Penguins prevail in OT vs. Isles
PITTSBURGH -- Matt Hunwick scored at 1:29 of overtime Thursday night to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders in a Metropolitan Division matchup at PPG Paints Arena.
Hunwick slipped the puck past the right skate of New York goalie Jaroslav Halak after Bryan Rust drove through the crease with the puck. A video review confirmed he did not interfere with Halak.
Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel scored in the first period, and Jordan Eberle tied it in the second. After Phil Kessel and Riley Sheahan scored 32 seconds apart in the third period for a 3-1 Penguins lead, New York's Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson answered for a 3-3 tie.
Kris Letang added two assists for the Penguins.
The Penguins (16-11-3) pulled even with the Islanders (16-9-3), who began the night a point ahead of the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions.
Pittsburgh has won five of six overall. It has a five-game home point streak (4-0-1) against the Islanders and is 7-1-1 against them in the past nine meetings at PPG Paints Arena.
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry is 5-1-0 in his past six appearances after making 23 saves. Halak stopped 28 Pittsburgh shots.
Pittsburgh put the puck in the net at 8:10 of the first, but it was immediately waved off because Guentzel got his glove on the puck, knocking it upward, and when it landed, it trickled into the net before he could get his stick on it.
Guentzel got a goal for real, a power-play version, at 12:17 of the first with a deft backward deflection just above the crease on a Letang slap shot from the right point for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead.
Eberle tied it at 5:53 of the second. As Jarry was trying to corral a loose puck in the crease with his glove, Eberle swooped in and jabbed it over the goal line.
A blast by Kessel from the left dot past Halak's glove at 6:41 of the second gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead and its second power-play goal. Sidney Crosby earned an assist, giving him an 11-game point streak (seven goals, 19 points) against the Islanders.
Sheahan scored his first since Nov. 16 after Halak went far out of his net to play the puck, scrambled back and was out of position when Sheahan roofed a shot for a 3-1 lead at 8:01 of the third.
Barzal swept it past Jarry from the slot at 15:07 of the third, the rookie's eighth goal and 27th point, to make it 3-2 before Nelson tied it with Halak pulled with 1:10 to go to send it to overtime.
NOTES: New York D Johnny Boychuk and C Alan Quine were scratched because of undisclosed injuries. Coach Doug Weight said Boychuk isn't expected to be out for an extended time. ... New York C Casey Cizikas was activated from injured reserve and returned after missing four games because of a lower-body injury. ... Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz missed his first game because of a lower-body injury and was placed on IR. Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Schultz's absence could be a couple weeks. ... Pittsburgh D Frank Corrado was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but did not dress. D Chad Ruhwedel dressed for the first time in four games.