UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- It was, in the vernacular, a "goal-scorer's goal."
The kind that doesn't result from a deflection or a screened goalie or an unpredictable carom, but from the fusion of skill and instinct.
The kind that could fit easily into any highlights video.
The kind Jason Zucker scored late in the second period of the Penguins' 5-4 victory against the New York Islanders in Game 3 of their opening-round playoff series Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum.
Zucker collected a loose puck on his backhand at the top of the left circle, moved it onto his forehand while skating toward the hash mark, then flipped a shot outside the right leg of New York defenseman Scott Mayfield and over the glove of goalie Semyon Varlamov to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead.
It was an impressive sequence, even though Zucker suggested after practice Friday that he was "just trying to take what was given there."
That goal was Zucker's first in these playoffs, and came more than a period after teammate Zach Aston-Reese had gotten his first in this postseason.
The difference is, when the game ended, Zucker still had his, while the one initially credited to Aston-Reese had been switched to Kris Letang.
Some replays suggested that Letang's point shot had gone off Aston-Reese's stick before getting past Varlamov, but Aston-Reese said Friday he isn't sure what happened during that sequence.
"I honestly wasn't too sure if it was my stick hitting (New York defenseman Ryan) Pulock or if it was the puck," he said. "There was a lot going on, a lot of traffic. I was joking to (Letang) that I tipped it. I wasn't sure.
"I wasn't expecting to get the goal. It honestly doesn't really matter. Right now, I could have zero points and be really happy as long as we're winning."
That's the kind of mindset that serves players, and their teams, well during the playoffs, when fretting about not showing up on the scoresheet as often as he might like could impede a guy's ability to handle his other duties effectively.
"You have to stick with the process," Zucker said. "I think I can contribute in other ways, other than just putting the puck in the net. Obviously, goal-scoring has been a part of my career that I've really tried to lean on, but at the same time, I want to try to make sure that I'm contributing in other ways."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Mike Sullivan said the Penguins are seeking "a little more clarity" from the league about the rule requiring a player who has lost his helmet to either immediately go to the bench or put his helmet back on. New York scored its second goal in Game 3 after John Marino lost his helmet and went to the bench, which left the Penguins down a man in their defensive zone. Cody Ceci, his replacement, got into the play just as Cal Clutterbuck was scoring.
• The Penguins have taken the lead in a playoff series for the first time since winning the opener in Round 2 against Washington in 2018. The Capitals rebounded to win that series in six games.
• Through the first three games, the Penguins have been able to quickly respond to Islanders goals with one of their own. "We don't want to sit back and get on our heels," Zucker said. "We want to keep trying to push forward."
• Sullivan, on the strong two-way play of defenseman Letang: "(Letang) is playing great hockey for us. He's such a good two-way defenseman. He defends hard. He's hard to play against by nature of his mobility, his playmaking ability. He's dynamic, offensively. We utilize him in so many key situations. ... I can't say enough about how well he's playing right now for us."