3 Takeaways: Islanders Best Penguins 5-4 in OT 

With an important two points up for grabs in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders pulled off a 5-4 OT win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Adam Pelech buried the OT-winner for the Islanders 57 seconds into the extra frame. Brock Nelson (1G, 1A), Mathew Barzal (1G, 1A), Simon Holmstrom and Mike Reilly scored for the Islanders, while Marcus Pettersson, Lars Eller, Valtteri Puustinen, Drew O'Connor scored for the Penguins in regulation.

Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves in the win, while Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside 28 of 33 in the loss. The win extended the Islanders’ point streak to three games (1-0-2) and gave them 60 points in the standings, pulling within four points of the Detroit Red Wings, who occupy the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference

“It was a confidence booster for our group, we needed that,” Mathew Barzal said. “We really have no time to sit around and have a bad game, so every game is important and tonight was huge. Especially when a guy like Pelech scores in overtime, that can be seriously uplifting.”

ISLES LET LEAD SLIP LATE IN THE THIRD, RECOVER IN OT:

For the second straight game, the Islanders saw a two-goal lead slip away in the third period, but unlike Sunday’s disappointing loss to the New York Rangers, the Islanders were able to right the ship in the Steel City.

The Islanders built a 4-2 lead with under 10 minutes to play, but shortly after Mike Reilly gave them a two-goal cushion, the Penguins scored two goals in the span of 54 seconds to force overtime and put another scare in the Isles.

“We really do have the lead lots, we just have to find a way to get over the hump,” Barzal said. “It was nice to get the win tonight, but it shouldn’t have had to get there. We have to find a way to be better.”

After Sorokin made the initial save on a long shot from Kris Letang, Valtteri Puustinen jammed the puck home to pull the Penguins within one at 12:06. Less than a minute later, Drew O'Connor threw the puck toward the net, as the shot deflected off Anders Lee and into the net, a play Head Coach Patrick Roy called bad luck.

That bad luck could have deflated the Islanders, who were heading into their league-leading 21^st game to go beyond 60 minutes. Unlikely Sunday, Islanders were able to come out on top in sudden death. While the Penguins were caught on an extended shift, Adam Pelech capitalized for the Islanders to grab the two points, sniping a wrister off the post after crossing the blue line.

“Those guys were out there for a while, so I was able to enter the zone with a ton of speed,” Pelech said. “Both their d-men were kind of backed off, so I was able to walk in and rip one from a pretty good area.”

While losing multi-goal leads has been an issue for the Isles, New York was able to establish its offense again, stringing together three consecutive goals after they were down 1-0. Brock Nelson deked around Marcus Pettersson and weaved his way to the net, burying a backhand past Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game at 3:40, recording his team-leading 24^th goal of the season and 20^th career goal against the Penguins in the process. Barzal’s goal made it 2-1 after he sprung out of the penalty box took the Islanders’ first lead at 6:37, while Simon Holmstrom’s goal tacked onto the lead at 13:15 of the second period. Holmstrom’s goal marked his second point in the past 17 games.

The Penguins picked up momentum after Lars Eller’s long shot deflected off Adam Pelech’s leg and into the net. Head Coach Patrick Roy challenged for a hand pass and lost the coach’s challenge, putting the Isles on their second penalty kill of the game. 

“We dominated them, they barely had chances until they scored that second goal, we were up 3-1” Roy said. “It was the right decision for us to challenge on that play, then they got some momentum.”

Mike Reilly regained a two-goal advantage for the Islanders at 10:42, but the Penguins turned up the heat in a period where they outshot the Isles 16-7.

“We really have to find a way because we’re in every single hockey game and we really do have the leads lots,” Barzal said.

PENALTY KILL HAS REBOUND PERFORMANCE:

After surrendering three power-play goals on Sunday, the Islanders had a better night on the penalty kill to stop the bleeding. The Isles sharpened their focus to stay disciplined and fend off all three penalties taken.

"I feel like we made strides tonight," Cal Clutterbuck said after the win. "We want to go out there and do well and kill penalties for the guys. Unfortunately, we gave up a couple on Sunday that cost us, but I thought tonight we did a great job."

Ryan Pulock made a nice clear midway through the first penalty, chipping the puck away and sending it down the ice. The Islanders were able to kill off their second of the night in the form of a delay of game penalty after a failed coach's challenge.

Up 3-2 to start the third period, the Islanders were put to the test to kill off the remainder of a Mike Reilly tripping penalty taken late in the second period. Roy said that fending off penalties can give the group a necessary boost of confidence.

"It was important to kill that penalty early in the third period to get some momentum back," Roy said. "Sometimes that's what the PK does for you, it gives you some momentum and that's what we got."

It was an important rebound performance from the shorthanded unit, which gave up power-play goals in seven the last eight games heading into Tuesday's contest. Going 3-for-3 against the Penguins was an important key to the win.

“We needed that,” Roy said.

Though the Islanders killed off all three penalties, they lost one of their key penalty killers in Casey Cizikas, who blocked a shot early in the third period and did not return. Roy did not have an update after the game.

BARZAL EXTENDS POINT STREAK TO EIGHT GAMES:

Mathew Barzal kept his hot streak going with a flashy goal on Tuesday.

Barzal sprung out of the penalty box in the second period, took the puck on a breakaway and wristed a shot past Nedeljkovic at 6:37 to capture the first Isles' lead of the game. He also recorded an assist on Pelech’s game-winner in overtime.

Barzal extended his point streak to a season-long eight games, with 11 points (5G, 6A) over that span. With a two-point performance on Tuesday, Barzal regained the team lead in scoring with 59 points (17G, 42A).

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up their two-game road trip on Thursday in St. Louis. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. et.