Islanders defeat Penguins in Game 4, even series

UNIONDALE, N.Y. --Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves for the New York Islanders, who evened the Stanley Cup First Round with a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.

Sorokin has won his two starts in the best-of-7 series, his first two Stanley Cup Playoff games; the rookie made 39 saves in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 before Semyon Varlamov returned from injury and started the next two. Varlamov allowed five goals on 27 shots in a 5-4 Game 3 loss Thursday.
"I just enjoy the game and enjoy the moment," Sorokin said. "I feel good. I had a good practice (Friday) and felt ready."

Oliver Wahlstrom had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, the No. 4 seed in the MassMutual East Division.
"He's been solid in there all year, both of them have been," Islanders forward Jordan Eberle said of Sorokin and Varlamov. "… It's impressive to see [Sorokin] obviously in his first playoff run. I know he's been through it in Russia, but to have poise and just his confidence back there and just his calmness, he makes big saves for us and he's done it all year."
Zach Aston-Reese scored, and Tristan Jarry made 22 saves for the Penguins, the No. 1 seed. Sidney Crosby did not have a point for a third straight game.
Game 5 is at Pittsburgh on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, TVAS2, ATTSN-PT, MSG, MSG+).
"I think it was probably closer than the score, but I don't think it really matters at this point," said Crosby, the Penguins captain. "They played better and deserved to win tonight."
Sorokin made a stick save on Kasperi Kapanen's wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 59 seconds of the first period and got across the crease to deny Crosby near the left post at 5:32 of the second period.
The Penguins scored against Varlamov 3:22 into Game 2 and 2:01 into Game 3.
"We have confidence in him, but I think the whole bench said, 'Hey, he's dialed in, so we've got to be dialed in too,'" New York coach Barry Trotz said. "It was nice to play with a lead for once in this series. We haven't done that a whole lot. Real key for us."

Josh Bailey gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 8:07 of the second. Brock Nelson seized control of the puck from Crosby in the corner and passed to Bailey in the left circle for his second goal of the series.
Ryan Pulock made it 2-0 when his one-timer went off the skate of Penguins defenseman Cody Ceci at 14:52.
Wahlstrom's first playoff goal gave New York a 3-0 lead on the power play at 6:04 of the third period. Pittsburgh center Teddy Blueger put the rebound of Wahlstrom's one-timer from the left circle into his own net.
Jordan Eberle scored 24 seconds later off a feed from Mathew Barzal for another power-play goal to make it 4-0 at 6:28.
"Just two huge goals to kind of put the game away," Barzal said. "That's a crucial moment. It was big by our power play."
The Islanders were 2-for-5 with the man-advantage; the Penguins were 0-for-1.
"We took too many penalties," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We can't take that many penalties. That's the takeaway.
"We're playing against a tough opponent and we knew it was going to be a tough series going into this. This isn't anything that we didn't expect, and we just have to make sure we react the right way."
Aston-Reese ended Sorokin's shutout with 2:35 left when he scored on the rebound of Brian Dumoulin's shot for a shorthanded goal and the 4-1 final.
"It was a shame that we gave up a goal there at the end, but I thought he looked solid," Trotz said of Sorokin. "I thought the team played the right way and we were able to get a victory."
NOTES: The Penguins are 15-9 (.625) winning a best-of-7 series that is tied 2-2; the Islanders are 5-6 (.455). … Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin had six penalty minutes and did not have a shot on goal. Crosby had two shots on goal. … It was the first time New York scored two power-play goals in the same period of a playoff game since Game 3 of the 2016 Eastern Conference First Round against the Florida Panthers. The two goals in 24 seconds were the Islanders' fastest in the playoffs since they scored 14 seconds apart in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2002.