Tristan Jarry stopped all 25 shots he faced Friday night and Kasperi Kapanen scored the game’s only goal as the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins edged the skidding and undermanned New York Islanders, 1-0, in Elmont, N.Y.
The shutout was the third in 17 starts this season for Jarry, tying the career high he set in 31 starts in 2019-20.
The Penguins have won five straight.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin recorded 29 saves, including a pair on breakaway attempts in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as the Islanders completed a nightmarish first homestand at UBS Arena.
The Islanders, who have six players in COVID-19 protocols and another three — including leading scorer Brock Nelson — out indefinitely due to injuries, went 0-4-0 and never led while running their regulation losing streak to eight games, the longest for the franchise since an eight-game losing streak from Oct. 23 through Nov. 10, 2010.
The Penguins snapped the scoreless tie following an end-to-end rush late in the second period. Sidney Crosby took a pass from Jake Guentzel in the Pittsburgh zone, raced up the neutral zone and dished to Kapanen just as Islanders right winger Matt Martin bore in to make a hit on Crosby. Kapanen and Guentzel had a two-on-one opportunity with New York defenseman Thomas Hickey in between them, but instead of passing, Kapanen maneuvered the puck around Hickey’s extended stick and beyond Sorokin into the far corner of the net.
The Islanders outshot the Penguins 11-7 in the third and generated some buzz shortly after the midway point, when fourth-liners Martin and Cal Clutterbuck earned roughing penalties for sparring with Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson. Sorokin maintained the one-goal deficit by stopping Jason Zucker on a breakaway with 6:20 left and by turning away Crosby on the breakaway with 2:03 remaining.
The Islanders’ best chance to tie the score came with just over two minutes left, when Jarry sprawled and kicked away a rebound attempt by Otto Koivula. Sorokin was pulled less than a minute later, but New York didn’t mount a serious threat with the extra attacker.
–Field Level Media
