Penguins Should Expect Strong Response From Islanders
After putting a beatdown against the New York Islanders a few days ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins should be ready for a challenge.
Just a handful of days ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted a massive 7-0 win over the New York Islanders on Long Island.
It was a rough way for the Islanders to return from the NHL’s holiday break, but now is the Penguins’ turn to host this rivalry as the calendar gets ready to change to 2024.
Before the ball can drop, though, the visiting team will look to exact some revenge and ruin a celebratory occasion in Pittsburgh.
No team likes being blown out of a contest, especially against a rival in front of their home crowd; the Islanders will enter PPG Paints Arena riding a ton of momentum and will likely have a little extra fire.
The Islanders are coming off of a 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals, but certainly haven’t forgotten what happened on Long Island.
“We know what happened,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. “We made some mistakes and were going to try and shore up those mistakes.”
While Lambert also said the Islanders will approach this game the same as any other, the memory of losing in such a fashion lingers for the players.
“That one hurt,” Brock Nelson said. “Being able to play them twice in a short span, obviously we haven’t forgotten.”
Everyone on the Islanders agrees that they need to at how they picked apart the Capitals and hope that play can translate to Pittsburgh.
The Penguins have to be ready for any kind of response and head coach Mike Sullivan believes his team is good enough to handle whatever gets thrown at them.
“Good team find ways to win when maybe you’re not at your best,” Sullivan said. “And that might have been a game that we weren’t quite at our best.”
Sullivan said that while the Penguins played really well through two periods, they weren’t too impressed with their final frame against the Islanders.
The Penguins will look for a full 60-minutes performance and prepare for whatever the Islanders may throw at them.
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