The New York Islanders took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena
Once again, the Penguins had no answers for the Islanders, who displayed yet another strong defensive effort, controlled possession, and kept the high-danger chances low. New York also kept Pittsburgh’s stars quiet as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, and Jake Guentzel combined for zero points. The last time Crosby went pointless in three straight playoff games in the 2016 Eastern Conference Final.
When the Penguins thought they had an advantage -- following Garrett Wilson’s goal 12:54 into the first period for a 1-0 lead -- the Islanders answered right back. Jordan Eberle continued his productive postseason by scoring his third goal of the series on a lovely shot following a fantastic feed from Ryan Pulock.
“We’ve got to do a better job of hanging onto the momentum when we get it,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said afterward.
Eberle is now the third Islanders players in since 1994 to score in three straight playoff games, joining Kyle Okposo (2013) and Kip Miller (2002).
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The home crowd was silent, and then the anxiety grew 62 seconds later when Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead.
Finding themselves trailing in another game this series, the Penguins, as they did in the previous two games, could not generate enough to test Lehner and threaten any sort of comeback. Leo Komarov’s goal midway through the third period put the game out of reach and helped the Islanders improve to 41-2-2 when scoring at least three times this season.
The Islanders will go for the sweep in Game 4 on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.