Game 2 Preview: Islanders vs. Penguins

GAME 2: ISLANDERS AT PENGUINS
7:30 PM | PPG PAINTS ARENA
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The New York Islanders took a 1-0 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. Armed with at least a road split in Pittsburgh, the stakes will be raised even higher in the First Round series between the two fierce East Division rivals. A win for the Islanders in Game 2 would be pivotal for the team to be able to return home to Long Island for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead.
With that in front of them, the Islanders are taking a game-by-game approach after dissecting their performance in Game 1 and preparing for another tough contest in Game 2.

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Update: Per Pens Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Casey DeSmith did not skate today and will not play tonight. Brian Dumoulin and Evgeni Malkin will be game-time decisions.

Focus On the Next One

With just a day in between Games 1 and 2, the Islanders held an optional practice, but concentrated their focus on reviewing the strengths of Game 1 and bettering themselves for the ever-important next game.
"You take each game as a singular event and you move on," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "Good, bad or indifferent, you try to get better. If you win or if you lose, you try to get better. Today will be about let's get our bodies right, let's get our minds right. We didn't do anything, we won one hockey game. We've got a lot of improvement in some areas.
"We're going to focus on the battle tomorrow that Pittsburgh's going to bring," Trotz continued. "That's the fun thing about the playoffs right now, is you embrace what's in front of you."
While the Islanders scored the first goal of the game in Game 1, they surrendered two-straight tallies and trailed 2-1 heading into the third period. The team executed its best period of the game in the third period, and took a 3-2 lead before Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen sent the game into OT with 4:39 left in regulation.
In overtime, Kyle Palmieri bookended the scoring as he lifted the Islanders to victory with the game-winner in his Islanders playoff debut, scoring his first-career playoff OT winner.
The Islanders, who are comprised of a veteran group and have retained the majority of the same squad that reached the Eastern Conference Final last season, understands the magnitude of every game and maintains a short memory.
"It's important in any series to focus on one game at a time," Matt Martin said. "It's a race to four. We did a good job picking up the first game. Now, our goal is to make it a 2-0 series. We know it's going to be tough. They're a good hockey team and will play a desperate game tomorrow. We need to be at our best and be ready for what's ahead."

Special Teams

One area in particular that the Islanders both excelled at and can strengthen is their special teams. After entering the series as the sixth-best shorthanded unit (83.7%) in the NHL during the regular season, the Islanders penalty kill continued its dominance as it was a perfect 3-for-3 against the Pens' lethal power play.
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On the flip side, the Islanders power play went 0-for-2 on the night and was unable to capitalize on Jeff Carter's four-minute double minor in the second period.
"We didn't execute and I thought we got spread out a little bit," Trotz said of the Islanders' power play. "Our releases and our exits weren't clean. Therefore, they were able to get sticks, get into those battles, breakup plays and they were able to anticipate your next pass. We didn't move it quick enough. It's all about executing very quick against their pressure. It started with execution, our entries, our retrievals and our moving into our options, we didn't do it quick enough and therefore we didn't get anything done."

The Chess Match Begins

After facing each other eight times over the course of this year's 56-game regular season and having taken on the Penguins in the 2019 First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there's little unknown between clubs.
For Trotz, his familiarity with the Mike Sullivan-led Penguins dates back even farther, to when he was formerly the coach of the Washington Capitals up against Pittsburgh for three-straight postseasons (2015-18). There's nothing but respect between the two accomplished coaches who are still vying after the same goal, a Stanley Cup.
"[Sullivan] is an outstanding coach," Trotz said. "What he did with the Penguins this year is really remarkable. I thought he did an excellent job and he's an excellent coach. He's going to make the adjustments [from] watching our game, knowing his team and knowing the personalities, they've got some great people over there. They're going to make the adjustments from what they saw."
Trotz is expecting both sides to make some adjustments for Game 2.
Per Pens Inside Scoop, Evgeni Malkin - who did not play in Game 1 - joined the team for practice on Monday and was confirmed by Sullivan as a game-time decision. Meanwhile, goaltender Casey DeSmith - who missed Game 1 and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury - missed practice, as did Brian Dumoulin, who took a maintenance day.
The Islanders held an optional practice on Monday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena in which they only had their taxi squad members skate. They received an encouraging addition as goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who missed Game 1, participated in the skate.
"We're going to try and anticipate some of the adjustments, but there's some adjustments that we need to make as well," Trotz said. "This is where the chess match comes in a little bit. At the end of the day, it's making sure you're mentally focused to prepare to play tomorrow night. Be your best, be your best tomorrow with what you have. Hopefully, you get the results."