Know who the Penguins could use right about now? Tanner Pearson.
Not that he would've made an iota of difference in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. If Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang can't solve Robin Lehner and Co., there's scant evidence to believe Pearson would've either. But "Pears" could have regaled the boys about what it's like to overcome a three-game deficit to win a Stanley Cup playoff series.
That's what Pearson's L.A. Kings did five years ago and it's the same hill the Penguins must climb after the Islanders took a 3-0 stranglehold on this first-round series Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. That means over the next 48 hours you'll hear plenty about "taking it one shift at a time" and about "the fourth win is the hardest." It's all nonsense, of course. In the 102-year history of the NHL, only four teams -- the 2014 Kings, 2010 Flyers, '75 Islanders and the '42 Maple Leafs -- have pulled off that feat.
"We just have to worry about one game," Crosby was saying. "We just have to focus on winning Game 4. We haven't left ourselves a lot of room for error. All we can control is coming here with the right mindset for Game 4 and finding a way to get a win."
But if you've watched any of the first three games in this series, the last two in particular, there's little reason to believe that history will repeat. Whether the end comes here Tuesday night, Thursday back at the Coliseum or whenever, it would appear to be a fait accompli.
Really, other than the locale, Sunday's loss was more of the same from the Penguins, as it was in Games 1 and 2 on Long Island. Sure, there were a few more odd-man breaks allowed and Matt Murray wasn't great, but the biggest reason why the Penguins find themselves in this hole is one that few would have expected a week ago, even against a New York defense that averaged the fewest goals-against this season at 2.33.
Pittsburgh's top line, stalled all series, actually took a step backward Sunday. Crosby, the NHL's fifth-leading scorer in the regular-season, is still without a point. Same goes for linemate Guentzel. Even with the addition of Dominik Simon, a driver of possession, the Penguins' top line was completely neutralized. In fact, Crosby was a team-worst minus-3. Want to talk about fancy stats? That trio had a Corsi For percentage of 40.91 and gave up more scoring changes against (8) than for (7).
"You've got to earn your bounces," Crosby was saying. "There are no excuses. We've got to find a way to put it in the back of the net. If we work hard and do the right things we'll earn our bounces."
Actually, the Penguins did earn a fortuitous bounce and it came off the stick of Garrett Wilson, of all people. At 12:54 of the first, the fourth-liner gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead when he tipped a Marcus Pettersson shot past Lehner:
It was exactly the kind of manufactured, greasy goal the Penguins could use at least a half-dozen more of against the Islanders and their 6-foot-5, 240-pound goalie.
Of course, that was all a moot point when Murray surrendered a no-angle shot to Jordan Eberle at the left side of the net just :28 later:
It was an appropriate response from the Islanders but somewhat predictable. It's exactly what they did in Game 2 when they allowed the Penguins a lead for just 2:49. Once again, the Penguins have scored first and played with a lead but wasted it.
"We've got to try and keep momentum better," Wilson said. "That next shift, the one after, we have to be ready to go. They made a nice shot on that first one and swung momentum and were able to get it back."
Want to blame Murray? Sure, he's lost five playoff games in a row dating back to last spring. But it's hard to place all the blame on the goalie when he's had little goal support. Sunday's game was the second in a row that the Penguins were limited to a solitary goal.
"We just got to keep moving forward," said Murray, who allowed three goals on 35 shots. "At this point, nothing else matters."
Actually, the only thing that should matter is scoring goals. After Eberle knotted the game, the Islanders scored three unanswered. The Penguins averaged 3.30 goals per game this season but have been unable to get much going offensively. And when they did have chances, like Hornqvist's from in front early in the third period, the Penguins simply missed or didn't get the rebound:
"We had more significant zone time and a lot of pucks around the net that we couldn't finish," Mike Sullivan said. "It's not that opportunities didn't present themselves. We just need to finish on them."
In front of Lehner, the Islanders have all five skaters committed to defending at all cost. They blocked 23 shots to just 13 for the Penguins even though they out-shot Pittsburgh 36-26, including 12-9 in the third period with the Penguins' season on the line.
"They defend hard," said Matt Cullen. "Their goaltender is playing well. They're getting solid 'D' from all their lines. They're committed to five guys in the box in front of the net and make it hard to get pucks through and get second chances. It's nothing we weren't prepared for. We just haven't found a way to get a few past them. Until we do that, we're not going to win."
No, they're not going to win. There has been no signature Ed Westfall, John Tonelli or David Volek rip-your-heart-out moment in this series and none has been required. This has been death by a thousand paper cuts.
This is the first time that the Penguins have faced a 3-0 deficit since the 2013 Eastern Conference final when they were swept by the Bruins. As tough as things are now, those Penguins managed just two goals in the series.
"It's not over," Jack Johnson said defiantly. "It's not over."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Jordan Eberle
Islanders right winger
Linemates Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee get the spotlight but Eberle now has three goals in three games. He had zero in 13 playoff games with the Oilers.
