New-look Islanders succumb to same old issues in opening loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH — The Islanders spent much of Thursday night looking like they were moving into a new era with both feet.

Ultimately, though, it was the same old habits that doomed them to a 4-3 loss to the Penguins in their first game of the season.

The penalty kill, a point of emphasis all preseason, coughed up a pair of goals; the power play was scoreless and the Islanders gave up a game-winning-goal to Justin Brazeau after leaving Ilya Sorokin out to dry in the third period, overshadowing all the positivity that came with Matthew Schaefer’s debut.

5

“We’ve been talking about it: We gotta clean up our special teams,” Ryan Pulock told The Post. “And we are, and it’s gonna be better. We know it in here, and there was a couple tonight we gave up on the PK, and we know we’re gonna clean that up.”

Schaefer, who became the youngest player in history to record a point in his NHL debut, put forth a strong night in front of a crowd of roughly 30 family members and friends, assisting Jonathan Drouin’s goal 12:02 into the game and looking like he belonged in 17:15 of ice time.

5

“It was such a great experience, playing your first NHL game,” Schaefer said. “I thought we battled tonight, wish we could’ve got the win.”

Long term, Schaefer’s performance is very much a positive, and so too is the speed with which the Islanders played all night, a much-needed quality for a group that has long been derided for its slow pace.

Still, with the chance to seize a come-from-behind win after Max Shabanov tied the game at 3-3 going into the second intermission, the Russian’s first NHL goal coming off a slick assist from Simon Holmstrom, the Islanders could not.

5

The Penguins poured down pressure early in the third period, but Sorokin — whose rebound control looked shaky earlier in the night — stood up to it, making save after save around the crease.

Finally, though, at 14:21 of the third, Sorokin was beaten as Brazeau got around Scott Mayfield and went forehand-to-backhand, putting the Penguins up 4-3.

5

The Islanders had a chance to re-tie the game shortly thereafter when Adam Pelech drew a hooking call on Ben Kindel with 3:45 to go.

Even after Patrick Roy pulled Ilya Sorokin with a minute to go in the man advantage, though, the Islanders could not come up with a tying goal. Nor could they do so skating at six-on-five for the remainder, with Drouin failing to convert an opportunity with 14 seconds left, then taking a five-minute cross-checking misconduct in the aftermath.

The PK, 31st in the league a year ago, twice let the Islanders down earlier in the game. Just 3:23 into the night, Evgeni Malkin tapped one in at five-on-four after Sorokin failed to freeze the puck around the crease. Then, 8:58 into the second, Sidney Crosby boxed out Ryan Pulock around the crease to convert Malkin’s feed across the blue paint at four-on-three.

“Four-on-three, we just weren’t so sharp,” Pulock said. “We had a weird triangle, something we haven’t worked on a ton that we gotta clean up.”

That accounted for two of Pittsburgh’s three goals through the first 40 minutes, the other one coming from Harrison Brunicke on the rush. Kyle Palmieri scored the Islanders’ second goal, with Mat Barzal — back at center — feeding him 4:04 into the second.

5

The power play, another point of emphasis all preseason, came up empty too, going 0-for-3, though the Islanders did at least generate chances at five-on-four in a way that was all too rare last season.

But for all the change that came this offseason, and for all the change that was evident on the ice in Pittsburgh on Thursday, the Islanders were left ruing the same what-ifs that sunk them a year ago: penalty kill, power play, late-game woes.

“I thought we played a good game,” Roy said. “Well enough to win. But we’re not here for moral victories.”

Indeed, the Islanders don’t need anyone to tell them what needs to be fixed. They’ve heard it plenty over the years.

Until they do it, though, it will keep hanging over their heads.