Takeaways: Third Period Comeback Powers 4-3 Shootout Win Over Penguins

The New York Islanders staged a third period comeback on Tuesday night, ultimately scoring a 4-3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at UBS Arena.

Down 3-1 in the third period, the Islanders got goals from Simon Holmstrom (PPG) and JG Pageau to force the extra frame, where Bo Horvat’s lone goal in the shootout held up as the game-deciding goal. Kyle Palmieri rounded out the scoring for the Islanders. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin (PPG) and Michael Bunting scored for the Penguins.

With the win, the Islanders recorded their first win of the season when trailing after two periods, improving to 1-4-1 in that scenario.

“It's good for the confidence coming back in this game where we didn't have much going,” Pageau said. “We came back, and I thought we were a better team at the end.”

ISLES STAGE THIRD PERIOD COMEBACK:

Despite trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes – and being outshot 26-16 – the Islanders were calm between the second and third period.

“There were little spurts in that game, even though the first two periods wasn't our best, that we knew we had something to build on,” Palmieri said. “It wasn't coming back in here and asking, ‘what do we have to do?’ or ‘what's going on?’ It was really just a pretty simple thing that we just had to get back to and find a way to do it for a period.”

The period didn’t get off to the start they envisioned, with Michael Bunting making it 3-1 at the 7:44 mark. Instead of letting the game slip away, the Islanders battled back with Simon Holmstrom dragging a Palmieri rebound around Marcus Pettersson and backhanding a power-play goal past Alex Nedeljkovic at 9:41.

The goal was Holmstrom’s first of the season and a continuation of his strong play of late.

That set the stage for Pageau’s game-tying goal chipping a Horvat pass up high past Nedeljkovic at 12:48.

PENALTY KILL COMES THROUGH IN OT:

The Islanders penalty kill had struggled at home in the early goings of the season, but came up with a key kill in overtime to send the game to a shootout.

Pageau was at the center of the four-on-three kill, coming up with a pair of clears to eat valuable seconds. The OT kill washed away any ill feelings from Evgeni Malkin’s power-play goal to make it 2-1 in the second period – and was another potential confidence booster for the shorthanded unit.

“We had a plan right away on draws, and I thought we executed,” Pageau said. “We did a good job keeping them on the outside, on their entry, forcing them a little bit.”

The Islanders had a four-on-three power play of their own in overtime and had several quality looks, including two Brock Nelson shots off the post.

HORVAT’S SHOOTOUT MOVE

Horvat wowed the crowd at UBS Arena, pulling off the Forsberg for the lone goal.

The center said it was a move he tried out once previously and was not one he’d patented in practice, saying he bet on Nedeljkovic expecting his usual low-blocker look. Horvat said he probably won’t try a flashy move like that again for a while, but it was a beauty.

ISAIAH GEORGE DEBUTS:

Isaiah George made his NHL debut on Tuesday night, skating 15:41 with one shot.

“Once the game started, it was just hockey, and I was pretty focused, dialed in, and I felt prepared and ready,” George said. “Beforehand, kind of driving up down here, was definitely a lot more nervous, excited and just more antsy to get going.”

George earned praise from Roy, who felt comfortable enough to put the 20-year-old defenseman out on the ice in overtime against a divisional rival.

“Outstanding,” Roy said. “Except for that one turnover, I thought he had a solid game. He skates and he's moving well. The more he's going to play, he's going to feel more comfortable out there. And good for him. I was happy that he was here tonight, because he played a lot of minutes for his first game. I thought they were good minutes. I was very pleased with his performance, even playing overtime, come on. Good job, kid.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

Ilya Sorokin played in his 200^th game with the Islanders on Tuesday, becoming the fifth goalie in team history to appear in 200 games with the club.

LINEUP CHANGES:

Isaiah George in for Samuel Bolduc, who was loaned to Bridgeport on Monday, was the lone lineup move.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Patrick Roy on Tuesday's win.

“We knew it was an important game for us. I don't like to use must win, but there are games in the season you want to win. We lost our last two at home. I thought it was important to play a good game for our fans. It was an important game for us in the standing as well. We want to continue to go up and if we could play some good hockey while we're missing a lot of guys, then that'd be good for our confidence and for experience of some of our guys.”

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at 7 p.m.