Islanders Defeat Penguins And End Crosby’s Streak

Added on Dec 30, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

Sidney Crosby’s incredible 25 game scoring streak ended at the hands of the New York Islanders last night, where the Penguins were on the losing end of 2-1 shoot out victory. Rick DiPietro was able to shut down the high powered offense of the Penguins, and kept them to just one goal.

DiPietro was humble about the evening, and said it was the whole team who stepped up to shut down the penguins the way they did. He said “That wasn’t me. It was a complete team effort.The defensive corps played with a lot of focus and a lot of heart. When we’re playing smart in our defensive zone, we’re a good hockey team.”
The Islanders have to be estatic about the way they played and shut down Crosby. He has been a nightmare for the squad through out his whole career. Crosby has ammassed 62 points in 33 career games. It must feel good for the struggling Islanders to get the shoot out win at home. Dipietro added “Any time that you beat a team like that, two points is two points, but when you beat a team like that. There’s a lot of work to be done, but you’ve seen a lot of young guys step up in big roles and play good hockey.”

The fact that Sidney Crosby not getting point is over shadowing the game speaks volumes about the dynamic player. Crosby had scored in every game since Nov. 3 at Dallas. The run, in which Crosby had 26 goals and 24 assists, was the longest in the NHL since Quebec’s Mats Sundin had a 30-game streak during the 1992-93 season. He is now tied for the 11th longest in NHL history. Crosby also had goals in five consecutive games before being shut down by the Islanders. He didn’t say much after the game, but he said he just needs to get back out there and what he always does. He concluded “It would’ve been nice to keep things going, but it was one of those games. It’s always easy to look back.I just try to go out there and do the same things.”

The Penguins were 16-4-1 against the Islanders since the start of the 2007-08 season and 11-1-1 the past two seasons. Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma said “There was a few [chances] out there for him and his linemates. I’m sure we’ll see another streak.”

The teams were tied 2-2 through three shootout rounds. P.A. Parenteau put the Islanders ahead by scoring off a speed rush on Fleury, and DiPietro sealed New York’s rare win over Pittsburgh by stopping Mark Letestu.

The Islanders were trying to recover from a thrashing they recieved on Monday night at the hands of the New York Rangers. Islanders coach Jack Capuano said they had to put that game behind them, and they didn’t even talk about it. He said ”We didn’t watch any video from that game. We put it behind us. We wanted to move forward and see what kind of character that we have.” As far as ending Crosby’s streak is concerned Capuano said it was just a bonus, “He’s a great player. He had some chances to keep the streak alive.”

The Penguins (25-11-3, 53pts), who are now 1st in Atlantic Division will face the Washington Capitals (22-12-5, 49pts) in the Winter Classic Saturday weather permitting. The Islanders (10-19-6, 26pts), who are now 4th in Atlantic Division, will face the Detroit Red Wings (24-9-4, 52pts) on Friday.