The Islanders completed the opening round sweep of the Penguins in a 3-1 road victory to move onto the next stage in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night. >> Box score

Six Takeaways from Tuesday's game

1) Facing elimination on their home ice, the Penguins got off on the board in a hurry to kick off the game. Jake Guentzel opened up the scoring with assists from Sidney Crosby and Jared McCann in the first 35 seconds of this one. 

The New York Islanders are in position to usher Pittsburgh out of the playoffs with barely a squeak from the Penguins.

The Islanders can complete a four-game sweep in their first-round playoff series with a win Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

It that's a surprise -- Pittsburgh was widely picked to win the series despite finishing one spot and three points behind the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division -- it shouldn't be, argued New York goaltender Robin Lehner.

The Islanders took a commanding 3-0 series lead in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday following a 2-1 victory in Pittsburgh. >> Box score

Six Takeaways from Sunday's game

1. The 3-0 series lead guarantees little, but it's certainly a comfortable spot to be in for the Isles. Only four NHL teams have overcome a 3-0 deficit in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. The most recent team to accomplish the feat were the Kings during the first round in 2014, and Los Angeles went on to defeat the Ranger in the Stanley Cup that year. 

The 2-0 series lead the Islanders are taking into Sunday's Game 3 matinee in Pittsburgh is well-earned. They were the better team throughout two games at the raucous Coliseum. And in Game 2 they clearly had the Penguins rattled, despite the fact that the Pens' core has been through it all over the years in the postseason.

But in the NHL playoffs, no lead is safe, and Barry Trotz knows that as well as anybody. Just last year, when he was with Washington, the division-winning Captials fell behind 2-0 in the first tround against Columbus after dropping the first two games in overtime. They needed double-overtime to take Game 3 and eventually winning four straight to take the series before winning the Stanley Cup.

The Islanders had every reason to crack after allowing the opening goal following five missed power-play opportunities.

However, it was New York that kept its composure and erased a one-goal deficit en route to a 3-1 victory and commanding 2-0 series lead against Pittsburgh.

The Islanders are supposed to be the inexperienced team after missing the previous two postseasons, but never flinched while facing adversity.

The Islanders wiped the slate clean on their power play entering the playoffs.

It was one of the big concerns entering their first-round series against the Penguins, the fact that they had the third-worst power play in the NHL at 14.5 percent and finished the regular season having converted just three of their previous 50 power-play attempts. 

But in the Islanders' Game 1 overtime win against the Penguins on Wednesday, it took all of 25 seconds for the Islanders to score on their first power-play chance of the playoffs, Brock Nelson burying a Jordan Eberle feed in front to put the Isles up 2-1 late in the first period.

Each moment has the potential to become a game-changing event in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, and all teams are searching for an opportunity to build momentum. Every shift gets magnified, every faceoff becomes more critical. Special teams can become an enormous sense of confidence, or have a negative impact on a team that grows with each failed opportunity.

In Game 1 of the Islanders' first-round series against the Penguins, New York managed emotions and overcame two critical moments which could have gotten the best of even the mentally toughest teams.

Tom Kuhnhackl lit the lamp just 33 seconds into the game and sent the Nassau Coliseum crowd into a frenzy. However, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan challenged for offside and the goal was disallowed.

The Penguins have their longtime stars and the championship pedigree, but the Islanders have been up for every challenge this season, and what they may lack in individual talent is made up for in commitment and chemistry.

With that in mind, here's a look at how the Islanders and Penguins match up heading into the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

FORWARDS

The Islanders used a three-goal rally in the third period, including two goals within 33 seconds with less than two minutes left, to secure a huge 5-4 win in Winnipeg Thursday night. Now at 97 points and closer to clinching a playoff berth, the Isles overcame three separate two-goal deficits. Casey Cizikas tied the game with 1:46 remaining for his 20th goal of the season, and Jordan Eberle, who scored twice in the third, netted the winner with 1:13 left.  Robin Lehner stopped 33 of 37 shots.

With the comeback win, the Islanders' magic number dropped to two, meaning they can clinch a playoff berth Saturday night at the Coliseum. >> Box score

First period:

• :13 WPG Adam Lowry; Assists: Brandon Tanev, Nathan Beaulieu
• 6:11 WPG Adam Lowry; Assists: Jacob Trouba, Brandon Tanev
• 10:19 NYI Mathew Barzal; Assists: Jordan Eberle

There wasn't a ton of offense in this one, and for the Islanders, there didn't need to be in order to escape on the right side of the result. The Isles, behind Jordan Eberle's first-period goal, shut out the Coyotes, 2-0, on Sunday. 

