Schedule and 2020-21 Results
Regular Season Records: Pittsburgh 37-16-3=77pts, N.Y. Islanders 32-17-7=71pts
Game 1 on Sunday, 16 May: New York Islanders win at Pittsburgh, 4-goals-3(OT)
Game 2 on Tuesday, 18 May: New York Islanders lose at Pittsburgh, 2-goals-1
Game 3 on Thursday, 20 May: Pittsburgh wins at New York Islanders, 5-goals-4
Game 4 on Saturday, 22 May: Pittsburgh loses at New York Islanders, 4-goals-1
Game 5 on Monday, 24 May: New York Islanders win at Pittsburgh, 3-goals-2(2OT)
Game 6 on Wednesday, 26 May: Pittsburgh loses at New York Islanders, 5-goals-3

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: The New York Islanders hosted and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-goals-3 to complete a 4-games-2 best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 victory. With the series 1452 win, the New York Islanders improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 26-21 overall and 6-9 in the Preliminary round. With the series 1452 loss, the Pittsburgh Penguins see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 38-25 overall and 17-9 in the Preliminary round. The win order for the victorious New York Islanders in series 1452 was WLLWWW: Series 1452 thus becomes the 14th NHL Preliminary-round series, the 27th NHL series (all rounds), and the 40th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. Series 1452 Game 6 becomes the third best-of-7 NHL playoff game to see a goal order of VHVHVHHH as posted by the victorious Islanders; the previous two games were series 461 Game 6 (Maple Leafs in Toronto over the St. Louis Blues in the 1986 NHL Quarterfinals) and series 1004 Game 3 (Senators in Ottawa over the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 NHL Finals).

After Game 5: The New York Islanders visited and bested the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-goals-2 (2OT) to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 lead of 3-games-2. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the New York Islanders have a series record of 11-1 (with an active ten-series winning streak) and a Game 6 record of 10-2. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 7-8 and a Game 6 record of 7-8. The New York Islanders trailed the host Pittsburgh Penguins by a goal as late as 8:49 into the third period but prevailed: In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff games from 1939 through 2020, inclusive, road teams down a goal as late as 8:49 into the third period had a game record of only 121-656 (.156) - the New York Islanders thus achieve a grade-B in-game comeback.

After Game 4: The New York Islanders hosted and outscored the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-goals-1 to knot best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 at 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 15-9 and a Game 5 record of 14-10, while the New York Islanders have a series record of 5-6 and a Game 5 record of 5-6.

After Game 3: The Pittsburgh Penguins visited and defeated the New York Islanders 5-goals-4 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 lead of 2-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 18-7 (with an active seven-series winning streak) and a Game 4 record of 12-13. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the New York Islanders have a series record of 4-13 (with an active seven-series losing streak) and a Game 4 record of 7-10.

After Game 2: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and topped the New York Islanders 2-goals-1 to knot best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 at 1-game-all. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 16-14 and a Game 3 record of 18-12, while the New York Islanders have a series record of 9-10 and a Game 3 record of 8-11.

After Game 1: The New York Islanders visited and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-goals-3(OT) to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1452 lead of 1-game-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the New York Islanders have a series record of 18-5 and a Game 2 record of 14-9. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 15-16 and a Game 2 record of 18-13. The New York Islanders trailed the host Pittsburgh Penguins by a goal as late as 3:32 into the third period but won: In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff games from 1939 through 2020, inclusive, road teams down a goal as late as 3:32 into the third period had a game record of only 157-507 (.239) - the New York Islanders thus achieve a grade-C in-game comeback. The series 1452 Game 1 victory by the New York Islanders is the fifth consecutive NHL Preliminary-round Game 1 win by the Islanders. The series 1452 Game 1 loss by the Pittsburgh Penguins is their seventh consecutive NHL playoff game loss. In their last five NHL playoff series, the Game 1 outcome by the New York Islanders presaged their series outcome (three wins; two losses).

Pre-series assessment: In the 2020-21 NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished six points ahead of the New York Islanders. From 1939 through the 2020 NHL Finals round, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by six regular-season points, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 22-9 (.710) in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1452 is the 63rd best-of-7 NHL playoff series for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the 47th for the New York Islanders. In best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have an all-rounds series record of 38-24, a Preliminary-round series record of 17-8, and a Game 1 record of 31-31, while the New York Islanders have an all-rounds series record of 25-21, a Preliminary-round series record of 5-9, and a Game 1 record of 23-23. Series 1452 is the fifth best-of-7 NHL playoff series meeting between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders. The New York Islanders won three of the first four best-of-7 NHL playoff series between the two teams, including a four-game sweep by the Islanders over the Penguins in their last such meeting (in series 1389, in the 2019 NHL Preliminary round). Pittsburgh brings an active six-game best-of-7 NHL playoff losing streak into series 1452.