UNIONDALE, NY- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the NHL’s best players. Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen have a combined four goals in 70 games entering yesterday.
But the Islanders duo out-played its Pittsburgh counterparts in the clutch Monday afternoon, with both struggling youngsters beating Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout while Joey MacDonald stymied All-Stars Malkin and Crosby in the skills competition to help the Isles post a 3-2 win in front of a sold-out Nassau Coliseum crowd.
Tambellini still has just two goals in 39 games and logged just 12:16 of ice time before coach Scott Gordon turned to the winger in the second round of the shootout after Nielsen and Petr Sykora traded goals in the shootout’s first round.
Afterwards, Tambellini said he had one strategy against Fleury.
“The high glove,” he said about his strategy. “I was looking to go there and he plays that butterfly style, so if you can catch him off guard, it’s a good chance.”
MacDonald logged 35 saves in helping the Islanders snap a five-game losing streak. He used a poke-check to stop Malkin’s attempt and secured the victory with a pad save on Crosby’s final attempt.
The netminder stopped all but two shots, including Malkin’s individual move that resulted in his 25th goal and Ryan Whitney’s power play tally to erase two Islander leads.
“Those guys are exceptional and you have to bump your game up a little bit and put more pressure on yourself,” MacDonald said about facing one of the league’s best 1-2 combination. “It’s a lot easier when your team scores, that always helps.”
Sean Bergenheim’s pass hit Chris Campoli in the skates before slipping past Fleury for a lead just 11:34 into the contest. Malkin tied it with 1:53 remaining. The NHL’s point leader increased his total to 82, getting off a shot before blue liner Jack Hillen could step up defensive pressure, Malkin unloaded a wrist shot that beat MacDonald from the left circle to tie it at 1 just before the first intermission.
“You don’t want to get into one of those losing streaks, but at the same time, the last couple of games I think we fell away from playing like we always do; like working hard in the corners and battling in front of the net. I thought got back to that today.”
Nielsen gave the home team the lead again by crashing the net and pushing the puck past the goal line moments before Jordan Stall pushed Richard Park into the crossbar, knocking the net off its moorings. The officials signaled a goal immediately, marking Nielsen’s third goal of the season.
“It’s not fun when you have a losing streak,” Nielsen said. “We really needed this.”
Crosby set up Whitney’s game-tying goal with 2:53 left in the second. Whitney took Crosby’s right circle backhand pass that floated right to his stick blade and buried the one-time wrist shot to knot it at 2.
Pittsburgh still picked up a point in interim head coach Dan Bylsma’s debut. The Penguins fired Michel Therrien Sunday nearly eight months after he guided the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pens are four points behind Buffalo for the last playoff spot despite having two of the league’s top three leaders in points. Crosby’s assist gave him 73 points, one behind Alex Ovechkin for the second spot.
“Anytime Sid and Malkin come to town, it’s a good chance,” Tambellini said. “They were coming off an emotional night. Our defense was fantastic and Joey MacDonald stood on his head as usual. We rolled lines all night. It was a solid effort.”
Yet the Penguins had to settle for the one point despite having a mismatch in talent and a 41-21 advantage in faceoffs. Gordon said the Islanders used a total team effort to stay competitive against the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
“We didn’t have too many passengers today,” Gordon said. “I thought we got a pretty good effort from everybody.”
The Islanders will be off Tuesday before heading to the Garden for a key game for the struggling Rangers. With the Blueshirts sinking downwards, the Isles can deliver another difficult loss that might hinder its rival’s postseason chances.
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