Islanders mark sweep of Penguins to advance

PITTSBURGH – It's not going to be easy. But last week, the islanders did more than prove their affiliation. They showed that they were by far the best team.

The Islanders completed their Penguins sweep with a landslide 3-1 victory in the fourth game of this first-round series on Tuesday night, the second playoff franchise victory since 1993. They are now waiting for the Capitals Series winner -Hurricanes. , with defending champion Stanley Cup, Washington, ahead 2-1

In fact, as the Presidents Trophy winner Lightning is shocked by the Blue Jackets, the Islanders are suddenly in the middle of a draw for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Capitals would surely remain favorites if they survived – and it would be very interesting to see the first year Islanders coach, Barry Trotz, take on the team led by him from last year's bench.

But the Islanders have come to this stage only by staying focused on the moment, a cliché for a reason. They have never been troubled by the Penguins, by the spotlight, by all the skeptics. They just continued to play their way, and the results were staggering.

Few were in favor of the arrival of the Islanders in this series, even though they finished with 103 points and a second place in the metropolitan division, three points ahead of the Penguins. But the pedigree of the three Pittsburgh Stanley Cups over the past decade has cast a shadow over the predictions, especially the fantastic Islanders Trotz season.

With its new defense system at first, the Islanders have retained control of almost every first three games in this series. It started with a spectacular 4-3 overtime win at the Coliseum in the opening game and a decisive 3-1 win in Game 2. Even when things moved in western Pennsylvania, the Islanders continued to stop the powerful Penguins with a score of 4-1 win.

And then they started the third period on Tuesday with a 2-1 lead. They had to play the rest of the way without two pillars, winger Cal Clutterbuck and defender Johnny Boychuk, two players who played a key role in the defense of the heads. Both left late in the second period with undisclosed wounds and did not return.

But there were players to step up, like when Scott Mayfield made a very good game to block Phil Kessel's shot with his right leg in the crook of the crease, preventing a power-play goal from catching up with a little more of 13 minutes. play in regulation.
Goaltender Robin Lehner was back in the game, and Josh Bailey ended the game with an empty net with 37.7 seconds remaining.

The Islanders were expecting the best of the Penguins from the start to try to extend their season, and it seemed like they would take control when Jake Guentzel scored the goal just 35 seconds into the match. 0 This was the first point of the series, the leading forward Guentzel, as captain Sidney Crosby, who got a decisive pass with a superb back pass.

But just as the Islanders did all the streaks – especially in Game 3, when they fell behind 1-0 – they lost no time in responding. The formidable Jordan Eberle scored his fourth goal in as many games as he beat goalkeeper Matt Murray with a superb shot from the first corner to finish the race 2-1 at 2:09.

Before the end of the first period, Bailey, in the corner, offered excellent feedback to Brock Nelson, who scored his third goal of the series to take the score to 2-1 early in the second period.

The Penguins continued to struggle to find traction early in the second period, but they had some life on the power play when Crosby opened the wide-open net and hit the post. Shortly after, Patric Hornqvist threw himself in with Lehner, almost trying to drop the gloves with the Islanders goaltender after a cut and a few shots.

Pittsburgh tried to push after that, but could never beat Lehner to equalize. The Islanders have therefore qualified for the third time, their advantage being to count only one equal time to complete the sweep and move to the second round.