Islanders rally from 2 down in 3rd, defeat Penguins in shootout

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders rallied from two goals down in the third period before defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

“I thought our third period was our best,” Islanders forward Bo Horvat said. “And it wasn't anything crazy that we did. It was just that we started getting in behind them, getting on their defense, and [we were] playing more of a grinding game like our identity. I think as soon as we did that in the third period, they couldn’t handle us down low.”

Horvat scored the deciding goal in the second round of the shootout, going from his forehand to his backhand before sliding the puck under Alex Nedeljkovic’s left pad.

“I've seen him do it in practice. He does it so well,” Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “I can't do that. It was fun to watch and especially to [see it] go in. It was just great.”

Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, and Horvat had two assists for the Islanders (5-6-2), who have won two of their past three games. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves and stopped all three attempts in the shootout.

“We believe in each other here, and finally being able to come back in a game, and especially down two, is massive,” Islanders forward Casey Cizikas said. “Our power play came up with a really big goal there to get us going. And then our top dogs did a great job of keeping the pressure in the offensive zone, and then Bo [Horvat] finding Pageau in the slot there with a nice little tuck. So, it was definitely a big momentum booster for us.”

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Sidney Crosby scored career goal No. 598 for the Penguins (5-7-2), who had won two in a row. Nedeljkovic made 23 saves.

“We just need to play better,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We should have played the way that we played in the first two periods. We would have been fine. We played a straight-ahead game. I think we weren't as diligent with the puck [in the third]. We didn't play as much north-south. Give the Islanders credit. They pushed back.”

Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 5:27 of the second period after he buried a backhand shot past Sorokin’s blocker from the slot. Rickard Rakell stripped Scott Mayfield of the puck before Malkin directed it to Crosby.

The goal was upheld after the Islanders challenged for offsides.

Palmieri tied the game 1-1 after he batted the puck out of the air from the front of the net at 12:21 of the second. Horvat’s point shot was deflected at the front of the net and fluttered into the air before Palmieri tracked it and scored.

Malkin gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 13:37 of the second after he buried a one-timer from the right face-off dot on the power play.

Michael Bunting extended the lead to 3-1 at 7:44 of the third period on a breakaway. Jesse Puljujarvi drove down the right side and found Bunting cutting to the net.

Simon Holmstrom scored on the power play at 9:41 of the third period to make it 3-2. With the puck loose at the top of the crease, Holmstrom corralled it and lifted a backhand into the net.

“It [stinks]. It's frustrating,” Nedeljkovic said. “We played a great first two periods. I thought we took it to them and, just, I don't know. It's tough to swallow. Got a point out of it, I guess. [We’ll just] try to take the positives away from it.”

Pageau tied the game 3-3 after he chipped a one-timer past Nedeljkovic from the slot at 12:48 of the third. Horvat found Pageau cutting toward the slot.

“It might sound cliche what I said to our guys, but every time we were behind their defense, we had something good happening," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "And that's exactly how we scored that third goal. And it was a huge goal from us. So, I mean, that's exactly the way we needed to play to come back in that game."

NOTES: Alexander Romanov missed his second straight game and has missed five of the past six with an upper-body injury. … Defenseman Isaiah George made his NHL debut, playing 15:41 for the Islanders. … Holmstrom, who scored his first career power-play goal, has goals in three straight games against the Penguins. … Crosby extended his point streak to four games (five goals, three assists). ... Rakell has six points (two goals, four assists) over his past five games.