PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 5 at NEW YORK ISLANDERS 0
Islanders fall to Penguins 5-0
Recap:
The Islanders saw their three-game winning streak come to a close, as Penguins goaltender Matthew Murray made 24 saves to earn a 5-0 win Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center. Matt Cullen led all Penguins with two goals to help Pittsburgh clinch a playoff berth.
Three Stars
1st Star: Matt Murray (PIT, 24 saves)
2nd Star: Matt Cullen (PIT 1G, 1A)
3rd Star: Tom Kuhnhackl(PIT 1G, 1A)
Team Notes:
• The Islanders fell to 9-2-1 at home since the All-Star Break
• The Islanders are 16-7-4 against the Metropolitan Division
• Today marked the Islanders 8th sellout of the season
Player Notes:
• JF Berube made 28 saves in the loss
• Nick Leddy led New York is TOI at 23:34
• Four Islanders (Bailey, Boychuk, Leddy, Okposo) led the Islanders in shots with 3
• The Islanders were shutout for the fourth time this season (first time at home).
Jack Capuano:
On the game: “I think early on those power plays, we had didn’t generate much. You are not going to win many games when you give up two power play goals , and then a shorthanded goal. And we had two bad turnovers coming out of our end. ”
On PIT’s first goal: “I don’t think it deflated the team but when you play a team like Pittsburgh – they are healthy, they are playing well right now. You can’t give them anything. Again, they got two power-play goals. Had the turnover from the goaltender. They had the turnover from the back end and then we had another turnover from the back end. When you make those kind of mistakes, the percentage is not going to go in your favor when you play a team like Pittsburgh that is scoring a lot of goals right now, and can lock it down defensively.”
John Tavares:
On the game: “A lot of things (went wrong). Clearly we weren’t very good. The execution was poor, we seemed very flat. There’s just no excuses for that effort. It’s embarrassing, starting with myself. You gotta look yourself in the mirror and ask how bad do you want it. Its was a big game at an important time of the year and to play the way we did is unacceptable.”
On the team: “We just came off of a decent stretch were we won four of five and had our backs up against the wall. It’s another test on Monday, then into the last week. So it’s up to us how bad we want it and where we want to get to. I believe in this group so it’s just disappointing the way we played today.”
Johnny Boychuk:
On the game: “Trying to play our game, which is a simple game and let our offense take over in our zone. When we do that, we’re a good team. We just have to manage the puck in between the blue lines.”
On the game: “I mean just turnovers (hurt). The was we were managing the pucks, looking around where guys are on the ice- we need to talk a lot more on the ice and helping each other out.”
Mike Sullivan (PIT Head Coach):
On clinching a playoff spot: “I’m glad we solidified a playoff spot. It’s hard to make the playoffs in this league. There are a lot of good teams there’s so much parity. That three-point system makes it really tough because it keeps everybody close. I’m happy for everybody involved here. I think our players are playing extremely hard and I’m most happy for them that we’ve hit our first goal of making the playoffs and solidifying the spot. By no means are we satisfied by where we’re at.”
On Murray: “He was solid, we expected him to be. He’s a good goalie, he has a calm demeanor he has quiet confidence about him. One of the reasons he’s here is because we knew he could help us win.”
Sidney Crosby (PIT Forward):
On clinching the playoffs: “It’s definitely nice. Last year was a much different situation and not having to play into that final game to get it and like you said having gone though what we have this year, its nice to clinch it for sure.
On the Game/Murray: “(Matthew Murray) did a great job today. They came pretty hard early. Hit a couple of post there but I thought we settled in good. Got the first one which is huge but I thought we did a good job of playing the same way throughout the game.”
Matthew Murray (PIT goalie):
On his first NHL shutout: “I’m excited. It’s a milestone for sure. It’s something you think about when you grow up.”
On being No.1 goalie with Fleury out: “No reservations at all. That’s what you want as a goalie, you want to be the go to guy. Personally I really don’t like sitting on the bench, especially for long periods of time, kind of like I have been lately. This is a great opportunity for me and I’m very excited about it.”
