Sharing in a city's grief, the Penguins vowed to give an inspired effort that would make Pittsburgh proud.
And for a good portion of Tuesday night's game, they did just that. Seriously.
It started with the organization pulling out all the stops too, tugging at the heartstrings in a wonderful pre-game ceremony that brought a lump to more than a few throats among the 18,509 at PPG Paints Arena.
Though well-intentioned, the Penguins just couldn't capitalize on the emotion in the building or, really, to execute much of anything on the ice.
"It sucks," is how Dominik Simon summed up the Penguins' 6-3 loss to the Islanders.
For a team that was coming off a long, 12-day road trip, effort and stamina were surprisingly not the problem. Neither was the goaltending. Want to blame Matt Murray or Casey DeSmith for giving up five goals on 10 shots? One could, but that would be misguided.
"It's not so much about the goalie," Mike Sullivan said. "It's about the rest of the group."
Credit Barry Trotz's Islanders for being opportunistic. That's about all the Islanders were. The Penguins made a few mistakes, and the Islanders made them pay dearly.
If you can manage to look past the final score -- difficult, I know -- and look at the underlying statistics, the Penguins dominated in almost every facet.
The Penguins had been giving up 35.6 shots per game, third-most in the NHL, but held a decisive 15-6 edge in shots over the Islanders after one period and 25-17 after two. It's just that the Penguins were down 5-2 at that point and chasing the game. New York's 25 shots were the fewest the Penguins have allowed in their 10 games.
Territorially, the Penguins controlled possession. They held a 69-31 advantage in Corsi For percentage in all situations at the end of two periods. They finished with a 64-36 advantage.
Under normal circumstances those numbers should lead to victory. But, as we know, these last few days have been anything but normal in Pittsburgh.
"We played a pretty spirited first period. I know it was emotional for our guys," Sullivan said. "I felt like their energy was there. We played hard, but we didn't play smart. It's certainly a game we can learn from. We beat ourselves a bit."
The Penguins are a team that believes in trusting the process, and that process will lead to good results. It just didn't equate on Tuesday.
"They had some more puck luck than us, but that's not an excuse," Simon said. "But that's how it is. We should have defended better and put more pucks in the net."
The Penguins' three goals were the fewest they've scored in a game since their 3-0 win in Toronto on Oct. 18. Simon, who now has five points during his four-game points streak, scored the first one at 14:24 of the first period on Tuesday.
Not coincidentally, it was his second game skating on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. You'll recall that it was just three games ago that Simon was benched the entire third period vs. the Oilers in Edmonton.
What the future holds for the trio when Derick Brassard returns remains to be seen, but it is an intriguing option that would allow Sullivan to keep Brassard at center.
On Tuesday, the line of Crosby, Guentzel and Simon combined for 13 shots, six of them from Simon. Their possession numbers were equally impressive as Simon, the right winger, had a team-high Corsi For percentage of 83.87.
Simon might not be the sexiest option to skate alongside Crosby. Clearly, that would be Daniel Sprong or Patric Hornqvist or even Brassard. But there is an undeniable chemistry between Crosby and the 24-year-old Czech. Simon seems to have the required speed and vision to play with Crosby. In 33 games last season, Simon registered 12 points with the captain.
"Great to play with him," Simon was saying in a dressing room where first responders from Saturday's tragedy stood nearby. "He's an unreal player. It feels great to play with him. Just trying to find some soft spots and I tried to give it to him because he makes magic there."
Not sure about any "magic" on Simon's goal against Robin Lehner on Tuesday, but it was the result of some perseverance after Crosby and Co. had extended zone time. Simon simply put a puck toward the net that caromed in off the skate of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock:
The closet thing to "magic" came late in the third period with the Penguins trailing by three. Jamie Oleksiak fired a pass from his own zone to Simon at the far blue line. Simon cut toward center to buy himself some time and space before throwing a wrist shot toward the net where Crosby and Guentzel were driving toward the net:
However, Thomas Greiss sticked the puck away before either Penguin could get a stick on it.
It was a somewhat similar play to the gorgeous pass that Simon connected with Crosby on his goal Saturday night in Vancouver. But if Tuesday night showed anything for the Penguins it's that sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don't.
"We were cheering each other up because we played hard," Simon said. "Sometimes it happens, sometimes it sucks."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Jordan Eberle
Islanders center
With two goals on Tuesday, he now has four goals in his last five games against the Penguins.
2. Matt Martin
Islanders left winger
Some players are born to play for one team and the rough-and-tumble Martin is a true Islander. After playing the last two seasons with the Maple Leafs, Martin earned his first two-point game with New York since March 25, 2014.
3. Tom Kuhnhackl
Islanders right winger
The former Penguins penalty-killing ace and two-time Stanley Cup champion received a deserved ovation during his second period tribute video and then scored his first with the Islanders in the third period.
THE GOOD
OK, which Penguins defenseman has as many points as Erik Karlsson, Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien and Ryan McDonagh?
If you guessed Oleksiak, you would be correct.
The Big Rig now has seven points in nine games this season after recording another two assists on Tuesday. Six of his points have come in the last four games. After scoring a pair of goals in Edmonton last week, Oleksiak was telling me he wouldn't rule out scoring 35 to 40 goals this season. When I laughed, he said: "Hey, I'm not putting any limits on myself."
No, he won't score 40 goals but 40 points would be nice. With Justin Schultz and now Kris Letang out, the Penguins will take offense from their defense where they can get it. Perhaps the 26-year-old Oleksiak, the 14th overall pick in 2011, is just a late bloomer.
THE BAD
The Islanders have held the distinction of having the self-dubbed "best fourth line" in the NHL in recent seasons and it doesn't seem to matter who is on it. Casey Cizikas has been the one constant, though. The center earned one assist on Tuesday but was a thorn in the Penguins' side all night. New York's fourth line furthered its reputation by scoring two of the Islanders' six goals thanks to Martin and Kuhnhackl.
Compare that to the Penguins' bottom six. All were a minus-2 except for Derek Grant and Daniel Sprong, who were both minus-1.
THE PLAY
DK breaks down the Islanders' many weird goals.
THE CALL
Already down by two and looking for a spark, the Penguins challenged Eberle's second goal at 13:49 of the second. The Penguins argued that Eberle entered the zone offsides as Adam Pelech carried the puck in. Eberle ended up scoring on a feed from Mathew Barzal to make it 5-2. It was the Islanders' fifth goal on just 10 shots and the first on Casey DeSmith.
Though it was razor-thin close, video replay showed Eberle maintaining his left skate on the blue line and the call on the ice -- a goal -- was upheld. Here, judge for yourself:
The Penguins were penalized for delay of game, but the Islanders were unable to capitalize.
THE OTHER SIDE
Taylor Haase has the story from the Islanders' room.
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Kris Letang was out with a lower-body injury sustained Saturday in Vancouver. He had been a game-time decision and Sullivan reiterated that he is "day to day." Derick Brassard, forward, missed his second straight game, also with a lower-body injury. He is day-to-day. Justin Schultz, defenseman, is expected to miss four months after fracturing his leg Oct. 13 in Montreal.
• Islanders: Cal Clutterbuck, right winger, missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Wednesday at noon in Cranberry before leaving for Brooklyn, where they’ll face the Islanders in the second game of this home-and-home series.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Islanders, PPG Paints Arena, Oct. 30, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS