Penguins 4 (EN), Islanders 1: Flat and playing from behind

We shall return... Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images The New York Islanders had trouble keeping pace with the Penguins, never fully got to their game, and never erased an early deficit on their way to a 4-1 defeat in the first of a two-game set in Pittsburgh. The loss ended the Isles’ eight-game points streak.

Like most games, a few bounces or friendlier crossbar might have changed the script, but in general the Islanders were chasing too much; the game had much more of the run-and-gun pace that suits the Penguins rather than the careful, smothering structure that fuels Barry Trotz’s soul.

The game wasn’t truly out of reach until midway through the third period, when the Pens made it 3-0. In…