— x - New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) May 19, 2021
Semyon Varlamov got the start for the Islanders after missing Game 1. He got off to a rough start early in the first period, allowing a weak goal to Bryan Rust on a shot he really should’ve had.
The Islanders as a team were slow as well and as was the case with the beginning of Game 1, they were getting pinned in their end a bit. The Penguins got the bulk of shots in the first period and converted on another, as Jeff Carter slid a puck past Varlamov from in close later in the frame. While the Islanders started creating more chances of their own as the period went on, the Islanders found themselves down 2-0 after 20 minutes.
New York managed to take control in the second period and did a better job forechecking and sustaining pressure. After a strong period, Josh Bailey managed to bring the Islanders back within a goal on a really nice effort to cut to the front of the net and score.
Unfortunately, that’s as close as the Islanders would come, as the third period was largely controlled by the Penguins. New York’s offense was completely shut down and even with a 6-on-4 to end the game, the Islanders couldn’t get much going.
Though the Islanders allowed a huge number of shots, they actually didn’t give up as many quality chances as most teams would when they allow 45 shots. That said, if you allow that many shots, you’ll probably need to score more than a single goal to win and while Varlamov allowed stoppable goals, he also saved some that could’ve gone in.
The bigger issue may have been New York’s offense. The team did manage 37 shots but had a real issue finishing on their chances. It was also the second game where New York’s bottom-six came to play but the top-six didn’t perform as well as the team needs them to. The top line in particular is off to a really slow start.
Overall, it wasn’t a poor game from the Islanders, despite a less than stellar start. That said, it was another scenario where the team didn’t necessarily play a complete game.
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