Just like in Game 1, the Islanders did not play well in the first period of Friday's matchup against the Penguins, and they quickly fell behind 2-0 before going into the first intermission down 3-1.
Facing a possible 2-0 series deficit, this young Islanders team raised their performance and dominated the Penguins in the second period to score two goals and tie the game heading into the final 20 minutes.
When Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was unable to handle a shot off the boards and put the puck in his own net, New York protected its 4-3 lead with impressive defense and determination in the last 10 minutes of regulation.
This was a huge win for an inexperienced team that will be full of confidence heading into Game 3 at the Nassau Coliseum on Sunday. The Islanders showed a lot of poise and composure in the second period, which is when they seized momentum of the game and created more scoring opportunities than the Penguins.
Not only did they outshoot (42-33) and outwork the Penguins in the last 40 minutes of this game, the Islanders also limited their mistakes and did not crumble under the playoff pressure that most of the players on the roster had never experienced prior to this series.
For the Islanders to have any chance of pulling off a historic upset of the Penguins, they needed to win at least one win game on the road to prove to themselves that Pittsburgh is a beatable team.
Both of these were accomplished on Friday, and even though they are still the favorites, all of the pressure is on Crosby and the Penguins as the series shifts to Long Island for Game 3.
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