TWO GOAL BREAKAWAY..

Correction, three goal breakaway...

That's what killed NY on Thursday night at the Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders game. Game 5 of a best of 7 Round 1 Stanley Cup playoff match up. Islanders hanging in there and have to win two in a row now to stay in.

Until Thursday the Islanders had done well to come back from a disastrous first game (5-0 loss) by winning the last two games and arriving at 2-2 game stand off.

So, the Penguins first made a two goal lead, then a three goal lead thanks to Sidney Crosby (one of their star players) in the second period.

To add insult to injury they opened it further to 4-0 within the first 6 minutes of he third period.

The Islanders didn't really look like they were communicating most of the game. In my eyes, the real star for them in the series so far has been Nabokov, their netminder. Even he didn't shine on Thursday night and was pulled and replaced by 23 year old Kevin Poulin for the last 15 minutes and 4 shots on goal - none got past him.

Amazingly, some of the best playing of the game by the Islanders came in the dying minutes. They managed top keep the puck out of the net in the last three minutes even when faced with a 5 on 3 players situation  following a whole heap of penalties - Hickey for elbowing at 18 minutes, Hamonic and Cizikas for roughing at 18:39 (matched by 2 Penguins players) and  Strait, Aucoin and Martin 10 minute enalties for misconduct at 19mins 36 (joined by 2 Penguins players for the same).

The Penguins netminder was changed in the last game from Fleury to Vokoun and this seems to have had the desired result for them, Islanders 31 shots on goal during the game being kept out of the net by the 37 year old Czech player from Karlovy Vary.

Pittsburgh: 31 shots on goal - 4 goals
New York: 31 shots on goal - 0 goals

Says it all.

Roll on Saturday night when Pittsburgh play on the Islanders home ice at the Nassau Centre, Long Island. I'm staying up to watch! You gotta be positive.

Note: for US readers, the games that start at 7PM ET air live here in the UK from midnight so we have to stay up and watch late night games - adds to the ambience for me though is a little annoying in the mid-week when work calls the next day!