Malkin, Maatta Lead Pens In Wild 6-4 Win Over Isles
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Rookie defenseman Olli Maatta scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period and Evgeni Malkin added an insurance score in the third as the Pittsburgh Penguins held on for a wild 6-4 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
The Islanders had a 5-on-3 power play for 50 seconds late in the third, but couldn't score against backup Jeff Zatkoff, who made 30 saves for the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins (36-13-2). Pittsburgh improved to 17-5 against Metropolitan Division opponents.
Zatkoff stopped Frans Nielsen point-blank during the power-play and denied John Tavares with a shoulder save in the closing seconds.
Brandon Sutter scored an empty-net goal for the Penguins, who trailed 2-0 early and also got goals from Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.
Michael Grabner, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo had goals for the Islanders.
Maatta scored his fifth of the season at 5:35 of the middle period to give the Pneguins a 3-2 lead when the 19-year-old Finnish defenseman skated through the Islanders defense before sliding a backhand past Kevin Poulin.
Letang scored at 17:44 after the Penguins' league-best power-play unit kept the puck in the Islanders zone for nearly an entire man advantage. After hitting the post, Letang blasted the puck past Poulin for this 10th goal of the season to give Pittsburgh a two-goal cushion.
Bailey pulled the Islanders within a goal at 4-3 at 3:10 of the third when he beat Zatkoff on a breakaway. The goal came after Matt Martin of the Islanders fought Pittsburgh's Tanner Glass.
But Malkin slapped a perfect cross-ice pass from James Neal past Poulin at 5:59 for this 14th goal. Malkin has points in 24 of 27 games since Nov. 1, with 11 goals and 30 assists during the stretch.
Okposo received credit for a goal at 10:55 of the third to make it 5-4 after the puck crossed the goal line in a scrum in front of Zatkoff. The play was reviewed and the goal awarded, the 21st for Okposo.
Sutter scored an empty-net goal for the Penguins at 19:56 to conclude the scoring.
The Islanders surprised the Penguins with two quick first-period goals before the visitors answered with a pair of their own in the latter half of the period.
Grabner whipped a loose puck past Zatkoff at 1:39. Then, Grabner set up Nelson at 8:21 to make it 2-0.
Kunitz answered for the Penguins at 9:32 with a slap shot from the top of left circle past Poulin. Crosby and Maatta assisted on the 25th goal of the season for Kunitz, who will join Crosby on Team Canada at the Winter Games in Sochi next month.
Then, Crosby tied it at 11:24 with his 27th goal of the season when he jammed a rebound past Poulin.
The Penguins entered 26-2-1 when scoring first and 9-11-1 when they didn't. This time, they found a way to recover and overcome the Islanders (21-25-7).
New York has been on a torrid streak that pulled them from a 9-19-7 record after a shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 17 within five points of a playoff spot before meeting the Penguins. The Islanders lost for just the fourth time in 14 games.
The three previous Islanders-Penguins games this season were also decided by one goal. The teams split two games in Pittsburgh before Crosby capped a Penguins comeback with an overtime goal at the Coliseum on Dec. 3.
Pittsburgh is 7-1-1 over its last nine and 15-3-1 in its last 19 contests. The Penguins have also won seven of their last eight regular-season games against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. The Penguins defeated the Islanders in a six-game first-round playoff series last May.
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