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April 17 (UPI) -- The New York Islanders completed a shocking first-round, four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders capped their dominant showing in the series with a 3-1 win Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. New York trailed for less than five minutes in the entire series.
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With the win, the Islanders advanced to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in 26 years. It was the franchise's first series sweep since 1983.
The Penguins, searching for the franchise's third Stanley Cup championship in four years, scored only six goals in the series and were swept for the first time since 1972.
"Early on, a lot of people wrote us off and were shocked," Islanders forward Jordan Eberle told reporters. "We're confident in the way that we play, the way that the group is here and this is one of the tighter-knit teams that I've played on. We love battling and playing for each other. If you do that every night on a consistent basis, you can go places."
Pittsburgh forward Jake Guenztel scored 35 seconds into the first period during Game 4. The Islanders responded 1:34 later with Eberle's goal and never trailed again.
New York forward Brock Nelson tallied his third goal of the postseason in the first period and Josh Bailey flipped in an empty-netter with 38 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
The Islanders picked up a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1. New York followed that with a 3-1 win in Game 2 and a 4-1 victory in Game 3. Eberle led the Isles with four goals in four games.
The Islanders take on the winner of the Capitals-Hurricanes series in the second round. New York head coach Barry Trotz led the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history last year before joining the Islanders.
