Pens feeling good vibes
PITTSBURGH — Kris Letang has never missed the playoffs during his 15-year career. Still, the Penguins defenseman knows not all postseason opportunities are equal.
“Sometimes you have that feeling inside you like ‘This year is a good year,’ like you have a good team,” Letang said.
Something Letang believes this edition of the Penguins are following an eventful regular season in which they navigated a stream of injuries to high-profile players on their way to their first division title in seven years.
Good vibes in Pittsburgh, however, can vanish quickly, particularly when the Islanders are involved. The Islanders swept the Penguins in the first round two years ago. A rematch awaits on Sunday when the Penguins host the Islanders in Game 1 of the bestof-seven series. Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who has won each of his last two series against Pittsburgh, cautioned against drawing a direct line between what happened in 2019 and what will happen over the next two weeks.
“It seems like a decade ago, that playoff series,” Trotz said. “I thought (the Penguins) played, probably, consistent play through the whole year. They had a tough schedule at the start, and they were able to battle through it. They got a good hockey team, there’s no question.”
The Penguins won six of the eight meetings between the two during the regular season, including all four at PPG Paints Arena. The results could be a bit of a misnomer. Five of the games were decided by one goal. And for all of the Pens’ star power, it’s the Islanders who have put together deeper playoff runs lately. The Islanders advanced to the second round in 2019 and reached the Eastern Conference finals last summer.
“You know it’s going to be hard, but you know that if you go out there and do your job and play the way that you know to play that you give yourself a chance to actually do it,” Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck said. “That creates, you know, a fire in guys when you know you’ve got the team to do it and all you have to do is go out there and do it, and you give yourself a chance.”
Stingy in net: Islanders goaltenders Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin combined for an NHL-best 10 shutouts. Varlamov has a decided edge over the Penguins’ Tristan Jarry when it comes to understanding the rhythm and pressure of the postseason. Varlamov has appeared in 46 playoff games during his 13-year career. Jarry? Just one.
“Varly’s low maintenance and he’s been around a bit so there is something to be said a little bit with the experience,” Trotz said.
Carter creates: The Penguins acquired veteran forward Jeff Carter from the Kings at the trade deadline confident there was enough life left in the 36-year-old’s legs.
They weren’t wrong. Carter finished with a flourish, scoring nine goals in 14 games since his arrival, including the first four-goal game of his 16-year NHL career. The two-time Stanley Cup winner gives the Pens depth down the middle behind captain Sidney Crosby and longtime star Evgeni Malkin.