2. Robin Lehner
Islanders goaltender
Stopped 25 of 26 shots, including five high-danger chances, for his third win of the series.
3. Valterri Filppula
Islanders center
Underrated veteran had two-assist game.
THE GOOD
Jared McCann was a game-time decision. Literally.
The left winger spilt line rushes with Zach Aston-Reese during the pre-game skate but was not listed on the lineup card and was announced as a scratch. However, when the Penguins stood along the blueline for the National Anthem, there was McCann.
Of course, that meant that Teddy Blueger was out of the lineup. Entering the series, there was some speculation that Blueger would supplant Wilson on the fourth line. That hasn't happened and Wilson showed why with his first-period goal, his first in nine career playoff games.
"They defend hard and get in lanes," Wilson was saying. "We have to find a way to get tips, screens and rebounds. (Lehner) kicked them out. We have to do a better job of getting them."
Wilson also added four hits, one block and a takeaway. He was also part of the Penguins' penalty-killing unit which went 2-for-2 in Game 3, including :53 of 5-on-3 in the second period.
The 28-year-old has been a nice story this season after being out of the league the past two seasons. However, the Penguins' last two goals have come from Erik Gudbranson and Wilson. If those guys are scoring and the stars aren't, you know the Penguins are in trouble.
"Just have to focus on the one game," Wilson was saying. "We've got the guys in here that can win a hockey game. Still have confidence in here."
THE BAD
As the two games at Nassau Coliseum made abundantly clear, home-ice can be a sizable advantage when harnessed properly. It's not just about having the last change and favorable matchups, though those surely help. It's also about emotion and momentum, even more so during the postseason.
Sure, the Islanders' defense has been stifling but the Penguins should have been able to seize momentum on the power play, right? Uh, apparently not. They went 0-for-3 with just four shots on Sunday and looked out of sorts while doing so.
Shortly after Crosby drew a hooking penalty on Adam Pelech at 10:35 of the first period, he turned the puck over in the slot leading to a short-handed break for Cal Clutterbuck:
Then, a minute later, Simon did the same:
It went like this all game. For the series, the Penguins are now 1-for-8 with the advantage, their lone goal coming in the second period of Game 1 when Malkin scored. Is it something the Islanders are doing or a lack of execution?
"I'm sure it's a little bit of both," Sullivan said.
Then again, no one should be surprised that the power play struggled again at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins had the NHL's fifth-ranked power play in the regular-season at 24.6 percent, but were 20th on home ice at just 18.2 percent.
THE OTHER SIDE
If the Islanders are on the verge of advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016, you wouldn't have known it by walking in their dressing room Sunday afternoon. True to form, the buttoned-up Islanders aren't looking past anyone, even if they're up 3-0.
“We know it’s not over,” said Josh Bailey. “So, there’s nothing to be celebrating at this point. We know they’re a really good team and we know the next game is going to be even tougher.”
Barry Trotz says the Islanders' game plan has been to stop everyone, not just Crosby, who he called the "gold standard."
"There isn't any focus on one particular guy," he said. "When we are on the ice against anyone in this league, you take care of your own business. I think we've been doing that."
The last time the Islanders held a 3-0 series lead was the the 1983 Stanley Cup Final when they went on to sweep Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers for their fourth and last championship.
THE DATA
• Malkin and Hornqvist, who were together for most of the game, shared the Corsi For percentage lead at 62.07.
• Ten of the Penguins' 18 skaters were underwater in Corsi For percentage, including Simon at 46.15.
• The pairing of Justin Schultz and Johnson had a particularly rough game. They were on the ice together for four scoring chances-for and 11 against.
• Hits are a subjective statistic that are usually inaccurate because they vary arena to arena. For what it's worth, the Penguins were credited with 58 hits to the Islanders' 47. Bryan Rust led the way with seven.
THE INJURIES
• McCann, forward, returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury.
• Chad Ruhwedel, defenseman, missed his 22nd game with an upper-body injury. He practiced in full on Saturday.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings as they finished:
Guentzel — Crosby — Hornqvist
McCann — Malkin—Kessel
Simon — Bjugstad — Aston-Reese
Wilson — Cullen— Rust
Dumoulin — Letang
Johnson — Schultz
Pettersson — Gudbranson
And for Trotz’s Islanders:
Lee — Barzal — Eberle
Bailey — Nelson — Kuhnhackl
Beauvillier — Filppula — Komarov
Martin — Cizikas — Clutterbuck
Leddy — Boychuk
Pelech — Pulock
Mayfield — Toews
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins' practice originally scheduled for 11 a.m. in Cranberry has been pushed back to noon. I'll have your coverage from the Lemieux Complex. The Islanders scheduled a practice for 12:40 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena. DK, Taylor, Sunday and myself will be back at the arena for Tuesday night's Game 4. All of our Game 3 coverage can be found here.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Islanders, Game 3, PPG Paints Arena, April 14, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS