In a game that had the intensity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins took a step toward solidifying their playoff fate. Kris Letang scored the only goal in the shootout to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 2-1 at Consol Energy Center.
Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had 25 saves, earned his 30th win of the season by stopping Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares in the shootout. Islanders goalie Jean-Francois Berube stopped Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel but couldn't stop Letang on a backhanded shot in the second round.
Pittsburgh pulled within three points of New York for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have one game in hand. A week after losing to the Islanders 2-1 by surrendering the game-deciding goal 8:55 into the third period, the Penguins avoided a second letdown by playing playoff-style hockey, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.
Berube made 33 saves, including seven in overtime, in his third NHL start. New York came from behind in the third period for a second consecutive night, after scoring three third-period goals to win 3-2 against the Florida Panthers on Monday. Islanders coach Jack Capuano was more impressed with the performance and thought New York protected Berube well.
With Nick Bonino in the penalty box for slashing Nielsen and the Islanders trailing 1-0, Fleury scrambled in his crease with a puck loose. Islanders forward Anders Lee was battling with Olli Maatta, but Okposo managed to corral the puck and shot over a diving Fleury with 5:25 remaining in the third to tie the game 1-1
In his 800th NHL game, Chris Kunitz gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead late in the first period. After Crosby set Brian Dumoulin up for a slap shot at the point, Kunitz held off Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and deflected the shot past Berube's glove with 4:09 remaining. Kunitz has 645 points and 237 goals during his 14 NHL season with the Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Atlanta Thrashers.
Crosby's secondary assist on the goal extended his scoring streak to nine games (four goals, 10 assists).
The Penguins led 11-8 in second-period shots, but few had a quality chance of getting through either goaltender, with the exception of one Crosby wrist shot early in the period. Crosby carried the puck down the near wall into the offensive zone before shooting from the left circle toward the upper-right corner of the Islanders net. Berube quickly flashed his glove to rob Crosby of his 30th goal of the season. The Penguins have started a stretch of nine consecutive games against Metropolitan Division opponents 4-1-0.
Pens Quotes
Kris Letang: "It's big [to get two points], especially against that team. I think we could've scored a lot more goals in that game. They pack it in pretty well in front of their net. … But I think for the most part of that game, we controlled the game." Mike Sullivan: "It was a tight-checking game, I thought. There wasn't a lot of ice out there. It was hard to get pucks to the net. I thought for the first two periods especially, we had a lot of zonetime. I thought we could've got more pucks to the net, but they're a good shot-blocking team. They defend hard. From that standpoint, I think it had a playoff feel to it."
Marc-Andre Fleury: "We got scored on at the end. No one panicked or did anything stupid. We had a great overtime. We had a lot of good chances. It's just too bad we only gained a point on them."
Chris Kunitz: "We had quite a few long, extended shifts. We got them fairly tired. We started turning pucks over and not capitalizing on them playing on a back-to-back … We're definitely fortunate we came away with a win and got those two points."
Other Results
Carolina @ Washington 1-2 OT
Detroit @ Philadelphia 3-4
Tampa Bay @ Toronto 1-4
Florida @ Montreal 4-1
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