all of his battles, being hard on pucks. That's how we play the game and he fits right in. He was our best player tonight."

RIVETING REGULATION PAVES PATH TO OT

ISLES PENS GAME 1
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
Photo Gallery
ISLANDERS PENGUINS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Palmieri Opens Scoring
Pageau Picks Corner
Nelson Makes it 3-2
Palmieri OT Winner
Trotz Postgame
Palmieri Postgame
Pageau Postgame
Nelson Postgame
KINGER'S CALLS
Palmieri Opens Scoring
Pageau Goes High Glove
Nelson Beats Jarry
Palmieri's OT Winner
That's playoff hockey for you.
Regulation play featured everything one could want in a playoff game. Both sides see-sawed with fast-paced play, exchanged leads and momentum, scored clutch goals and received timely saves, all of which set the stage for overtime.
Both sides skated out to a 1-1 score following the first period, which was highlighted by stellar goaltending from Sorokin and Jarry. Sorokin denied some lethal chances from the Pens top line, while Jarry denied a late Clutterbuck breakaway.
While the Pens came out with a fast start and the Islanders didn't get their first shot on net until 6:37 into the frame, the Isles were the first to get on the board. Palmieri delivered the icebreaker at 7:58 on a quick play up ice, as he took on Pens defenseman Marcus Pettersson one-on-one, curled into the right faceoff circle and wired a wrist shot over Jarry's glove.
Pittsburgh didn't sit back and evened the score at 11:10. After being hemmed in their own zone, an unfortunate blocked shot by Josh Bailey deflected into the slot where Gaudreau corralled the puck and beat Sorokin with his blocker-side shot.
Pittsburgh took its first lead of the game early in the second frame at 3:47, from Crosby, who had generated some high-skill plays through the first 20 minutes of play. The Pens captain redirected a point shot from Brian Dumoulin to take a 2-1 lead.
In the final frame, the Islanders tilted the ice and looked like a different team than in the previous two periods. They evened the score early from Pageau's strike at 3:33 as he grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone from a pinch at the Islanders' blueline, took his time and space and sniped his wicked shot over Jarry's left shoulder and in the top right corner of the goal.
Shift-after-shift, the Islanders didn't let up. Nelson put the Islanders ahead 3-2 with 4:10 left on the clock, as Beauvillier took advantage of a bad line change from the Pens and entered their zone and played the puck to Nelson. The Islanders centerman ripped his shot between Jarry's glove and his body for the go-ahead goal.
The lead did not last long, as 31 seconds later, Kapanen rifled a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Sorokin off the far-side goal post to even the score 3-3 and send the game into overtime.

SOROKIN STEPS UP IN PLAYOFF DEBUT

Video: NYI@PIT, Gm1: Sorokin makes save on Crosby in front
Sorokin was solid in his postseason debut as he made timely saves and denied some jaw dropping plays from Crosby and co. In regulation, Sorokin made 29 saves in regulation and shut the door with 10 saves in OT.
The Russian rookie looked unfazed as he faced a jarring push from the Pens off the opening faceoff and in abrasive cadences throughout the game.
He denied a Crosby chance early on in, which the Pens captain tried to roof a puck while falling down. He took a tripping penalty on a Jake Guentzel breakaway - and a subsequent Crosby backdoor power-play chance with an outstretched pad save - and held off a Teddy Bleuger wraparound chance.

PENALTY KILL

Coming into the series, the special teams battle was slated to be intense as Pittsburgh's power play finished the regular season fourth in the NHL (23.7%), while the Islanders penalty kill boasted the sixth-ranked penalty kill (83.7%).
The Islanders' penalty kill was clutch as it was 3-for-3 on the night. Namely, the Islanders penalty kill provided a turning point in the game.
The Pens, who had taken a 2-1 lead in the period, received a boost from a crucial four-minute kill on Jeff Carter's double minor high-sticking penalty on Nelson at 12:25. They had the opportunity to capitalize on that momentum and extend their lead 3-1, as they received a power play at 17:46 on Andy Greene's interference penalty. Instead, the Islanders penalty kill was dominant and aggressive and nearly scored with a shorthanded chance in close from Pageau.
"You're going to need some sacrifices, some blocks, some saves, and we got that." Nelson said. "Guys kind of gutted it out there. It's not easy being out there that long, down a man, credit to them. They got the job done."

VARLAMOV UPDATE

Despite joining the team for his first practice of the week on Saturday, Semyon Varlamov did not dress in Game 1.
The Islanders netminder had left Monday's final game of the regular season against Boston after the second period with an injury after he had stopped 25-of-27 shots. Trotz explained in his postgame press conference that they held Varlamov out of Game 1 for precautionary purposes.
"We had to make a decision really last night," Trotz said. "He's skated both days, he's going to practice tomorrow as well. We just thought long term, that's one thing we think we have is two capable goalies and if we want to have any success, we're going to need both of them. We said, you know what, let's do what's right, not risk anything here and be cautious. We'll give him another day of practice and he'll be 100%."

NEXT GAME:

Game 2 between the Islanders and Pens will be on Tuesday, May 18 at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.