Last night's loss brought to you by the New York Islanders

Is there something in the air? Are the Pens just trying to make us feel more at home by blowing leads and losing by one? Of course, it's early, and it's just two games, but really...what a disheartening loss, especially when the Pens played so hard (what a kill by the guys when Crosby was in the box for four).

Not only was it the Islanders that won, but that win was brought to you by none other than Al Arbour, a coach who did great things for the Islanders (and so, I say congratulations on your win and the final game coached, Arbour), but which many Penguins fans would like to trip as he walked out to his shiny beamer last night. This was not helped by the fact that Center Ice brought us the lovely New York feed, and therefore mentioned, about twenty times, how super duper wonderful and fitting it was to come from behind on the Penguins and win. They also brought us highlights of the infamous '93 Islanders playoff win against the Pens. Thanks, FSN.

I freely admit that I am not very good with stats, but this got me thinking: are the Islanders really our worst playoff enemy? Sure, most of the teams in the Eastern Conference don't like each other for a myriad of reasons, but where does playoff angst factor into it all?

Since the divisions were reorganized in '74/'75 that put the Pens into the Norris, then Patrick, all the way up to the Atlantic, the Penguins have lost to the Islanders, Flyers, and surprisingly, Leafs, the most, with three losses each. Closely after that are the Devils and Bruins, with two a piece, leaving the Caps, Habs, Panthers, and Blues with one.

Now, I know that I wasn't around in '75 to hate on the Islanders for bumping the Pens out of the playoffs, so what about after the Cups?

Of the big three (Philly, Toronto and the Isles), only Philly showed a strong carry-over with two playoff kills (both losses of 4-2) in '97 and 2000. New Jersey is also at that mark with hardcore smackdowns of the Pens in '95 and 2001 (both harsh losses of 4-1). The Islanders show up once post-Cup in 1993, going all the way to game 7 in the division finals for the aforementioned loss. Other losses of mention? Washington's only win over the Pens in the postseason was in '94. The Rangers have never beaten the Penguins in April.

On paper it would seem that the Penguins' postseason enemies are Philly and New Jersey (and if the Leafs ever get back to the playoffs), but what about the actual games themselves? The Islanders made a relatively small impact on the post-Cup era playoff statistics, but that loss in '93 was a big one to a team and fan base that was hoping to pull 3 straight Cups. New Jersey has just always been brutal in the playoffs against the Pens (hmm...4-1 losses, sound familiar, Ottawa?), but both losses to the Flyers were emotional and exciting events with the loss of Mario in '97 and an amazing OT round in 2000 (3rd longest in NHL history).

One last thought: for both '91 and '92, the Pens stomped on the Rangers, then the Bruins, in the 2nd and Conference Finals respectively, before winning the Cup. Is that the missing key to the Penguins success, the need to win over the Rangers and the Bruins like some demented decoder ring?



The Pens play the Devils on Monday (while I'm at work, of course) at 'The Rock' in Jersey. 7 pm.
Go Pens.