Brock Nelson added an insurance goal late in the third, and goaltender Robin Lehner stonewalled Arizona for 60 minutes, stopping all 31 shots he faced. The Islanders kept pace with the Capitals, who also won Sunday and remain one point ahead for first place in the Metropolitan Division. >> Box score

First period:

The Islanders' depth at center will be tested as Valtteri Filppula will miss the next four weeks with an upper-body injury, the Islanders announced Wednesday -- on Filppula's 35th birthday. Filppula was injured during the first period of Tuesday's loss and did not return.

The four-week timetable means Filppula will miss the start of the playoffs, and possibly the entire first round. The veteran has 15 goals and 14 assists in 71 games this season after signing a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Isles.

This Islanders season has already been far better than anyone within or outside the organization could have imagined. In the wake of John Tavares' departure, the Isles have bought into Barry Trotz's style and Lou Lamoriello's shrewd signing of Robin Lehner has paid major dividends. Lehner appears to be in a good place after battling substance addiction and a bipolar diagnosis, and he's been stellar on the ice as part of a goaltending duo with Thomas Greiss.

Lamoriello made the controversial decision not to make any acquisitions at the NHL trade deadline, and it wasn't looking like a smart move when the Isles went through some recent stumbles. The Isles rebounded with two straight wins against the basement-dwelling Senators, putting them back in a tie with Washington for the Metropolitan Division lead and eight points clear of ninth place in the Eastern Conference. But Trotz conceded after Thursday's win that his team is "still scuffling a little bit."

There's plenty of work to do over the final month of the regular season if the Islanders want to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2015-16, and they'll have to step their game up against better competition.

Both the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators got what they wanted out of their game against each other Tuesday night. But each team will be looking for even more Thursday night, when Ottawa hosts New York in the back end of a home-and-home set.

The Islanders earned a 5-4 shootout win at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday, when they squandered a two-goal third-period lead and survived an injury to starting goalie Robin Lehner but escaped with the victory after Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal scored on the team's only attempts in the shootout.

The Islanders entered the third period with a solid 4-2 lead at the Coliseum, but the Senators scored two unanswered goals to tie it up by the end of regulation. And after an overtime period that saw the puck stay out of both nets, Thomas Greiss locked down the net in the shootout while Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal buried their penalty shots to come away with the win. >> Box score

First period:

• 8:22 NYI Brock Nelson; Assists: Josh Bailey

Just a couple of weeks ago, all was going well for the Islanders. 

They were in first place and playing exceoptional hockey. But the group has lost three of four and five of the last seven. They've dropped out of first place in the Metropolitan Division and find themselves in the middle of a dogfight for a playoff spot.

It's too early to panic just yet, but RW Jordan Eberle said Monday "we need to find that desperation in our game." 

The focus for the Islanders right now is their quest to win the Metropolitan Division and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. 

But it's hard not to wonder what the team might look like next season as general manager Lou Lamoriello has a number of crucial decisions ahead of him. Among them is how he'll handle linemates Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson all becoming unrestricted free agents this summer.

All three are eligible for extensions before the season ends, but it appears Lamoriello wants to maintain flexibility. According to the New York Post, the Isles and Nelson have not engaged in "substantial negotiations" regarding a new contract.

A battle against your cross-town rival is one way to snap out of a funk. Both the Islanders and Rangers need a victory Thursday night as the teams prepare to play against each other at Madison Square Garden in the front end of a home-and-home. 
 
The Rangers must find a way to prevent the ship from completely collapsing after an ugly four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 22-5 and Henrik Lundqvist was chased from the net twice.
 
The Islanders fell to the Hurricanes on Tuesday, snapping an impressive six-game winning streak highlighted by a dominant 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. 

A battle against your cross-town rival is one way to snap out of a funk. Both the Islanders and Rangers need a victory Thursday night as the teams prepare to play against each other at Madison Square Garden in the front end of a home-and-home. 
 
The Rangers must find a way to prevent the ship from completely collapsing after an ugly four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 22-5 and Henrik Lundqvist was chased from the net twice.
 
The Islanders fell to the Hurricanes on Tuesday, snapping an impressive six-game winning streak highlighted by a dominant 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. 

