Penguins defeat Islanders in OT on Kris Letang goal

NEW YORK -- Kris Letang scored 1:24 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Friday.
Letang, who also had an assist, was the recipient of a brilliant pass from Sidney Crosby and one-timed a shot near the left post past goalie Jaroslav Halak.
Crosby and Trevor Daley had goals for Pittsburgh (11-4-2), and Matt Murray made 20 saves.
"We were fresh against some tired guys," Crosby said of Letang's game-winner. "You want to make them count. I held on to the puck and got a play there."

Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier scored for New York, which has lost four in a row (0-2-2) and is 5-8-4 this season despite playing 12 of its first 17 games at home. Halak made 32 saves in his seventh straight start.
"At the end of the day, the guys are coming in and they're working hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "You can't beat them down. You've got to stay with it, you've got to show them confidence, and eventually you hope this will turn for the guys."
WATCH: All Penguins vs. Islanders highlights
Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 15:19 into the game. Halak made an initial save on Letang's slap shot from the right point, but he lost sight of the rebound, and Crosby easily converted from the top of the right circle for his 11th of the season.
Pittsburgh outshot New York 16-5 in the first period.
"I thought it was a pretty solid effort," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I really liked our first period; a lot of energy, we were playing the game the right way. We put pucks on the net. We could have had a few more goals there in the first period. They pushed back, but I really liked the response in the third period."
Nelson tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 1:51 of the second period. John Tavares rushed the puck up ice and passed to Ryan Strome at the right faceoff circle. Strome played the puck into the slot for Nelson, who beat Murray with a wrist shot.

Beauvillier quickly put the Islanders in front when he put a backhand shot past Murray on a breakaway at 2:34 to give New York a 2-1 lead.
Daley tied it 2-2 when he took Phil Kessel's pass from behind the net and beat Halak with a slap shot in the slot with 6:05 remaining in the second period.
New York outshot Pittsburgh 11-4 in the second.

Goal of the game

Beauvillier scored his second of the season and gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead when he stripped Letang of the puck just outside the Penguins blue line, raced in alone, and roofed a backhand shot over Murray.

Save of the game

Chris Kunitz fed Malkin in the slot for a prime scoring chance, but Halak made a great save with his left pad to keep the game tied at 4:37 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Crosby faked a shot and deked around Nelson in the slot before his slick cross-ice feed to Letang for the game-winner. "It's an elite play by an elite player," Sullivan said.

Unsung moment of the game

Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan helped kill a penalty against forward Anders Lee late in the second period by blocking two shots seven seconds apart, one from Letang and another by Malkin, to help keep the game tied.

They said it

"I knew [Sidney Crosby] would step in and have some speed. I tried to set up Sid there, it came back to me, and I think we got them a little bit tired. They were standing still. I got it back to Sid, and when he's got time and space, he's going to produce."-- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang
"I think [Jaroslav] Halak was the only reason it got to overtime. We were pretty good there in the third period. In overtime, you see Sid making an unbelievable play to set up [Kris Letang]. I like how we stuck with it. Really good effort by everybody." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray

"That's what you have to do, just try to stick together. There's only one way out of it, and it's together. (We have to) pick our heads up and get back to work."-- Islanders forward Brock Nelson
"We gave ourselves a chance, we just didn't sustain enough. We have to go out there and compete and want it and execute." -- Islanders captain John Tavares

Need to know

Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin left early in the game after being hit by Lee but was able to return before the end of the first period. … Strome's assist on Nelson's goal was his first point in 10 games.

What's next

Penguins: At the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Islanders: At the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SN, PRIME, MSG+, NHL.TV)