Richard Park came back to haunt his old team just 21 seconds into the 2nd period, building on a 1-0 Penguins lead. Park brought it into the zone and rifled a shot at Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov stopped the shot and the puck ricocheted to the boards. The Islanders controlled the puck and looked to clear the zone but a poke check by Arron Asham knocked the puck back to Park before the Isles could clear. Park handled the loose puck and rifled a quick wrister which trickled past Nabokov for the soft goal. It was his second goal of the season.
Park’s goal extended the lead to 2-0, building on the goal by Pascal Dupuis at the end of the first period which opened the scoring. Dupuis was assisted by Brooks Orpik at 17:06 of the first. In his return from a knee injury, Evgeni Malkin has seen consistent shifts on the ice, logging 9 minutes and one shot on goal through the first 30 minutes of play. Marc-Andre Fleury has looked cool and steady in net all night on some good Isles’ chances, shutting down all 18 shots he has faced so far.
The Pens will look to build on their two goal lead to capture their fourth win in a row.