Fresh off the league-mandated holiday break, the Penguins stunned the Islanders in a 7-0 shut out win in Long Island. The win included a six-goal second period, and a history making night for Kris Letang.
Paul Steigerwald has the story.
Other Penguins goals in the game came from Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin, each collecting two; Rickard Rakell, Radim Zahorna, and Valtteri Puustinen, who notched his first career goal with the third period dagger. Tristan Jarry saved 21 shots for his fourth shutout of the year.
Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins settled in in the second period.
Letang finished the night with six assists, five of which came in the second period. With that feat, he became the first defenseman in NHL history to record five points in a single period.
Sullivan said Letang’s performance is something you normally don’t see in today’s game.
After talking about his night, Letang said it was good to get a commanding win fresh off the holiday break.
Along with Letang’s performance, Evgeni Malkin passed Sergei Federov for the second-most goals by a Russian-born player in NHL history.
Forwards Matt Nieto and Bryan Rust missed the game as they continue to deal with ailments. Nieto will likely be out until Saturday with a lower-body injury, while Rust isn’t expected to come back until after the New Year as he deals with an upper-body injury.
The Penguins have off today and Friday before hosting the Blues and Islanders in back-to-back games this weekend.
