New York— Wedneday night will go down as a historically bad night for New York Islanders(16-9-9) hockey. Kris Letang made history as the first NHL defenseman to make five assists in a period, contributing to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ punishing 7-0 victory over the New York Islanders. The Penguins scored six times in the second period.

Letang is also the first player at any position in Penguins history with 5 points in a period.

“After a break, the first period is always ugly,” Letang said after his record-setting performance. “After that, once your legs get going, your hands are coming back, we took advantage offensively, played in their zone, putting pucks at the net. … When you come back and you are about to win a game against a division rival like this and somebody you are chasing, it’s huge.”

Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel both scored twice in the second period. Pittsburgh also saw goals from Rickard Rakell, Radim Zohorna, and Valtteri Puustinen, with Marcus Pettersson contributing four assists.

Tristan Jarry had 21 saves in his fourth shutout for the Penguins this season.

Pittsburgh beat Ilya Sorokin for six goals in the second. It was the first time on the road since March 21, 2000, also against the Islanders.

Islanders coach Lane Lambert used a timeout between Guentzel’s goals to try and regain control of the game. However, the Penguins persisted in exploiting the gaps in the Islanders’ neutral-zone coverage. A poor defensive strategy that left the Isles vulnerable. The Penguins quickly capitalized on the opportunities effectively.

Varlamov replaced Sorokin in the third period and had 6 saves and gave up one goal to Puustinen, ending the evening 7-0.

As an Islanders fan this game hurts a lot. The team is definitely still in a position to make playoffs, if they get it together. The question is how?

For all the latest NHL and New York Islanders news follow @vinquezada1 on X.

#NHL #Isles #LetsGoPens

By Vincent Quezada

Photo Credit: AP/ Frank Franklin II

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