Pens big guns come through in win vs. Isles
PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby scored late in the third period for his second goal in as many games since returning from a concussion, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins held off the New York Islanders to win 4-2 Thursday night.
The Penguins "big three" of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each converted in the third period as Pittsburgh improved to 5-0-1 at PPG Paints Arena -- and scored more than three goals for the first time this season.
Crosby won it with 2:25 remaining by steering a Scott Wilson pass to his stick and shooting almost simultaneously to beat Jaroslav Halak inside the far post.
Only 32 seconds later, Kessel -- who had a goal and two assists -- scored off Malkin's pass on a Penguins power play for his third of the season. Malkin and Crosby each had a goal and an assist.
After each team failed to convert excellent scoring chances early in the third, Malkin took Kessel's pass to the right circle, kicked it to his stick and beat Jaroslav Halak between the pads at 12:48 for his fourth of the season and a 2-1 Penguins lead.
But Malkin then took his second penalty of the game, for tripping, and center Shane Prince took advantage of a rare misplay by Fleury, who went behind the net to play a puck that never came to him, to tie it on the power play.
The Islanders, coming off a 3-2 loss on home ice to Montreal on Wednesday, threw 32 shots at Fleury in the first two periods -- but got only one past him.
Fleury made a series of excellent saves -- the best one probably was against Prince on a breakaway in the first period -- until a missed Crosby slap shot at the opposite end turned into a 2-on-1 break for the Islanders.
Prince threw a cross-ice pass to Travis Hamonic, who jumped into the play to lead the break and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle at 15:13 for his first of the season, and the seventh by an Islanders defenseman in four games.
Patric Hornqvist scored power-play goal off a tic-tac-toe passing sequence only 46 seconds into the game for a 1-0 Penguins advantage.
Crosby, stationed along the goal line, took Kessel's pass from the left point and immediately fed the puck to Hornqvist at the left post for his fourth of the season.
NOTES: Penguins D Kris Letang (upper body injury) and F Conor Sheary (eye) each missed a fourth consecutive game, and coach Mike Sullivan said there is no definitive timetable for Letang's return. Letang took part in the morning skate. ... The Penguins began the game with a No. 3 line of LW Carl Hagelin, C Nick Bonino and RW Bryan Rust. RW Phil Kessel moved up to C Evgeni Malkin's line Tuesday against Florida, and Sullivan kept him there to start the Islanders game. ... Penguins G Matt Murray (broken right thumb) is close to returning, but G Marc-Andre Fleury started for the eighth consecutive game. ... The Penguins began the season by playing six of their first eight games at PPG Paints Arena, but their next four games and seven of their next 10 are on the road, starting Saturday at Philadelphia. ... Islanders LW Nikolay Kulemin remained out with an undisclosed injury. ... The Islanders scratched G Thomas Greiss and C Mathew Barzal. The Penguins held out LW Tom Sestito and G Mike Condon.