{"id":6105,"date":"2019-04-17T04:05:10","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/?p=6105"},"modified":"2019-04-17T04:05:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T04:05:10","slug":"new-york-islanders-sweep-series-eliminating-penguins-from-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/new-york-islanders-sweep-series-eliminating-penguins-from-playoffs","title":{"rendered":"New York Islanders Sweep Series Eliminating Penguins from Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tom Kuhnhackl and Brock Nelson celebrate after scoring in Game 4 as the Islanders went on to sweep the series and eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p><\/div>\n

The New York Islanders did the unexpected last night and eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins and 2017 Stanley Cup winners in four back-to-back games, and after a solid regular season, they are now heading to round two of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Josh Bailey scored one goal and earned an assist in a night that saw Robin Lehner stopping 32 shots. Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson also scored and Matthew Barzal, Valtteri Flippula, and Scott Mayfield earned assists. It was enough to see the Pittsburgh Penguins leave the series before it even started failing to be relevant to the dismay of Pittsburgh fans, who littered the PPG Paints Arena in a somber mood.<\/p>\n

The opening goal by Brock Nelson in the first period came after being set up by Josh Bailey and with the Penguins facing elimination, Mike Sullivan pulled Matt Murray only to watch as Josh Bailey scored on an open net sealing their fate. The New York Islanders dominated the series from beginning to end winning Game 1 of the series<\/a> and only were behind five minutes across all four games.<\/p>\n

It was the 13th straight post-season playoffs for the Penguins and one that ended quietly. In the four games they only managed to score six goals with Captain Sydney Crosby seemingly resigned at what lay ahead. Maybe it was lack of will, maybe lack of skill.<\/p>\n

The New York Islanders<\/a> were near the top of the league all season allowing in the least number of goals of any team in the league during the regular season. The twelve periods of hockey in the first round showed that Barry Trotz\u2019s leadership has made a difference, and it appears he may repeat the success he had while coaching last year\u2019s winners, the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n

Sportsnet<\/strong><\/p>\n