Dec 23, 2023; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) skates with the puck in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
ELMONT, N.Y. — Jake Guentzel scored twice in 12 seconds to headline a six-goal second period for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who dominated the New York Islanders in a 7-0 victory on Wednesday at UBS Arena.
Evgeni Malkin scored two of his own while defenseman Kris Letang had six assists, including five in that period, which tied an NHL record for most helpers in a period set by Dale Hawerchuk of the Winnipeg Jets on March 6, 1984, in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings while making him the first defenseman to reach that mark. He also became the first blueliner ever to record five points in a single frame and just the seventh defenseman in NHL history with six helpers in a single game (first since 1986).
The six goals allowed by the Islanders (16-9-9) in a single period were tied for the second-most in franchise history. They allowed eight in the second period of a March 3, 1973 game against the Philadelphia Flyers and allowed six on seven other occasions — their previous two also coming against the Penguins in 1990 and 2000.
“It’s all fixable,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. “We just weren’t hard enough in our own zone. We weren’t hard enough around our goaltender, and we gave up the interior and the net front far too easily. Very, very uncharacteristic. All fixable.”
While the Penguins outshot the Islanders 32-20 on the night, including 20-7 in the second period, they drove New York’s star goalie Ilya Sorokin from the game after just 40 minutes. He made 19 saves on 26 shots before Semyon Varlamov saved seven shots in relief.
Pittsburgh netminder Tristan Jarry turned away all 21 shots he faced to earn his NHL-leading fourth shutout of the season on an easy night that saw his team score those six…
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