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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't have to
undress New York Islanders goalie Roberto Luongo -- his own
teammates did.
| | Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, left, follows the puck after New York's Bill Muckalt loses his balance and the puck. |
Luongo stopped 26 Pittsburgh shots, but missed four others as
the Penguins blanked the New York Islanders 4-0 Tuesday night.
"We didn't give 100 percent effort tonight," Islanders
defenseman Jamie Rivers said, "and if we did, we gave 100 percent
in all the wrong directions."
Pittsburgh goalie Peter Skudra turned aside 21 shots for his
first shutout of the season, and fourth of his career. He was given
a 1-0 lead 61 seconds into the game when Luongo stopped Jaromir
Jagr's wrist shot, but lost sight of the rebound. German Titov
snuck in and found the puck first and poked it into the net.
The Islanders weren't able to mount much of an attack against
Skudra in the first period, and one of the game's turning points
took place in the scoreless second period. Given a 1:40 two-man
advantage, New York managed just two shots in that span, and never
really came close.
"Killing that three-on-five was the key for us," Skudra said. "I had
to do my job and keep it at 1-0 for as long as possible."
Pittsburgh scored three times in a 4:18 span of the third period
to put the game away.
Defenseman Michal Rozsival started things with a goal at 6:59 because of blown defensive coverage. Robert Lang was left uncovered
when he took a cross-ice pass from Titov and scored at 9:16. Jan
Hrdina finished off the Islanders at 11:17 when he took the rebound
of Jagr's wrist shot and roofed it over Luongo.
Islanders coach Butch Goring, who never addresses the team
immediately after a game, made an exception. And for 10 minutes, he
did so in a voice loud enough to be heard through the concrete wall
that separates the Islanders' dressing room from the hallway where
reporters wait. After his tirade, a more-composed Goring said the
effort his team put forth was unacceptable.
"We fell apart at the end," Goring said. "We gave up. The
short of it all is that regardless of the score, we're about
competing. We seemed to be a half a step behind all night, and then
we fell apart at the end."
Islanders defenseman Eric Brewer said that he was one of the
guilty parties.
"I think the D-men, especially myself, were out of sync,"
Brewer said. "Obviously, I eat myself away on the bench when that happens. We should be making life miserable for (Pittsburgh), and they had their way."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
Islanders trade Potvin to Canucks for three players
Penguins' Jagr closes in on record total in World All-Star voting
RECAPS
Nashville 3 Boston 1
Pittsburgh 4 NY Islanders 0
Buffalo 3 NY Rangers 1
Toronto 4 Tampa Bay 2
Dallas 0 Calgary 0
Edmonton 6 Washington 2
St. Louis 6 Phoenix 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
Michal Rozsival beats Roberto Luongo on the one timer.
avi: 358 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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