The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t miss Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
To be fair, they’re not alone. Anyone with aversions to asbestos, lead-based paint and rodents probably won’t mourn the New York Islanders’ former home.
In addition to those … features … the Penguins just weren’t all that successful in that venue. In 121 all-time regular-season games in the building, the Penguins were 51-58-12. Additionally, they have lost four of the five playoffs series they have played against the Islanders all-time, all of which have come with soul-crushing defeats in those crusty confines.
Their last trip to the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., was punctuated by a humbling first-round postseason loss in May.
The Penguins’ first game at the UBS Arena in nearby Elmont, N.Y., took a very different course as they defeated the undermanned Islanders, 1-0, on Friday for their fifth consecutive win.
“It’s, obviously, a different building,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said to media in Elmont following Friday’s morning skate. “Different circumstances. It’s kind of new right now. This place isn’t the Coliseum, obviously. That place had so much history. You could feel a presence.”
The presence of Penguins forward Bryan Rust was absent, however. He was a late scratch from the contest. According to the team’s Twitter account, he took one lap in warmups and left the ice. Following the game, coach Mike Sullivan told reporters in Elmont that Rust was being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.
Forward Bryan Boyle, a healthy scratch for the previous five games, replaced Rust in the lineup.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry remained in the Penguins’ lineup for the seventh consecutive game. Making 25 saves, including 11 in the third period, he boosted his record to 10-4-3. The shutout was his third of the season. All three have come within the past five games.
“He’s playing some tremendous hockey and we’re lucky to have him back there for us,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. “He’s doing it all. He’s playing the puck. He’s seeing the puck. He’s tracking the puck well.”
As for the Islanders, they entered the day with nine players either on the NHL’s list for covid-19 protocol or injured reserve. Friday’s defeat was their eighth consecutive loss.
After a somewhat stagnant first 35 minutes of regulation, the Penguins got on the scoreboard at 16 minutes, 41 seconds of the second period. Lugging the puck up the left wing through the neutral zone, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby drew in Islanders forward Matt Martin and centered a pass to on-rushing Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen.
Gaining the offensive zone, Kapanen created a two-on-one rush with forward Jake Guentzel against Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey.
With Hickey leaning toward him, Kapanen lifted a wrister from the left circle that beat Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s left shoulder on the far side for his fifth goal. Crosby and Guentzel had assists.
Up until that point, Sorokin had frustrated the Penguins considerably.
“It took a while,” Kapanen said. “All game, we put a lot of pucks on him and he was making some great saves. Luckily enough, we got one past him.”
Friday’s triumph came six months to the day that the Penguins and Jarry were jettisoned from the postseason by the Islanders via a 6-3 loss at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Game 6 of a first-round series on May 26.
Jarry’s career looked to be in a tailspin after that setback. Half a year later, he looks as if he has regained the form that made him an All-Star in 2019-20.
He insisted a victory against the Islanders carried no extra significance given how he stumbled in the postseason.
“It’s just another game against a different team,” Jarry said. “That’s been my mindset this year, is I just want to put my best foot forward and make sure I’m doing my part to try and help the team.”
His coach suggested otherwise.
“I’m sure he found some satisfaction in this one tonight,” Sullivan said. “And he should. He played extremely well against a good team.
“He’s playing his best hockey for us as a Pittsburgh Penguin right now.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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