The Islanders scored four straight goals, three of which in the third period, and held off the Blues late comeback effort to secure a 4-3 road victory.  Read more >>

First period: 

• 4:11 STL Brayden Schenn; Assists: Jaden Schwartz, Jay Bouwmeester
• 16:37 STL Zach Sanford; Assists: Vince Dunn, Tyler Bozak

The Islanders started their four-game West Coast road trip with a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday at Pepsi Center. >> Box score

First period:

• 18:20 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assists: Brock Nelson, Anders Lee

Second period:

• 2:07 NYI Johnny Boychuk (power play); Assists: Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey
• 6:45 COL Gabriel Landeskog (power play); Assists: Tyson Barrie, Nathan MacKinnon
• 18:25 NYI Ander Lee (power play); Assists: Nick Leddy, Jordan Eberle

The Devils managed to force overtime with just seconds left in the third period, but Mathew Barzal put home the golden goal in a 4-3 loss at The Rock on Friday night. >> Box Score

First period:

• 7:24 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assists: Anthony Beauvillier

The Devils managed to force overtime with just seconds left in the third period, but Mathew Barzal put home the golden goal in a 4-3 loss at The Rock on Friday night. >> Box Score

First period:

• 7:24 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assists: Anthony Beauvillier

Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson, and Scott Mayfield each scored goals and Thomas Greiss saved 35 shots to help the Islanders shut out the Devils on Saturday night at Barclays Center. >> Box Score

Jordan Eberle said on Tuesday that he and the Islanders have not yet discussed a contract extension.

Eberle, 28, is entering the final year of the six-year $36 million contract he originally signed as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

"To be honest I haven't had any conversations with anybody," Eberle said, per NHL.com. "Going into the summer I was trying to focus on me and being the best I can be, and come into the camp the best I can be. Once that happens you start trying to fill a role and try to make this team as good as it can be."

We don't know if there are pictures of 10-year-old Anders Lee of Edina, Minn. in the pajamas of the first-year Wild back in the year 2000, but the Islanders might not want to take any chances.

As the Islanders embark on this uncertain three (or more)-year path to Belmont, they must learn from the John Tavares heartache. They need to control what they can control, and make their organization as attractive - or at least as less unattractive - as possible. They need to eliminate the excuses for someone else to walk out the door.

Beginning with the 2019-20 season, all of their home games must be played at the barn in Nassau County. And the plan to move all of the games to Nassau should be announced weeks before the trade deadline in February 2019.

Islanders RW Jordan Eberle couldn't help himself. He wanted to continue playing with his linemates. 

Eberle traveled to Denmark to join Team Canada in the IIHF World Championship, and playing on the same line with Islanders LW Anthony Beauvillier and C Mathew Barzal again was the main reason why. Eberle had his best season in three years with that line, posting 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) over 81 games. 

"Ebs went all the way to Europe just to play with us two goofs again," Beauvillier told NHL.com's Cory Wright. "We were kidding around, but he's probably a little sick of us now."

Doug Weight, Jordan Eberle and the Islanders organization as a whole expressed their sorrow over the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy.

The hockey community is in mourning after 14 people died as a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos, a Canadian junior hockey team, collided with a semi-truck on Friday night. Various members of the Islanders organization have given their thoughts and prayers to the team before their season finale on Saturday night.

"Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to the Humboldt Broncos and all of those affected by the devastating tragedy," the Islanders' official Twitter posted...

When the Islanders acquired Jordan Eberle from the Oilers in June, it was expected that he'd play alongside former World Juniors and World Championship teammate John Tavares. 

Instead, Eberle has linked up with rookie Mathew Barzal on the second line and the results have been better than the team could have expected. 

"They've been tremendous this season, you can see their chemistry and their ability to feed off one another," Tavares said...

No words came out of Doug Weight's mouth when asked what has happened to his team that has now lost eight straight games ater their loss to the Oilers Thursday night. 

"No, I don't. I don't," he told Newsday's Neil Best. "Nothing. I can't."

The loss to the Canucks felt awful after an early 2-0 lead turned into a desperation tie at the end of regulation just to lose in overtime. However, this game blew that one out of the water. 

The Islanders lost their seventh straight game Monday night, and head coach Doug Weight says, "It's getting old."

New York did secure a point after forcing overtime late in the third period, but that meant nothing to a team trying to snap out of their current skid. 

"We just seem to find ways to lose," captain John Tavares told Newsday's Neil Best.

The Islanders lost their seventh straight game Monday night, and head coach Doug Weight says, "It's getting old."

New York did secure a point after forcing overtime late in the third period, but that meant nothing to a team trying to snap out of their current skid. 

"We just seem to find ways to lose," captain John Tavares told Newsday's Neil Best.

Kyle Palmieri scored two goals to lead the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday at the Prudential Center. >> Box score

Kyle Palmieri scored two goals to lead the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday at the Prudential Center. >> Box score

Jordan Eberle tied the game and Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead to help the Islanders overcome a third-period deficit and beat the Blue Jackets, 4-3. >> Box score

Goals by Ross Johnston and Jordan Eberle and a dynamite performance by Jaroslav Halak, who blocked 38 shots, carried the Islanders to a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. >> Box score

First period:

• No goals

Second period:

• 10:01 NYI Ross Johnston; Assists: Ryan Pulock, Cal Clutterbuck

Third period:

• 8:21 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assists: Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier
• 14:53 VGK Erik Haula (Power Play); Assists: David Perron, Colin Miller

A year ago, Garth Snow used the one chip he had - the dismissal of too-longtime head coach Jack Capuano - to save his own job and buy at least another season for himself under the Islanders' new ownership. Today the question is, what will Snow do to save his team's season?

