Penguins lose 3-2 shootout in Bylsma's coaching debut
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Changing coaches wasn't enough to change the Penguins' fortunes.
They lost to the New York Islanders, 3-2, in a shootout at Nassau Coliseum today, less than 24 hours after Michel Therrien was fired as coach and replaced by Dan Bylsma.
The loss dropped the Penguins' record to 27-25-6 and left them in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four points out of eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Frans Neilsen and Jeff Tambellini beat Marc-Andre Fleury during the shootout, wihle Petr Sykora of the Penguins scored on Islanders goalie Joey MacDonald.
Fleury stopped Kyle Okposo, while MacDonald denied Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Defenseman Chris Campoli gave New York a 1-0 lead at 11:34 of the opening period when a pass from Sean Bergerheim deflected off his right skate and past Fleury.
Malkin got that goal back with a sensational individual effort at 18:07, as he rushed the puck down the left side of the ice then, using New York defenseman Jack Hillen as a screen, threw a wrist shot by MacDonald from inside the circle for his 25th.
Neilsen put the Islanders back in front, 2-1, when he backhanded a loose puck in from the crease at 13:2 of the seconds, but Ryan Whitney countered for the Penguins during a power play at 17:07.
Whitney moved in from the left point and, after taking a backhand feed from Crosby, beat MacDonald high on the short side for the final goal of regulation. Sergei Gonchar picked up the second assist, his first point of the season.
The Penguins had a pair of two-on-one breaks during overtime, but were unable to convert either.
The Penguins are off until Thursday night, when Montreal will visit Mellon Arena.
First Published February 16, 2009 4:51 pm
