Sully Says: This Loss Stings

Going into Thursday's matchup with the Islanders, Sidney Crosby spoke about the importance of managing the game.

That had been an issue in each of the previous two meetings, with New York rallying to win late in regulation on Feb. 17 in Long Island before turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 victory with three third-period goals a few days later in Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, tonight's contest followed a similar script.
The Penguins again played a phenomenal 40 minutes of hockey at PPG Paints Arena, skating out to a 3-1 lead after two periods with goals from Jake Guentzel, Jason Zucker and Josh Archibald … before the Islanders again came back… and won 4-3 in overtime.
"I think we played a good game today. We played the way that we wanted to play. It's just a couple instances where they score those important goals, that we need to find a way to stop," Rickard Rakell said. "It's frustrating. We feel like we definitely outplayed them in the games we played against them this year, but we haven't gotten the results we wanted."
Brock Nelson and Anders Lee continued to terrorize the Penguins. After opening the scoring with a power-play goal, Lee tied the game with 1:15 left in regulation to give him eight goals in his last five meetings against Pittsburgh.
After Tristan Jarry turned aside one breakaway in overtime, Nelson was able to convert another to give him four goals in three matchups with the Penguins this season.
"We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves," Zucker said. "We've got huge games this weekend. We got a ton of huge games down the stretch here that are division games, conference games, all of the above. We've gotta be better. We gotta be able to push here."
Here's what head coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game.
On if a loss like this is that much more difficult to stomach considering how well Pittsburgh played for most of the night: "Yeah, it's tough to swallow. It stings. I feel badly for the players because I thought for the majority of the night, we were the better team. We had some momentary lapses in the third, they get back in the game."
On what is it about these guys against the Penguins in the third period: "I wish I had an answer for you. You know, like I said, I thought for the majority of the night, we were the better hockey team. It just seems like they've been opportunistic. They pushed in the third period, they're down a couple of goals. It's natural. For the most part, I thought we handled it pretty well. There were a couple of instances that ended up in the back of our net."
On if getting the puck deep below their goal line was critical to what was going on for the first 50 minutes, and if the penalties the Penguins took in the third period tilt the ice back the other way: "Well, they didn't help. They didn't help because it gives the other team momentum, you know? And yes, I thought for the most part, we made pretty good decisions. We played behind them a lot. We didn't get stubborn with the puck coming through the neutral zone. We have a significant amount of offensive zone time. We had a significant amount of scoring chances. They're a good hockey team. They've got good players, too. They pushed back in the third. Like I said, for a fair amount of it, I thought we handled it pretty well. I thought our compete level was extremely high. I thought our intent was in the right place. That's why a loss like this stings."
On how the power play obviously could have made a difference in this one as well, what's missing from it right now, and if he would be considering any kind of changes there: "I just think movement and execution. And no, we're not going to consider changes. We like that group. They've been one of the best power plays in the league since January. Their expected goals has been like, top three in the league. So that suggests that the process is there. They're getting a lot of looks in the big picture, and in the body of work. If we could finish a little bit more, I think that would help. We like the group. They have their ups and their downs. They had one power play where it was a two-minute power play, they had the puck in the zone the whole time. They had a bunch of looks, and it just didn't go in the net for them. So we just got to stay with it. We got to stick with these guys, and stay with it. But I just think when they're at their best, there's movement, there's a shot mentality. We're getting to the net, and we create off of it. I thought that one power play when they had the puck in the zone the whole time, they had that. So, a lot of it, there's a fine line. I think it boils down to just execution and good decisions.
On if there's a thread with the way they play against the Islanders that's been an issue:"Well, we're trying to play the game that brought us success. We're trying to play on our toes, we're trying to play a calculated game. We don't want to give them easy offense, but we're still trying to score. I think that's an important aspect of learning how to play with leads and handle leads, and work to get the next goal. You just got to do it the right way. So, that was the conversation that was had in between periods. And as I said, I thought even though we didn't dominate the territory in the third period, like we did in the first two - that's not easy to do in today's NHL, with teams that are as good as a team like the Islanders. We knew that they were going to push back. They're a good hockey team. I thought for the most part, we handled it pretty well. We had opportunities, I think, to establish more offensive zone time. I think when we took the penalties, it took us out of it a little bit. Kind of fed their momentum. We've got to be better. We've got to be better."