Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - While the Pittsburgh Penguins may again be
without Evgeni Malkin for a period of time, their performance against the New
York Islanders clearly demonstrated they can withstand the absence of the
reigning league MVP.
Chris Kunitz registered the fourth hat trick of his career and tallied a
personal-best five points, leading an offensive onslaught that carried the
Pens to a 6-1 throttling of the New York Islanders for their fifth straight
win.
Pittsburgh also received big efforts from a few others with Malkin sitting out
the contest after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday's 5-4 shootout
victory over Toronto. Sidney Crosby assisted on five of the Penguins' six
goals, including a pair of markers from Pascal Dupuis, while James Neal posted
a goal and two helpers in the rout.
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said prior to the game that Malkin's injury is
unrelated to the concussion that sidelined him for four straight outings
earlier this season, though how much time the reigning Hart Trophy recipient
will miss has yet to be determined.
Tomas Vokoun stopped 23-of-24 shots to help Pittsburgh match its longest win
streak of the season.
Brad Boyes had the lone goal for New York, which had a string of five
consecutive tests with at least one point end. Evgeni Nabokov made just 12
saves on 17 chances before being pulled in favor of Kevin Poulin to begin the
third period.
The Sports Network