Pittsburgh Penguins Beat Tavares to Pulverize the New York Islanders

Sid should send 91 a “Been there. Sucks to be the obvious best player on your emerging playoff team” fruit basket. And some ice packs.

There was so much that went right last night for the Penguins that this post could focus on just about anything, but it feels good to be on the giving end of a seek-and-destroy strategy. The Pens registered 36 hits. I lost track of how many of those were on John Tavares, but it was enough to be a constant physical presence that prevented him from even getting a shot on goal last night. As Tavares’ success goes, so goes the success of the Islanders. There is the fact that Fleury played very well last night, but the vast majority of the Islanders’ 25 shots on goal weren’t exactly quality chances coming from the disheveled Islanders offense. His rebound control continues to impress me, but I digress…

The “make a dent” part of the Pens’ strategy forces the Islanders to shift their focus from scoring to protecting. Protecting often means retaliating. Retaliating often means power plays. Power plays often mean Penguin goals – 2/4 last night. So this leaves the Islanders in a tough position: Continue to protect and retaliate or leave their golden goose to fend for himself against Brenden Morrow, (eventually?) Brooks Orpik, and a guy nicknamed Crankshaft.

Let’s open this up to the IslesTalk.com team. You’re the experts on the Islanders. What resources do the Islanders have to take care of this issue, because I don’t see the Pens letting up on Tavares any time soon.

15. Let’s Go Pens!