Islanders score four in the third period to beat Penguins
Casey Cizikas of the Islanders goes for the puck against Ryan Graves of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period during the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Credit: Getty Images/Justin Berl
PITTSBURGH – The similarity to the last game was unmistakable. The similarity to last season is possibly beginning to show.
For the second straight victory, the Islanders overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring all four of their goals in the third period to earn a crucial 4-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena and move within three points of the Canadiens for a playoff spot.
“Even though we got down 2-0 in both games I think we were playing well but just couldn’t get a puck in the net,” defenseman Adam Pelech told Newsday. “A lot of it is just sticking to the process. Not forcing it. Doing the things that you know make us successful and eventually we’ll get the bounces. It’s a lot of that and then just big individual efforts from guys.”
The Islanders (31-28-8), who received 20 saves in another brilliant outing by goalie Ilya Sorokin, also rallied for a 4-2 win over the Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Sunday night at UBS Arena.
Last season, the Islanders climbed to a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Division with an 8-0-1 run to end the season. Realistically, the Islanders can do no better than the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot this season. But back-to-back, comeback wins have enhanced their odds of completing a second straight longshot playoff push.
“Every season is different, but we have found ourselves the last couple of years in this situation,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “It’s a veteran group in here. We know what it takes at this time of the year. It’s not always going to be pretty. You’ve just got to find a way and dig deep.”
The Canadiens, who moved into the second wild-card spot by rallying for a 6-3 win over the visiting Senators on Tuesday night, visit the Islanders on Thursday night. The Rangers, who have played two more games than both the Islanders and Canadiens, are the only team between the two in the standings.
“We like to see what the other teams do,” coach Patrick Roy said when asked about in-game scoreboard watching. “We knew Detroit lost and we saw that Montreal won and we saw that the Rangers lost. But until the game is over, we focus on ourselves. We’re not focusing on what’s going on anywhere else.”
What was going on for the Islanders in the third period was nearly a mirror reflection of their game against the Panthers.
Dobson scored a second straight key goal by getting to the crease, this time backhanding in the rebound of Bo Horvat’s backhander to tie it at 2-2 at 5:34. And Simon Holmstrom scored a second straight empty-netter to clinch the victory.
This time, though, it was Kyle Palmieri sparking the Islanders with an unassisted breakaway just 17 seconds into the third period – a shot that went off the right post and off of goalie Tristan Jarry (34 saves) before settling into the net – and Pierre Engvall scoring the winner at 13:08.
“If we can get the first goal a little bit quicker it would be better,” said Engvall, who used his speed to get past Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves toward the net. “Sometimes it is like this and coming back from being down 2-0 shows a lot of character.”
The Penguins (28-32-10), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, have now been outscored 95-72 in the third period.
The Islanders’ 3-for-3 penalty kill, which yielded just three shots, was a key reason for the win. The Islanders kept the Penguins from tying it after defenseman Ryan Pulock held Bryan Rust at 14:43 of the third period.
And the Penguins’ power play could not extend their lead after Sidney Crosby made it 2-0 with 14.4 seconds left in the first period. Roy unsuccessfully challenged Rickard Rakell had interfered with Sorokin.
The Islanders took the game’s first four shots before 27-year-old rookie Joona Koppanen opened the scoring on the Penguins’ first shot with his first NHL goal, deflecting defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok’s blast from the left point at 4:40 of the first period.
Notes & quotes: Anthony Duclair dressed for his 600th NHL game…Pelech returned after missing one game with a sore lower right leg…Defensemen Alexander Romanov and Adam Boqvist were both unavailable because of illness.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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