Penguins 4
Isles 3
Sidney Crosby is going to win a lot of awards before his NHL career is over, but last night, Islanders coach Ted Nolan was ready to nominate Sid the Kid for an Academy Award.
“I think for a world-class player, for a guy of his caliber, he’s diving every time someone touches him,” Nolan said after the Isles suffered a 4-3 overtime loss at the Coliseum in which Crosby could have earned an Oscar for a supporting role.
It seemed like Crosby was diving around the ice last night, when he wasn’t skating around Islanders defensemen and making the home team look silly. Nevertheless, it was his final dive of the night that helped to turn the tables against the Islanders, a team playing as if it were Game 7 – Game 7 of 82, that is, rather than an elimination game.
The Islanders slipped early because of bad penalties. They played six of the game’s first eight minutes a man down, thanks to two minors charged to Brendan Witt. They fought back behind a solid three-point effort from Alexei Yashin, but when it came down to it, the Isles fell in overtime because of one more penalty and one more dive by No. 87. Earlier in the game, Crosby seemed to ham up a pop to the kisser from Trent Hunter that helped to set up the game-tying goal.
It should be noted that just before Yashin’s hook that put Pittsburgh on the winning 4-on-3 advantage with less than two minutes remaining in overtime, Yashin had his right thumb hacked open by a slash from Crosby deep in the Isles end. The referees never called that, but they were all over Yashin’s hook seconds later. Yashin, who scored a goal and two assists with a game-high 10 shots on goal, iced his bleeding hand in the penalty box when Sergei Gonchar teed up the winner from the right point.
Yashin, recently quoted on the Islanders’ Web site saying the Coliseum is his favorite arena in the league because, “It’s a good place to watch hockey,” was reduced to puck-watching after all.
“No question in my mind, he should have been called for a slash before Yashin had a chance to hook him,” Nolan said. “I’m not saying Yashin’s wasn’t a penalty, I’m just saying there should have been a penalty before. If Yashin maybe acted like Crosby and dove, maybe he would have gotten that call.”
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Mike Dunham, who allowed the winner to the short side, made 32 saves in his third consecutive start. Rick DiPietro, who missed the last two with a groin strain, dressed as the backup and could start tomorrow against Carolina.