Game Recap: Islanders 6, Penguins 3

Barry Trotz emphasizes shot quality over shot quantity, but even the Islanders coach had to be a little surprised by his team's efficiency in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Islanders scored five goals on their first 10 shots of the game, which was enough to overcome a slow start and hand the Islanders their third win a row - a clean 3-0-0 sweep on their Metropolitan Division road trip.
"We capitalized on our chances," Tom Kuhnhackl said. "We didn't put a lot of shots on net in the first half of the game. We didn't play to our game, but in the second half we played a real solid road game and we got rewarded for it."

Kuhnhackl was one of the Islanders five goal scorers on Tuesday, along with Andrew Ladd, Brock Nelson, Matt Martin and Jordan Eberle (2G), though the hero of the night could have easily been Robin Lehner for his play early on, as the Isles weathered an early Penguins surge.
Trotz was especially displeased with his team's first period performance, one that saw them get outshot 15-6 - excluding Patric Hornqvist's shot off the post - and said his team stole the period just by the virtue of being in a 2-2 tie. He wasn't happy with the start of the second either, as the Islanders were forced on the defensive again. The Penguins outshot the Islanders 7-0 until Martin converted a cross-ice pass from Casey Cizikas to make it 3-2. Martin's goal was the Islanders first shot of the period - and it came just shy of the midway mark.
"I don't think that's really the way you want to do it against them," Martin said. "Our goaltending was great, held us in the game and we were able to be pretty opportunistic with our chances."
From there, the floodgates opened, as the Islanders scored on two of their next three shots, with Jordan Eberle scoring his second and third goals of the season. Eberle's power-play goal - a walkout from the corner and quick shot far side - ended Matt Murray's night after the Penguins goalie gave up four goals on nine shots. Backup Casey DeSmith didn't fare much better, as Eberle scored his second of the game on the Islanders next shot - finishing a saucer pass from Mathew Barzal off the rush - to make it 5-2.

"I'm really impressed by the way we were able to pull it back together," Trotz said. "Sometimes when you're not going really well you can't get it back on the rails. This group did today, so good on them."
It wasn't completely smooth sailing from that point. Robin Lehner (23 saves) left the game after the second period with a strain, so Thomas Greiss (12 saves) played the third period in relief. Evgeni Malkin made it 5-3 at 1:23, but that was as close as the Penguins would come. Tom Kuhnhackl provided the icing on the cake, scoring his first goal as an Islander in his first game against his former team.
Most importantly, the Islanders came away from their current Metropolitan Division road trip with a perfect 3-0-0 record and ended a road-heavy October with a 6-4-1 record, despite playing eight road games.
"They've become a bit of road warriors," Trotz said. "You look at the schedule at the start of the season and you think this could be a tough start, but guys bought in and have been battling. Being on the road, especially with all the new personnel that we have has probably been a blessing in disguise."

KUHNHACKL SCORES VS PENS:

Tom Kuhnhackl got the whole gamut of emotions in his return to Pittsburgh.
Kuhnhackl shared in the pain of the recent tragedy in Pittsburgh, felt appreciation during a second period tribute from the Penguins and was elated when he scored against his former team.
After an emotional day, Kuhnhackl was just happy for the Islanders to get out with two points. He was still pretty happy about netting his first as an Islander, throwing a puck on net that caromed off Jamie Oleksiak and past DeSmith.
"It felt great. I didn't even know if I should have celebrated or not," Kuhnhackl said. "Good things happen when you throw pucks on net. I'm just happy it went in."

BAILEY EXTENDS STREAK:

Josh Bailey extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Brock Nelson's first period goal.
Bailey now has the primary assist on four of Nelson's last five goals.

ISLANDERS JOIN IN TRIBUTE TO PITTSBURGH SHOOTING VICTIMS:

The Islanders showed their support for the Pittsburgh community on Tuesday night, wearing special Stronger Than Hate stickers on their helmets during the game.
The stickers were part of the Penguins Stronger Than Hate tribute to the victims of the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday.
The Penguins staged an emotional pre-game ceremony on Tuesday, featuring a moment of silence, a special jersey patch and fundraiser, as well as a ceremonial puck drop from officers injured in the shooting.

Tweet from @NYIslanders: #StrongerThanHateOur hearts are with Pittsburgh. Please join in the effort to support victims and families of Saturday's tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue: https://t.co/mgwgiO1WK4 pic.twitter.com/DVbq1hjb1F

Tweet from @penguins: We stand together.#StrongerThanHate pic.twitter.com/EU6G2iotIZ

ISLANDERS LINES:

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Penguins wrap up a home-and-home set on Thursday night at Barclays Center.