Because this is a season worth saving. Because this is a team with a richly-talented core that deserves to be put in the best position to grab a playoff spot.

John Tavares, possibly in his final months as an Islander, has entered the prime of his career playing the best hockey of his life.

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

The Italian Stallion….always the under-sized underdog. Always fighting, scratching, and crawling for whatever scraps he could muster. In the ring, all about offense. If Compubox had been around in those times, it might have broken by the sheer volume of punches he threw.

Yet, there was no defense to be found. Took a beating, ended up battered, bruised and bloody, but always got up. Does the story end the same way for the Islanders, however? That part of the script is still being written.

Ryan Pulock had a goal and four assists, Anthony Beauvillier scored two goals, and the Islanders handily defeated the Blackhawks on Saturday, 7-3.  << Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter: The injury-ravaged Islanders have won two and lost two coming out of their league-mandated bye week, but let's be honest with each other here. They only played one solid game -- a 7-2 victory at Madison Square Garden over the Rangers.

They're going to need to be much better than a .500 hockey team if they're to crawl out of an 8-13-2 funk that has them at 53 percent of possible points -- slightly ahead of the 2013-14 team that finished 34-37-11 and out of the playoffs. As a reference point, last year's team that finished shy of the postseason by one point finished at 57 percent of possible points.

So, while the team licks its wounds, whether it be Johnny Boychuk, Casey Cizikas, Calvin de Haan, Nikolay Kulemin, Andrew Ladd, or Shane Prince, they need to figure out, once and for all, what they are doing, or attempting to do, in the defensive zone to even realistically start thinking about having a shot at Lord Stanley in April...

Thanks to a Patrice Bergeron hat trick, the Islanders fall to the Bruins 5-2. Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored the two goals for the Isles while the Bruins have extended their point streak to 15 games.  << Box score

First period:

• 7:35 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assist: Mathew Barzal
• 13:41 BOS Patrice Bergeron; Assists: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak

Second period:

John Tavares scored two goals, including the game-winner 1:51 into overtime after New York blew a 4-2 lead, as the Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Monday at Bell Centre. >> Box score

Two teams hoping to parlay some schedule certainty into sustained winning streaks will meet Tuesday night when the New York Islanders host the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center.

Despite the Islanders making a comeback, lack of penalty kills forced their hand in the loss to the Lightning, 6-2, on Tuesday night. 

It was a slow first period with the Isles only taking three shots on net. However, the second saw a different team that would muster two goals to tie the game up. Momentum looked to be on the side of the road team, but two penalties would change all of that as the Lightning capitalized on both power-play chances at the end of the second to take a controlling 4-2 lead that they wouldn't surrender the rest of the way. 

After awful penalty kills of late, head coach Doug Weight is confused as to what happened to his unit. 

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

The New York Islanders lost their first game in regulation at Barclays Center this season Friday night to the Ottawa Senators, a wild 6-5 affair, and the reaction on social media from some was….well, sadly, expected.

The Islanders mounted a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period and tacked on two more later on en route to a 5-2 win over the Canucks on Tuesday. >> Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

23 games in and it's clear to see these are not your 2016-17 New York Islanders, who stumbled out of the gate, leading to a one-point deficit in their chase to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

One of the laziest and corniest things you can do during Thanksgiving week is write a piece on everything you're thankful for. So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Please indulge me, Islanders Country. Fact is, after all these years in this business on one side or the other, I've never taken the opportunity to say thank you. Perhaps I've become a bit sentimental.

Or maybe I'm feeling especially grateful. So here goes. If you give me this one, I'll do my best to write at least one Grinchy rant before the New Year.

The Islanders scored three goals in the first period and held on to beat the Blues, 5-2, on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center. >> Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter: When GM Garth Snow decided to call his 'go-to' in Peter Chiarelli back in June, it was to finalize a lopsided trade that would send Ryan Strome to Edmonton for what was deemed to be an Oilers salary dump in Jordan Eberle.

The 27-year-old forward from Regina had been on the Islanders radar for quite some time and Snow pounced at the opportunity to land the scoring winger who had averaged 27 goals and 62 points in seven previous seasons playing in Alberta while carrying a cap hit of $6 million over the next two seasons.

Eberle then proceeded to marry long-time girlfriend Lauren Rodych before coming to Brooklyn in a ceremony that featured one last hurrah with former and current members of the organization he called home since he was 20-years old...