The Penguins trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before scoring four times in less than six and a half minutes to take control. His seventh goal in the 28th minute, eight minutes into the third, chased down Ilya Sorokin, who was beaten by a porous defense in front of him and relieved by substitute David Rittich.
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Pittsburgh, with the regulation victory, moved past New York into second place in the Metropolitan Division, 90 points to 89. The Penguins have eight games remaining in the regular season compared to seven for the Islanders, who could find themselves out of a spot as soon as Tuesday night depending on the results of their next game and others in dispute in the East.
Returning from a one-game injury absence, Sidney Crosby was one of 15 skaters on his team to record a point in a significant comeback from the home loss to Dallas without him on Saturday. His former running mate, Evgeni Malkin, missed his fourth straight game and is considered day to day.
The Islanders are relatively healthy, but they lacked details to blow a multi-goal lead and do so in surprising fashion. They had allowed seven goals in their previous four games combined, with Hall of Fame goalkeeping coach Patrick Roy preaching a 0-0 mentality and relying on Sorokin to make up for any mistakes.
Not even Sorokin could compensate against the Penguins, who had solid goaltending from Arturs Silovs.
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Penguins: Stuart Skinner is expected to start Tuesday night at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
Islanders: Visit the Buffalo Sabers on Tuesday night, with Sorokin potentially in line to get the nod again.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl