Palmieri scores in shootout, Islanders beat Penguins 5-4

NEW YORK -- — Zach Parise and Josh Bailey each scored twice, and Kyle Palmieri had the lone goal in the shootout as the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Ilya Sorokin stopped Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang in the shootout and finished with a career-high 43 saves for New York.

Jake Guentzel had two goals and an assist, Crosby had two assists and Casey DeSmith made 33 saves for the Penguins, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Danton Heinen and Jeff Carter also scored for Pittsburgh.

Palmieri fired a wrist shot under the blocker of DeSmith in the second round of the shootout to propel the Islanders.

Sorokin made a couple of clutch saves in overtime, including two pad stops on Jason Zucker and an impressive glove save on Guentzel’s redirection in the final minute of the extra session.

Casey Cizikas had the best chance of the 3-on-3 OT with a short-handed breakaway, but the officials ruled that the net was dislodged before the puck crossed the goal line.

“That’s part of our DNA,” Bailey said of the Islanders compete level. “That’s when we’re on top of our game. You’re going to see that on full display.”

Carter knotted the score at 4-all with a power-play goal at 5:38 of the third period. The Islanders were short a skater when Anthony Beauvillier was penalized for a tripping call in the offensive zone. Carter redirected a shot from Guentzel past Sorokin. Crosby also assisted on the tying goal.

“You’d like to get two (points) there, especially with the power play in overtime,” Guentzel said. “For us to fight back, will take the point and try again on Thursday against them.”

New York took a short-lived one-goal lead in the third period after Brian Dumoulin misplayed a puck in the corner and Bailey capitalized. The Islanders' alternate captain made a move to his backhand and notched his second of the game at 2:49.

The Penguins erased a 3-1 deficit and outshot the Islanders 19-7 in the second period.

Guentzel evened the score at 3-all with his second of the game and 35th of the season at 18:32 of the middle period. The Penguins had possession in the offensive zone for an extended amount of time and wore out the Islanders skaters. Rakell and Chad Ruhwedel assisted.

Heinen pulled Pittsburgh within one when he buried a feed from Kasperi Kapanen at 3:46 of the second period. Heinen sidestepped 39-year-old Islanders defenseman Andy Greene at the blue line to begin the sequence in the offensive zone.

“Second period I just thought we got away from what we were doing in the first,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Managing the puck, playing quick, getting on forecheck when we could, making good decisions through the neutral zone. … We started getting a little cute, playing a little slower and allowing their structure and their pressure to take over.”

Parise scored on the power play and short-handed to give the Islanders a one-goal advantage in the first period after New York surrendered the opening goal. Mathew Barzal fired a cross-ice pass that Parise fired past the glove of DeSmith to even the score at 9:10 of the first. Noah Dobson collected his 31st assist of the season.

The Islanders took a one-goal lead less than three minutes later when Jean-Gabriel Pageau slid the puck through the crease to set up Parise for his second of the game. Defenseman Adam Pelech intercepted a pass and exited the defensive zone with possession, which led to the scoring opportunity.

“It was a great play by (Pelech), good composure and good deception,” Pageau said of Pelech’s defensive play and ability to exit the defensive zone cleanly. “He was able to get the attention from a couple of players... He plays with his head up and I think that’s why he’s so good and gave me a great pass.”

Bailey capped off a three-goal first period for New York when he took advantage of a Penguins turnover. Pageau and Kyle Palmieri’s aggressive forecheck forced Penguins forward Teddy Blueger to get rid of the puck behind the net and Bailey hammered a slap shot past DeSmith in the final minute of the first period to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead.

“I didn’t think we were playing as tight as we need to,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We gave up a fair amount of scoring chances in the first period. A lot of it boils down to details. … I thought we got better as the game went on.”

Guentzel opened the scoring at 5:52 of the first. Crosby’s sharp-angled shot created a rebound before Rakell was able to nudge the puck over to Guentzel for an easy tap-in goal.

MALKIN SUSPENDED

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin served the first of a four-game suspension Tuesday against the Islanders. The alternate captain was penalized for cross-checking Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on Sunday. Malkin will forfeit $190,000 in salary. … Cizikas returned to the lineup for New York after a one-game suspension.

PLAYOFFS APPROACHING

Pittsburgh’s magic number is three points (combination of wins or Islanders losses) to clinch a spot in the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season. The Penguins' current stretch of 15 straight playoff appearances is the longest active postseason streak among teams in the major North American professional sports leagues and is the eighth-longest run of any NHL club since the 1967 NHL expansion. It is one shy of tying the Calgary Flames (1976-91) for the seventh-longest such run.

UP NEXT

The teams meet again Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

------