Islanders' Patrick Roy rips club's play in road loss to Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby reaches for the puck in front of Islanders goaltender Marcus Hogberg during the third period of an NHL game Sunday in Pittsburgh. Credit: AP/Matt Freed
PITTSBURGH — Marcus Hogberg, making his first NHL start in nearly four years, was good enough to nearly allow the Islanders to overcome their deficiencies and rally from a three-goal deficit in the third period. Patrick Roy had plenty of praise for the backup goalie.
But the coach took the rest of the Islanders to task after their 3-2 loss to the Penguins on Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena as the teams split a home-and-home series.
“I didn’t think we competed the way we are capable of,” Roy said. “[Saturday] we were quick on those loose pucks. We were sharp. We executed much better than we did [Sunday]. And we were more at the net as well. If you want to score on your shot, you better be a good shooter. If not, you’re going to have to drive the net.”
Saturday night’s 6-3 win over the Penguins at UBS Arena matched a season high for goals and was a good bounce-back from last Monday’s embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Sabres that sent the Islanders into the NHL holiday break.
But Roy gave his most damning assessment of his Islanders (14-16-7) while discussing the Penguins taking a 2-0 lead on Michael Bunting’s power-play goal at 1:36 of the second period. The Penguins (17-16-5) went 2-for-2 on the man advantage and the Islanders were 0-for-2. The Islanders have allowed 15 power-play goals in their last 14 games.
“I just felt that after we gave up that second goal, we were not mentally strong enough,” Roy said. “It’s just a goal. Two goals is nothing. We prove it. You could come back in those games. Sometimes I feel we don’t believe enough in that.”
The Islanders have won consecutive games only twice this season and have yet to win three in a row.
“We made a nice push there at the end but, at the same time, I just did not think we executed well enough tonight,” Bo Horvat said. “We did not break out as well as we did last game.
“It’s all about consistency in this league, and that’s why the best teams are at the top. Right now, this win-one-lose-one thing is not going to do us any favors going forward.”
Anders Lee deflected defenseman Alexander Romanov’s shot to bring the Islanders within 3-1 at 12:59 of the third period and added a six-on-five goal at 16:10 as Horvat’s shot banked off him.
It was too little too late.
“It just wasn’t sharp,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “Coming out of our own end, we caused a lot of our own issues. Turnovers. We didn’t break out clean. They kept forechecking. We spent a lot of time in our own end. I liked the fight we showed at the end, it’s just we’ve got to find a way to get to our game a little sooner than that.”
The Penguins’ Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29 shots and Hogberg, 30, who spent the last three seasons playing in his native Sweden, made 38 saves. That included robbing Bryan Rust from point-blank range at 17:25 of the third period to keep the Islanders’ chances alive.
“It feels good when I can make those saves,” said Hogberg, who had made two relief appearances since being recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on Dec. 5 but had not started an NHL game since leading the Senators to a 6-3 win over the Canucks on April 28, 2021.
“It was special. Going back to Sweden and then coming back again, it’s a pretty cool feeling to be standing here. But I want to win.”
Hogberg could not be faulted for the Penguins’ three goals. Former Islander Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring at 3:54 of the first period after getting open for a back-door feed. Defensive lapses also freed Bunting and Evgeni Malkin, at 6:57 of the third period, for power-play goals.
Notes & quotes: Sidney Crosby set up Bunting’s power-play goal with a backhanded feed from behind the crease for his 1,034th assist, moving him past Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for the franchise lead . . . Defenseman Dennis Cholowski and forwards Pierre Engvall and Matt Martin remained healthy scratches . . . The Islanders will conclude this two-game road trip by opening another home-and-home series against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
More Islanders
