ELMONT, NY — After trailing 3-1 deep into the third period, the New York Islanders rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout.
The first period saw neither team light the lamp, with both teams getting a power play opportunity but failing to convert. Pittsburgh outshot New York 12-7 in the frame.
Isaiah George took his first NHL shift at 5:17 of the first period. He received 2:16 of ice time across four shifts in the frame.
The affair remained scoreless through the first 5:30 of the second, but Pittsburgh broke the ice on a controversial tally. After Scott Mayfield mishandled a Erik Karlsson dump in, the puck bounced to Evgeni Malkin and, ultimately, Sidney Crosby.
The Pittsburgh captain roofed a backhander to make it 1-0 at 5:27 of the frame. The goal was number 598 of his NHL career, giving him five red lights in his last three games.
Patrick Roy challenged the goal for offside, but, despite a lengthy review and potential evidence in the Islanders’ favor, the call on the ice stood.
Despite being outshot for the better portion of the play in the first half of the frame, the Islanders got a bounce to get the game tied. After extending the play in the offensive zone, Bo Horvat let a shot go that was deflected on the way in.
The puck went into the air where nobody could find it, but Kyle Palmieri pounced on it first and buried the rebound, tying the game at one at 12:21 of the period. His sixth goal of the season leads the team.
However, the tie was short-lived, with Maxim Tsyplakov going to the box for high sticking. On the ensuing Penguins power play, Malkin tipped a shot from Matt Grzelcyk on the right side by Ilya Sorokin, putting Pittsburgh on top at 13:37.
Despite the Islanders getting some looks, the score remained 2-1 after two periods of play. The Penguins outshot New York 14-10 in the frame while going 1-for-2 on the man advantage.
The Islanders couldn’t establish frequent time in the offensive zone early in the third, and Pittsburgh took advantage. After a springboard pass by Noel Acciari to Jesse Puljujarvi, Michael Bunting snuck behind Dennis Cholowski for a partial break.
Butning got a pass and beat Sorokin clean on the opportunity, his first goal of the year made it 3-1 at 7:44 of the third. It’s his fourth-straight game against the Islanders with at least a point, totaling a goal and four assists in that span.
However, the Islanders got the goal back quickly on a power play opportunity. With Drew O’Connor off for kneeing, Palmieri let a shot go from the right side that was stopped initially by Nedeljkovic, Simon Holmstrom picked the puck up in front, made a backhand move and went into the toy department.
Holmstrom’s first of the season from Palmieri and Ryan Pulock made it 3-2 at 9:41, but the Islanders weren’t done yet.
The Islanders kept the puck in the zone for a prolonged cycle, with Anders Lee winning a battle to send it Horvat in the right corner, who found Jean-Gabriel Pageau joining the play down the middle. Pageau’s initial shot was denied, but he followed up on the rebound to bury it past Nedeljkovic to tie it at three at 12:48 of the third.
The Islanders continued to press, outshooting Pittsburgh 10-7, while being awarded another power play chance, but went scoreless the rest of the way, forcing the game into overtime.
In the ensuing extra session, both teams took untimely penalties. First it was Palmieri who went off for holding Erik Karlsson, but the Islanders made it through the PK unscathed. After the kill, it was Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang who went off for tripping Horvat, giving New York a power play, which was also unsuccessful. After 65 minutes, the game was decided in a shootout.
In the skills contest, Horvat pulled a “Forsberg” to beat Nedeljkovic with one hand in the second round, and the rest was all Sorokin. He stopped Rakell, Crosby and Letang to seal a 4-3 Islanders win.
With the win, the Islanders improve to 5-6-2, while Pittsburgh falls to 5-7-2.
New York returns to action on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
Related: Isaiah George Is Youngest Islanders Defenseman To Make NHL Debut Since Noah Dobson
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