The Penguins’ postseason opener had just about everything — except Evgeni Malkin.
That includes a dazzling deflection-goal by Sidney Crosby sandwiched between early- and late-regulation marks from Frederick Gaudreau and Kasperi Kapanen. But goalie Tristan Jarry was nightmarish in a second career postseason start, surrendering what could generously be considered three suspect goals before Kyle Palmeri’s overtime winner after a couple of defensive breakdowns by the Penguins. The Islanders won 4-3 in Game 1 of this opening-round Stanley Cup playoffs series at PPG Paints Arena.
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Two of Jarry’s goals allowed in regulation were recorded as low-danger shots by the Natural Stat Trick. Casey DeSmith, the Penguins’ regular backup goalie, was not available because of injury.
Malkin’s absence was presumably related to a re-aggravation of a right-knee injury that forced him to miss all but the final four regular-season games after his initial injury on March 16. Malkin did participate in pregame warmups Sunday after his activity was limited during practice the previous day. Without Malkin, trade-deadline acquisition Jeff Carter centered a second line that featured Jared McCann and Kapanen as wingers.
Reporters from The Athletic graded players and coach Mike Sullivan after Game 1.
Gentille’s grades
Sidney Crosby: He might have been at his best in the first period — and that was before a one-armed deflection that put the Penguins up 2-1. For a while, it seemed like we were going to get a full-on vintage Crosby performance. Instead, we got about 66 percent of one. He still tied for the team lead in shot attempts and scoring chances, and the energy was right, but a largely stagnant third period, plus a botched second-period 2-on-1, left him short. B-plus
Mike Sullivan: Not his fault his goalie stunk. Part of the plan here boils down to “put everything on net and then trust your guys’ speed to beat their guys to the rebounds.” Can’t argue with that. Giving Gaudreau his own line paid off, too. The third period was a mess, though. B
Bryan Rust: He was certainly the second-most noticeable player on his line, and he was right there with Crosby on shot/chance numbers. A bad rush in the offensive zone helped create the chance that led to the Islanders’ third goal, though. The process wasn’t bad, but none of the results were there for him. C-plus
Jake Guentzel: Three shots, three scoring chances. Nothing special, but we’ll bump up his grade up a tick for surviving whatever Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin tried to do to him late in the first period. Guentzel’s two most memorable plays were being on the receiving end of Crosby’s forced pass and getting wiped out by a goaltender. C
Jeff Carter: The dedication to getting pucks on net is admirable and bodes well for the rest of the series, but Carter wasn’t great in Game 1. His expected goals rate, a bit above 40 percent, was the worst on the team, and he spent four minutes in the box for an obvious blood-drawing high stick. C-minus
Jared McCann: Nothing particularly memorable here. On for one goal for and one against. McCann avoided the big mistake but only generated one scoring chance on his own. Sounds about right. C
Kasperi Kapanen: His goal, which tied the game 3-3, was electrifying. He had a few other really impressive moments on nitty-gritty stuff, like puck chase downs, but was too passive in other spots. C-plus
Rossi’s grades
Brandon Tanev: As advertised, Tanev was noticeable most shifts. He was one of few Penguins players able to match the Islanders’ physicality. B
Frederick Gaudreau: His first-period goal felt big at the time because a 2-0 lead for the Islanders would have likely determined the result a lot sooner. B
Teddy Blueger: He was one of many Penguins who missed on chances to extend their 2-1 lead. Still, his play on a four-minute penalty kill in the second period was very strong. B
Zach Aston-Reese: He was the third-best player on the Penguins’ best line. C
Evan Rodrigues: When healthy, Rodrigues has provided energy and scoring depth to the Penguins. He did the former after missing several weeks due to an injury. C
Jason Zucker: Tough to be too critical of a winger who wasn’t noticeable. But the Penguins didn’t acquire Zucker to not be noticeable. D
Yohe’s grades
Kris Letang: I thought he was pretty good. On Brock Nelson’s goal, he may have created a bit of a screen, but that wasn’t a good goal for the goaltender to allow. I felt like Letang was in control most of the game and was especially good in the first period. B-plus
Cody Ceci: As per usual, he was totally solid. Nothing spectacular, but no mistakes to note. He played as you’d expect him to play if you’ve been watching him all season. B
John Marino: Sometimes the old plus-minus stat is so deceiving, especially in a game where the goaltender plays horribly. Marino was a minus-3, but he was fine. He got destroyed into his off corner on the game-winning goal, which was his one demerit for the game. But he was fine. C-plus
Marcus Pettersson: I didn’t love his game. Much like with Matheson, he looked extremely tight with the puck in overtime. He wasn’t a mess or anything, but he certainly could have been a little sharper. C
Brian Dumoulin: I didn’t like his game, which is something I almost never say about him. His misplay in the first period gave Cal Clutterbuck a breakaway. He was also trapped during a 2-on-1 in the opening period. He wasn’t a wreck or anything, but for a player of his caliber, it wasn’t a great start to the series. C-minus
Mike Matheson: I actually thought he was pretty good in regulation, but whatever was happening to Matheson in overtime wasn’t good. He was burned on two occasions, namely by Mathew Barzal on a play that nearly ended the game. He looked exceptionally tight in overtime, which might be something to note moving forward. D
Tristan Jarry: This was a horrific performance in Jarry’s second career playoff game. All four of the goals were bad. All four were also to the glove side, which is apparently where the Islanders will be focusing. He looked shaky at best and was far too deep in his crease most of the evening. It’s only one game, but Jarry has already made himself the early story of this series. This was a disturbingly bad performance. F
The Penguins trail their best-of-seven East division semifinal series, 1-0. Game 2 is Tuesday, also at PPG Paints Arena.
(Photo: Joe Sargent / NHLI via Getty Images)