New York Islanders forward Mat Barzal summarized his team’s 7-0 lashing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night with two words.
“Just brutal,” he said, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross.
“You can imagine what it felt like,” Barzal continued. “It wasn’t fun. It was 2-0, 3-0, had a couple looks in their end and then back the other way and they would score.”
The matchup was goalless heading into the second frame. Islanders head coach Lane Lambert called a timeout to settle his team when Rickard Rakell and Jake Guentzel broke the deadlock, but the latter quickly netted his second goal of the game once play resumed.
Evgeni Malkin scored the next two tallies before Radim Zohorna capped off a six-goal middle stanza for the Penguins.
“Just a weird lull in the second period that obviously cost us the game,” Barzal lamented. “A sold-out rink like that tonight in front of our fans, it’s unacceptable.”
The loss marked the Islanders’ worst defeat since falling 7-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 25, 2017.
Islanders captain Anders Lee was disappointed in New York’s inability to turn the tide.
“I think the concerning part is just our lack of ability to stop the bleeding and have a response,” he said. “They’re going to have moments where they pop one or two quick, but to let it get to where it got, it’s just not a part of our DNA. It was tonight, and that’s the part that’s frustrating the most.”
In Pittsburgh’s dressing room, Kris Letang was the man of the hour.
The veteran defenseman factored in on all but one of the Penguins’ goals and logged five assists in the second period alone, becoming the first blue-liner in NHL history to record that many helpers in a single frame.
“That’s an unbelievable feat when you think about it,” Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan said, per The Associated Press’ Scott Charles. “Especially in today’s game when the parity in the league is so high. Against a good team like the Islanders, it’s not an easy thing to do. Couldn’t be happier for him. Obviously, he’s an elite player for us.”
When the final horn sounded, Letang had tied the record for the most assists (six) by a rearguard in a single game, joining Gary Suter (1986), Paul Coffey (1986), Ron Stackhouse (1975), Bobby Orr (1973), Pat Stapleton (1969), and Babe Pratt (1944).
Letang’s son, Alex, seemed to have a gut feeling that Wednesday’s game would be a big one.
“Alex was actually talking to me before I left this morning,” Letang said, according to team beat reporter Michelle Crechiolo. “He said, ‘I’m gonna watch the entire game.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no – we have to get going on the ice tomorrow morning.’ He was like, ‘No, I really want to watch this one!’
“So, I hope he got to see it all. I think he’s going to be pretty pumped.”
The Penguins and Islanders meet again Dec. 31.