Bo Horvat scored the only goal in a shootout on Tuesday night, helping the New York Islanders come from behind to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were unable to score on power plays during overtime before Horvat secured the win in the shootout’s second round.
Though Horvat appeared to lose control of the puck, he managed to reach around with his right hand and slipped a backhand shot past Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic’s legs.
Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, while Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored goals in the third period for the Islanders, who won for the second time in their last six games (2-4-0). Horvat also contributed two assists.
Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in regulation and then stopped all three Penguins’ shootout attempts to seal the victory.
For the Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored in the second period, and Michael Bunting added a goal in the third. Rickard Rakell had two assists, and Malkin also recorded a two-point game.
Nedeljkovic made 23 saves during the game and stopped two shootout attempts but couldn’t prevent the Islanders from winning.
The Penguins outshot the Islanders 12-6 in a scoreless first period. Crosby then scored his 598th career goal 5:27 into the second period, a backhand shot over Sorokin’s glove following a turnover behind the net by New York defenseman Scott Mayfield.
The Islanders tied the game just under seven minutes later. Horvat took a shot from the high slot that hit off Nedeljkovic and went up in the air. Palmieri, in front of Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang, reached out with his stick and poked the rebound into the open net.
Malkin put the Penguins back in front with a power-play goal at 13:37 of the second period. He dropped to one knee in the right faceoff circle and fired a shot over a jumping Crosby. The puck hit Sorokin’s pads and slid into the net.
The Penguins increased their lead to 3-1 at 7:44 of the third period when Bunting finished an end-to-end rush by beating Sorokin on the stick side.
The Islanders responded by scoring twice in just over five minutes. Holmstrom scored on the power play at 9:41, collecting the rebound from Palmieri’s shot. He skated around defenseman Ryan Graves and fired a shot past Nedeljkovic’s glove.
Pageau tied the game 3-3 just 3:07 later. He completed a scramble in the Penguins’ zone by receiving a pass from Horvat and shooting into the far corner of the net. Nedeljkovic was screened by both Letang and Islanders forward Anders Lee.
