Sidney Crosby scored twice to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 5-2 at Consol Energy Center. With the Penguins leading 1-0, Crosby whiffed on a chance at the net to extend Pittsburgh's lead on its first power play with 6:27 remaining in the first period, but took advantage when he got another opportunity moments later.
Evgeni Malkin, who had three assists, took a slap shot that goalie Thomas Greiss was unable to absorb. The puck landed on Crosby's stick blade, setting up a shot he roofed over Greiss for a power-play goal with 3:25 left in the period. The Penguins earned a 5-2 win for the second time in three days, they defeated the Detroit Red Wings by the same margin Thursday.
After scoring six goals through his first 32 games, Crosby has scored five in his past five games, and at least one goal in each of his past three. He was one of four Penguins to score at least two points Saturday, joining Malkin, Kris Letang and Matt Cullen.
The Penguins, whose power play ranked 22nd entering Saturday, have scored at least one goal with the man-advantage in each of their past three games. Crosby scored two power-play goals against New York, which entered Saturday with the NHL's second-best penalty kill. Crosby's second goal on the man-advantage made it 3-0 with 9:35 remaining in the second period. After receiving a pass from Letang, Crosby set up in the right circle and took a snap shot over Thomas Hickey and Greiss' shoulder for his 11th goal of the season.
Cullen extended the lead to 4-0 on a shorthanded goal with 9:03 remaining in the second. Islanders goalie Christopher Gibson made his NHL debut in relief of Greiss, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 26 shots.
Gibson allowed a goal to Patric Hornqvist on the second shot he faced to make it 5-0 with 5:20 remaining in the second before John Tavares scored to pull the Islanders to within four goals 39 seconds later. Tavares' team-leading 15th goal and Nick Leddy's goal, his first of the season with 56.3 seconds remaining, were the only pucks to get past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in his first game back from a concussion that caused him to miss eight games. Fleury made 38 saves.
Phil Kessel opened the scoring with his 12th goal 3:34 into the first period. Cullen centered a pass Kessel eventually corralled and shot off Greiss stick and into the net.
Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left because of an upper-body injury during the second period and did not return. With the win, Pittsburgh pulled within five points of the Islanders, who are in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Pens Quotes
Sidney Crosby: "Two games with five goals is nice. It seemed like we built off that Detroit game a bit with the great start there that we had and it feels good to have a couple games like that. … Any way we can create things, and I think we didn't have to cheat to do it. It wasn't like we had to take risks. I think we just played simple and the goals were kind of a result of that."Marc-Andre Fleury: "I think we took it to them. The power play got big goals and we didn't give them too much. So, it was good to get into the game that way. … I was a little rusty. It just felt fast, I thought. Just getting used to having guys in my face and trying to find pucks through people. I thought that was the toughest thing to do."
Mike Sullivan: "I'm thrilled for them. I'm thrilled for them that they're getting rewarded for their efforts. I think, to their credit, they're playing hard. I think they're playing the right way. It's a big win. Any time you win within your division, theoretically, it's a four-point game. So, I think to win against a divisional opponent is huge for our team right now."
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