When game two started again the Penguins jumped out to an early lead, and having Sidney Crosby back was a big lift for the Pens. Matt Moulson got the first goal for the Islanders in this years playoffs, and that seemed to get the Isles back into the series, but the Pens had the 3-1 lead at the end of the first. When the 2nd got started the Islanders had the jump and energy and were able to convert twice to tie the game, thanks to goals from Collin McDonald and Matt Martin. Then in the 3rd the Isles caught the big break they were looking for when Kyle Okposo jammed in a rebound late in the 3rd, and with some solid play in their own end the Islanders held on for the win. With the Matt Moulson goal in the first, it was the first Islanders playoff goal since Chris Campoli scored in the 3rd period of game five back in 2007 against Buffalo.
So with the series tied at two the scene shifted back to Nassau Coliseum for the first time since 2007 and the building was rocking. The Isles fed off that crowd right off the bat and took a two goal lead. Then the penalty trouble the Islanders have had came back to bite them at the end of the period. During most of the regular season, taking penalties had been a thorn in the Islanders side, and in game three the Pens converted on their power plays to take a 3-2 lead after one. Pittsburgh added to the lead with a Doug Murry goal in the 2nd to go up by two. In true Islanders fashion, the team never gave up, and was able to answer in the 3rd. Kyle Okposo scored shorthanded to cut the lead to one and then with time running down John Tavares scored his first playoff goal to get the game even and force overtime.
Now coming into game three the Islanders haven't won an overtime playoff game in twenty years. The last OT win in the playoffs for the Islanders came in game seven of the 2nd round of the 1993 playoffs against Pittsburgh on the David Volek goal. Since then the team has lost both of their other overtime games in the playoffs, 2003 Todd White scored in double overtime for Ottawa in game three, and again in 2004 Martin St Louis scored for the Lightning in game five to eliminate the Islanders. Well in overtime in game three of this series, that trend would continue as Chris Kunitz scored on the powerplay to win the game for the Pens.
With the loss in game three that marked the 7th straight loss on home ice in the playoffs for the Islanders. The last win at home in the playoffs was in game six of the 2002 first round against the Leafs. Game four turned into a shootout if you will at the Coliseum. Brian Strait gave the Isles the lead, James Neal tied it. Mark Streit gave the Isles the lead, and then Malkin and Sutter erased that and gave the Pens the lead. Kyle Okposo would tie the game near the end of the 2nd. Dupuis gave the Pens the lead early in the 3rd but the Islanders would storm back with three unanswered goals to take the lead. Goals from Streit, Tavares, and Cizikas gave the islanders the offense needed to pick up the win and even the series. It marked the first playoff win on home ice in a decade.
So now that you are all caught up, for the most part, on the action of the first four games, here's how I see the start of this series. In game one the Islanders had no life whatsoever and they played flat. Game two didn't start off that great either but the goal by Moulson gave the team new life. The Isles showed from that point on that they have heart and can stand toe to toe with the best team in the East. Now with game three the calls made by the refs were a bit questionable, but none more obvious than the holding call in overtime on Brian Strait that lead to the winner by Kunitz on the powerplay. I understand that the refs have a job to do, and to their credit they had been calling the same penalty all the time so they were consistent. Can't blame the refs for what happened. What does leave me scratching my head a bit about the whole play was it looked to me like Sidney Crosby took a bit of a dive on the play that lead to the call. I could be wrong in my assessment but that's just how I saw the play. In game four the officiating looked a tad bit off. To be fair here, there were calls to both sides that were missed so it wasn't bias on the part of the refs.
There are a couple of things that need to be addressed in this series. One is related to the Isles and the other is on Pittsburgh's end of things. First with the Penguins, Marc-Andre Fluery has got to play better. He has looked like a shell of his former self both last year in the opening round loss to the Flyers and then again this year in the first four games against the Isles. If Pittsburgh wants to have any chance of beating the Isles or to even think about a deep run in the playoffs, Fluery has got to play much better. Either that or maybe Pittsburgh should consider going to Thomas Vokoun in net instead. Either way if the goaltending for the Pens doesn't improve this series could be over quick.
As for the Islanders the biggest thing they have to try and do is play more disciplined hockey and stay out of the penalty box. There have been a few times in the series where they have been caught running around in their own end and leaving the Pens wide open to get shots on Nabakov. A perfect example of that is the Sutter goal from game four. The other big thing is the Islanders have really got to try and stay out of the box. Pittsburgh has gone 6 for 15 on the powerplay in the series. The Islanders had one of the better penalty killing units in the league at the start of the year but hasn't looked as strong as of late.
Regardless of the outcome this has been a highly entertaining series between the two teams and should be just as fun to watch over the final three games.
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