Islanders all-time playoff history against Penguins

The New York Islanders are scheduled to begin their drive for a fifth cup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, here’s a look at every series between the two teams. Ever.

Five. That’s the number of times the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins have faced each other in the post-season over their 49 years of shared existence.

And it’s typically gone well for the Islanders even when they weren’t exactly the favorite in the series. In 29 games against the Pens in the playoffs, the Isles hold a 17-12 record. More importantly, the Isles are 4-1 in series wins over the Penguins.

I know looking at the Islanders history in the playoff against the Penguins won’t provide us with an idea of what could happen this time around. Even the fact that the Islanders swept the Penguins 4-0 two years ago means nothing going into this series.

But this is a fun jog down memory lane as we wait for the opening round to begin on Sunday.

Oh, if you’re looking for the Islanders-Penguins series schedule look no further: Here it is.

1974-75 Round 1

Result: 4-3 series win
Islanders top scorer: JP Parise & Jude Drouin (8 points)

Not many teams are able to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. In fact, only four teams in NHL history have ever done it. In 1975 it had only been done once. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team to ever win a series after being down 3-0. They did it in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals no less.

For 35 years that achievement was left unmatched. Until the Islanders were down 3-0 to the Penguins in the second round of the 1975 playoffs.

They lost Game 1 in a 5-4 nailbiter and were outmatched by a combined score of 9-5 in the following two games. While facing elimination in Game 4 the Isles put up 38 shots to the Penguins 28 as they won 3-1 with goals from St Laurent, Gillies, and Parise.

From there the Islanders just kept on rolling. They picked up another three wins with a combined score of 9-3. They completely outclassed the Penguins over the final four games of the series to become only the second NHL team to ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Chico Resch would step in to take over in the blue paint and was absolutely infallible. In four games he averaged a 0.969SV% and a flat 1.00 GAA. Those are Ilya Sorokin KHL playoff numbers. Incredible stuff.

1981-82 Round 1

Result: 3-2 series win
Islanders top scorer: Clark Gillies (8 points)

This was very much a David and Goliath situation, of sorts.

The Islanders were Goliath in the fact that they were without question the better team. With a 54-16-10 record in the regular season, the Islanders finished with 43 more points than the Penguins did. On paper the Penguins had no chance.

And it started out that way. The Islanders dominated the first two games with an unbelievable +12 goal differential. But then the series changed as it went to Pittsburgh.

Outside of Fort Neverlose the Islanders weren’t this “giant” so to speak. The Penguins took Game 3 and 4 by a combined score of 7-3 and forced what seemed like an improbable Game 5 when the series began.

The Islanders were facing a lose-and-go-home situation in Round 1 after back-to-back Cups in 80 and 81. In both championship runs the Islanders didn’t face elimination once, and now here they were facing elimination at the first hurdle against an unlikely opponent.

And look, it wasn’t a walk-in-the-park in Game 5 back at home. With three unanswered goals in the second period, the Penguins were up 3-1. The score remained that way for much of the third period until Mike McEwen popped in a power-play goal on a Randy Carlyle hooking penalty 14:33 into the third.

John Tonelli tied it up at 17:39 before scoring the OT winner at 6:19 of the extra frame. Bob Nystrom would provide the primary assist on that OT goal. Of course.

The Isles clearly didn’t like the idea of facing elimination. They only lost twice over the next three rounds – both times to the Rangers in round 3 – as they picked up their third Stanley Cup in a row.

2012-13: Round 1

Result: 4-2 series loss
Islanders top scorer: John Tavares & Mark Streit (5 points)

For the first time in six years, the New York Islanders made the playoffs. They hadn’t been to the postseason since 2006-07 when they got bounced in five games by the Sabres.

They made it to the postseason, but barely. With 55 points the Isles were the eighth seed in the East. A strong April where they went 8-1-4 helped them capture the finals spot in the East by four points over the Winnipeg Jets.

The Penguins finished first in the East – and second in the NHL – with 72 points. If that point total sounds low to you remember that 2012-13 was the lockout-shortened year. Teams only played 48 games that year.

Much like 1992-93, expectations were low for the Islanders in this series. And look, a 5-0 loss in Game 1 did little to change those expectations. But the Isles, to their credit, hung in there against the Penguins.

Through the next five games, the Isles picked up two wins and pushed the Penguins to OT twice with a 5-4 OT loss in Game 3 and a 4-3 OT loss Game 6. And honestly, the game tieing goal in Game 6 shouldn’t have happened. At all.

I know I should get over these things after eight years, but I just can’t. The Penguins should have been given a tripping call on this play seconds before Paul Martin ties it up. Going on the power play for two minutes could have totally changed this game with the Islanders already ahead 3-2.

Again, this shouldn’t bug me anymore. But just watching the replay again brought back that long-buried anger.

This series remains the only time the Islanders have lost to the Penguins in the postseason.

2018-19: Round 1

Result: 4-0 series win
Islanders top scorer: Jordan Eberle (6 points)

Remember how bad the New York Islanders were supposed to be in 2018-19? Like the other 30 teams in the NHL were going to dunk so hard on the Isles because they lost John Tavares and brought in a bunch of bottom-six players.

But everyone forgot about Barry Trotz. The Stanley Cup-winning coach proved he was the best in the business by turning what should have been a training-wrek into an overwhelming success.

The Islanders finished the 18-19 season with 103 points, just a single point behind the Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division and good enough to finish sixth in the NHL.

You’d think that the “Islanders are actually bad” narrative would have gone out the window by the playoffs. That wasn’t the case. The Islanders were still seen as frauds and the Penguins would bring order back to the NHL.

Wrong. The Islanders, lead by Jordan Eberle up top and Robin Lehner between the pipes, swept the Penguins in four straight games. And outside of a 4-3 OT win in Game 1, the rest of the series wasn’t close.

The Isles ran a +8 goal differential through the four-game series with the Penguins. Eberle would put up four goals and six points while Robin Lehner stopped 130 shots for an incredible 0.956SV% and 1.47 GAA.

The Islanders once again proved everyone wrong. They showed a team with very few stars could still compete not only in the regular season but for a championship. And they’d do it again, and again, and again.