Islanders stop late penalty shot, edge Penguins

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Ilya Sorokin made 40 saves and stopped Sidney Crosby on a penalty shot with 30 seconds left, helping the New York Islanders defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

Sorokin made a glove save at the right post on Crosby’s backhand from in tight. The penalty shot was awarded after Islanders forward Brock Nelson covered the puck with his hand in the crease.

“That save was unbelievable,” New York forward Kyle Palmieri said. “As much as you still want to be excited by him, he does those all the time.”

Simon Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 5-4 lead at 14:27 of the third period, beating Alex Nedeljkovic over the blocker from the low slot off Kyle MacLean’s backhand pass.

It was the final regular-season game for each team.

Holmstrom, Nelson, and Samuel Bolduc each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (39-27-16), who extended their point streak to nine games (8-0-1). They will finish third in the Metropolitan Division and face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“What I love about our game today is the way we played offensively,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “We move that puck very well. I mean, we put pucks to the net, we had traffic in front of the net. I love the patience of our defense with the puck and the poise that they had, the decisions that our guys made with the puck. It was fun to watch.”

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Crosby and Michael Bunting each had two assists for the Penguins (38-32-12), who had been eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday. Nedeljkovic made 27 saves in his 13th straight start.

“We were really proud of this group,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “A month ago, we weren’t in the greatest situation. There was a lot of drama around the team. Our guys, they had a choice in the direction they wanted to go. It could have gone the wrong way really easily. I just think it speaks volumes to the character of the people in the dressing room. They never looked for excuses. They were determined. They dragged themselves back into the fight to give ourselves a chance, and that’s what we did.”

Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:56 of the first period when he scored on the rush from the low slot off a backhand feed from Holmstrom.

Rickard Rakell tied it 1-1 at 18:29, beating Sorokin under the glove from the top of the left circle with the goalie screened.

Malkin gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead on the power play at 6:14 of the second period after Crosby’s pass deflected off him at the right post.

Casey Cizikas tied it 2-2 at 13:19. He deflected an Alexander Romanov point shot from the slot.

Valtteri Puustinen gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead at 14:37 after stealing the puck from Adam Pelech in the slot.

Palmieri tied it 3-3 with 16 seconds left in the period, scoring on a one-timer from the left circle off a Nelson cross-ice feed. It was Palmieri’s 30th goal of the season, tying his NHL career high set in 2015-16 with the New Jersey Devils.

“He’s been great. From the start of the season, he’s been on his game,” Nelson said of Palmieri. “He’s been a big contributor offensively for us, he’s been killing a lot of penalties lately, so he’s been doing a little bit of everything down the stretch for us. He’s been on fire.”

Bolduc gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead on the power play at 1:36 of the third when his one-timer from the top of the right circle deflected in off the skate of Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea in front. Ruslan Iskhakov got the secondary assist for his first point in his NHL debut.

Jeff Carter pulled Pittsburgh even 4-4 on the power play at 10:56, stuffing the puck in at the left post off Crosby’s pass out of the right circle.

Following the game, Carter announced his retirement after 19 NHL seasons.

“That was really nice,” Carter said of scoring in his final game. “When Sullivan put me out there, I knew I wasn’t leaving the net. It was a pretty special moment to get one there at the end. Something I’ll remember for sure.”

NOTES: New York forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau left with an undisclosed injury at 10:42 of the first. There was no update. ... Palmieri ended the regular season on a seven-game point streak (10 points; six goals, four assists). ... Islanders forward Anders Lee was a late scratch due to personal reasons. … Crosby had his 470th multipoint game, tying Ron Francis for the ninth-most in NHL history. He finished the season on a six-game point streak (10 points; three goals, seven assists).