Penguins succumb in six
Three Islander goals in three minutes spell end of season
UNIONDALE, N. Y. — The chants started raining down on Tristan Jarry at 6:36 p.m., the raucous crowd at Nassau Coliseum letting the Penguins goalie know before the puck had even dropped that they expected it to be another rough night.
“Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry!”
Jarry had given away two wins to the New York Islanders already, the last one quite literally with his stickhandling gaffe in Monday’s doubleovertime loss at PPG Paints Arena. Now the series, and a oncepromising season, hung in the balance in Game 6. A potentially transformative offseason was waiting if the Penguins lost.
“Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry!”
Jarry would melt down one more time Wednesday night, costing the Penguins yet another game in their first-round playoff series. The Islanders eliminated them with a 5-3 victory. The Islanders won three consecutive games to take the series, 4-2.
Jarry stopped just 19 of 24 shots for the Penguins, who never stood a chance.
Two weeks ago, Sidney Crosby believed these Penguins would go on a deep playoff run. Instead they went one-and-done, blowing three leads in Game 6.
“We had a good group and did a lot of good things,” the Penguins captain said. “We easily could have made a run. I feel pretty confident about this group.”
After another season ended in disappointment, Mike Sullivan didn’t want to place the burden of blame on his goalie. But the coach’s assessment that he liked the way the team played in five of the six games in the series spoke volumes.
“Listen, you win games as
a team. You lose games as a team,” he said. “It’s not any one position or any one person’s fault. Everyone’s doing their best to try to be part of the solution. … We’ve got to support one another through the process.”
Jeff Carter scored 1:27 into Wednesday’s game but that lead lasted less than four minutes. The Islanders raced up the ice on a 2-on-2 and Anthony Beauvillier beat Crosby to the net. He roofed a backhand to score on New York’s first shot on Jarry.
“Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry!”
Jake Guentzel scored his first of the series to restore the lead. But Jarry gave it right back just over a minute later. Jean-Gabriel Pageau flung the puck on goal. Jarry had a chance to smother his shot but let a rebound leak out to Kyle Palmieri.
After that soft goal, Guentzel fired the puck into the boards in frustration.
“Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry!”
Sullivan during his Penguins tenure has typically displayed a deft touch when it comes to making a goalie change. But he opted to stick with Jarry even though a clear lack of confidence in Jarry affected the composure of the guys in front of him. After the loss, Sullivan declined to say why he didn’t put in back-up goalie Maxime Lagace.
Jason Zucker scored on a deflection 1:53 into the second period to make it 3-2. But the Islanders soon buried Jarry and the Penguins in an avalanche of goals.
Beauvillier blew by Crosby at the blue line and placed a one-timer on a tee for Brock Nelson. Thirteen seconds later, Ryan Pulock scored off of a faceoff, a major issue for the Penguins during the series. Nelson then dribbled a shot between Jarry’s pads. With three goals in 2: 59, the Islanders ran up the score to 5-3.
“Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry! Jarrrrrry!”
Jarry posted a .888 save percentage while allowing 21 goals in six games.
He was far from the only Penguin who struggled. Crosby had another quiet postseason, with a minus-3 rating in the loss and just two points in the series. Guentzel took a beating and couldn’t finish on offense. Brian Dumoulin had two costly lapses in Game 5. Jared McCann didn’t score a goal.
But even with just average goaltending, the Penguins probably win this series.
Instead, they have now lost 13 of their past 16 playoff games under Sullivan. They are 0-4 in elimination games since their consecutive Stanley Cup wins.
“The hunger is still in that room,” Carter said. “And that comes from the top guys. Those guys want to win. They want to get back to the top. You can see that. There’s some really disappointed guys in that room. This year was a really good opportunity for this group, and unfortunately we came up short here.”
Pittsburgh entered the 2021 playoffs with high hopes after the first-place Penguins overcame so much adversity during the first two months of the season.
Training camp started in January with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the team took great care in keeping players, coaches and staffers safe.
Jarry, their new No. 1 goalie, had to bounce back after a worrisome start.
Two weeks into the regular season, general manager Jim Rutherford blindsided the franchise with his abrupt resignation.
Few teams had players miss more games due to injury than the Penguins. Early on, it was their blue line that was decimated. When March rolled around, they lost a few key forwards, most notably Evgeni Malkin, for extended stretches.
Despite it all, the Penguins got rolling in March, climbed the East Division standings and surged down the stretch to win their first division title since 2013-14.
But for the second time in three years, the Islanders took them down in the first round. Now franchise-altering decisions are waiting.
Will new general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke bring back Sullivan after another early exit at the hands of a less talented team? How much will they alter the team’s on-ice identity? Did Malkin, Kris Letang or another Cup winner just play their last game with the Penguins?
“I’ve never been one to try to be GM and I’m not going to start now,” Crosby said, adding, “It is a business. So that’s up to other people. As far as what I see and how I feel, there’s zero doubt in my mind that the group we have is a really good group and we had an opportunity here. And that’s why it stings so much.”
The Penguins have a massive question in the crease after shaky play and a shocking lack of poise from Jarry doomed them in these playoffs.
After the final buzzer blared on Wednesday’s loss and potentially the end of an era in Penguins hockey, Islanders fans voiced their appreciation a final time.