Heading into Game 1 the Penguins need to make some on-ice adjustments. They weren’t ready for the New York Islanders pressure and it showed at times. At other times the Penguins were humming along just fine. For a game where many thought the Penguins were sloppy losing by one goal in overtime isn’t a reason for panic.

That doesn’t mean the coach will stand pat with his lineup decisions. It appears Mike Sullivan will be changing things up

Expect Jack Johnson back in the lineup tonight. Here’s the latest: https://t.co/klS9GRUgid

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 12, 2019

This was obvious the second Josh Bailey ended the game on Wednesday night. Jack Johnson was always going to return to the lineup the first chance Marcus Pettersson or Olli Maatta gave Sullivan an excuse to. It is likely we see a Johnson-Schultz pairing and it is likely we will not see the better version of Justin Schultz as a result. This pairing isn’t good at suppressing or creating which is a net negative. It’s a shame because the Penguins generated as many shot attempts as they have all season in Game 1. I liked them pushing the play and I’m sure the Penguins win quite a number of times if that exact game is replayed. This is a reality we are in.

Lineup choices aside the Penguins will need to use the Islanders aggressiveness against them and avoid going D to D when they are being trapped. Given how the Islanders have defended over the past two months (and Game 1) the Penguins forwards are going to get some looks and they need to make good on them. The best thing heading into Game 2 is how poorly Sidney Crosby’s line played. I don’t think anybody can honestly predict a repeat performance for the Penguins legend.

Thanks for reading!

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