Sparked again by Michael Bunting, Penguins win Sunday's rematch against the Islanders

Matt Vensel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 29, 2024

Published in Hockey

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PITTSBURGH -- After an uncharacteristically quiet start to the season for a premier pest with a little scoring touch, Michael Bunting is back to making his presence felt on most nights.

He did it on the score sheet in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena, helping the Penguins split a weekend back-to-back against the Isles.

The Penguins shook off Saturday’s loss to the Islanders on Long Island by grabbing the early lead. Bunting set up Anthony Beauvillier off the rush 3:54 into the game.

Bunting pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0 when he scored on a second-period power play. Sidney Crosby hit Bunting in the slot with a no-look pass, and he beat Marcus Hogberg — a seldom-used Islanders goalie — to extend his scoring streak to three.

Bunting buried four goals in the last three games and has seven goals and 14 points in the last 13 to provide Pittsburgh with needed scoring from beyond its first line.

Philip Tomasino added a power-play goal in the third period to make it a 3-0 game.

Islanders captain Anders Lee beat Alex Nedeljkovic with 7:01 left then added another 3:11 later to make it interesting, but the Penguins held on to take the rematch.

Ice chips

• Crosby officially surpassed Mario Lemieux for the most assists in Penguins history when he set up Bunting in the second period. That was his 1,034th NHL assist. The lively crowd at PPG Paints Arena gave him a loud ovation when it was announced.

• Kris Letang didn’t play against the Islanders due to a lower-body injury. He was in the lineup Saturday on Long Island and logged more than 25 minutes of ice time.

• With Letang out, Nathan Clurman made his NHL debut Sunday. He skated on the right side of the third pair. The 26-year-old defenseman signed with the Penguins in the offseason after spending eight years as a member of the Colorado Avalanche organization. He is the fourth Penguins player to make his NHL debut this season.

• Nedeljkovic was sharp even though this was just his third start in the month of December. He finished with 28 saves. He was at his best when the Islanders were on the power play late in the second period and pushing hard. He stopped six shots on that penalty, with snazzy glove saves on Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal.

• Marcus Pettersson sat out another game with a lower-body injury, making it six in a row. However, there is a chance the blue-liner could be cleared to return in the coming days. That should provide a boost for the team’s banged-up defense corps.

Coming up

The Penguins will not practice Monday after the weekend back-to-back. They next will travel to Detroit, and ring in the New Year against the Red Wings on Tuesday.