Penguins Stun Islanders (and me) 6-3

I confess, life kept me otherwise detained yesterday and I didn’t watch any of last night’s Penguins-Islanders game at the Paint Can. Nor did I learn of the result by the time my head hit the pillow. So you can imagine my surprise when I awoke this morning and checked the result on NHL.com.

Penguins 6, Islanders 3!

Honestly, with our injury depleted lineup (make that injury ravaged) I was expecting…say…3-1 in favor of the Isles. After all, we were runnin’ with the big dogs and not lowly Buffalo.

Since I didn’t see the game, this will be more commentary than summary. In homage to our offensive explosion, I’ll focus on our goal scorers.

Frederick Gaudreau got us off and running at 5:48 of the first period. I’ve alluded to it before but I’ll come flat out and say it now. I think we’ve found (okay, tripped over) our fourth-line center. Since his call-up ten days ago, Freddy’s been everything you could ask for and more. He’s skated with passion and fire, not to mention speed, and has shown decent hands and instincts (a goal and two assists).

Filling in for Mark Jankowski (COVID protocol) on the third line last night, he played just over 17 minutes, won 53 percent of his faceoffs, registered two takeaways and helped kill off three penalties. Thus far, he’s provided a real spark.

Second in the conga line of black-and-gold scorers was Evan Rodrigues. I may draw some flak from my esteemed colleague Other Rick and frequent commenter Mike, but “E-Rod” is growing on me. While I don’t share Mike Sullivan’s sentiments…during an episode of Inside Penguins Hockey, Sully said Rodrigues “…is going to score a lot of goals for us,” he’s developing into a versatile player who can slot in just about anywhere and be at least reasonably effective.

Of course, no Pens game would be complete these days without a hefty contribution from our captain, Sidney Crosby. El Sid notched our third goal, picked up an assist and won 63 percent of his draws. More important, he’s taken the mantle of leadership on his shoulders, literally willing our banged-up troops to victory. My word, has he been impressive.

The McDavids and Draisaitls of the world may put up flashier numbers. But in my book, No. 87 is still the best all-around player in the game…bar none.

I’ll wrap up my ramble with a shout-out for Bryan Rust, who notched a hat trick. Aside from Crosby and perhaps Jake Guentzel, has there been a more consistent player this season than the “Rusty Razor?”

He never takes a shift off. And while he may lack elite finishing skills, Rust gets his chances through the sheer dint of speed and hustle and an indomitable lunch-pail work ethic. Simply put, he gets ‘er done.

So did our boys last night.

Puckpourri

The Islanders outshot the Pens (32-21) and outhit them as well (37-22). We won 55 percent of the faceoffs and prevailed in the special-teams battle, converting on two of four man advantages while killing all four Islanders power plays.

The Pens once again received remarkably strong contributions from up and down the lineup, as eight forwards registered at least a point. Sam Lafferty made an especially pretty pass to set up Gaudreau’s goal. Following a rocky start to the season the Hollidaysburg native’s been coming on of late.

Jared McCann continued his hot streak with two assists. Guentzel recorded two helpers as well.

With Jankowski out, Drew O’Connor joined the fourth line, with fellow rookie Radim Zohorna sliding to center. They joined hulking Anthony Angello to form a sizeable trio.

On the back end, Kris Letang picked up two helpers and finished a plus-two in 23:55 of ice time. With 27 points, “Tanger’s” presently tied for sixth among NHL rearguards in scoring.

A little love for Sullivan and the coaching staff, who’ve somehow kept us humming through the tidal wave of injuries.

The victory enabled the third-place Pens to maintain a seven-point bulge over Boston in the MassMutual East. The Bruins beat Buffalo, 3-2, while the fifth-place Flyers topped the Rangers, 2-1.