PITTSBURGH — The New York Islanders again had the Penguins right where they wanted them.
The Penguins lost to these pesky Islanders in all three of their battles against their Metropolitan Division rivals earlier this season. Last month, they twice coughed up multi-goal leads against them, letting them linger in the playoff race.
They couldn’t afford to do it again Thursday night, not with so much on the line.
And yet of course they did, blowing a 3-1 lead late in the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Anders Lee sent it to overtime with 1:15 left. Then Brock Nelson scored on a breakaway 2:13 into the extra session to give the Islanders a 4-3 win.
The Penguins with a victory would have vaulted past the Islanders into the Eastern Conference’s top wild-card spot. Instead, they now sit two points back.
The Penguins entered the night with wins in five of their last six games. But their last two outings, particularly Tuesday’s win over the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets, restored concern about the team’s lack of consistency and urgency.
They answered the bell on Thursday before fading late against the Islanders.
The Penguins let the Islanders score first, giving up their 22nd power play goal in as many games. Anders Lee got it. This season he scored in every game against the Penguins. They dominated at 5-on-5, though, to lead after the first.
Jake Guentzel scored midway through the period. He beat a much bigger defender in a puck battle then charged to the net as the Penguins worked it low to high. He arrived in time to tip Marcus Pettersson’s point shot past Ilya Sorokin.
Jason Zucker put them up, 2-1, late in the period. Evgeni Malkin swung behind the net and centered it to Zucker, who scored his seventh goal in six games.
The Penguins carried that into the second period and built more momentum with a dangerous power play. They didn’t score there but did so soon after, when Brian Dumoulin’s shot nicked Josh Archibald’s glove and surprised Sorokin.
Their clear emphasis on attacking the Islanders from up top produced two of their first three goals. Instead of forcing the puck into packed areas in front of Sorokin, they passed it out to the point and asked their defensemen fire away. Pittsburgh’s blue-liners attempted a whopping 20 shots in the first two frames.
Tristan Jarry allowed two goals in 13 shots in the third as the latest collapse.
Jarry got pulled from Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime win over Columbus. Historically, he typically bounces back after getting benched in a game due to poor performance. He was 8-1-0 with a .932 save percentage in the last nine instances.
But in the third, he allowed a game-changing goal to Hudson Fasching with 5:29 left, upping the anxiety level in the arena. Lee tied it a few minutes later.
In OT, Jarry stuffed Kyle Palmieri on a breakaway. He couldn’t stop Nelson.
ICE CHIPS
-- Pettersson picked up his 100th career point with an assist on Guentzel’s goal.
-- With his interference penalty in the first period, Malkin claimed sole possession of the team’s all-time PIMs record with 1,050. Kevin Stevens had 1,048.
-- Mikael Granlund was back in the lineup after he missed Tuesday’s loss due to illness. Coach Mike Sullivan moved Granlund into the middle of the third line and slid Jeff Carter over to right wing. Drew O’Connor completed the trio.
-- Sullivan also shook up his defensive pairs Thursday. Pettersson played with Kris Letang on their top pairing. Dumoulin and Jeff Petry partnered up on the second. And Dmitry Kulikov got the nod over Pierre-Olivier Joseph on the third.
-- The Penguins sent Alex Nylander, impressive Tuesday in his team debut, back to the American Hockey League. We could see him again this season.
COMING UP
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Friday afternoon ahead of back-to-back home games on deck this weekend. Saturday afternoon, they host the Philadelphia Flyers. A day later, the New York Rangers will visit PPG Paints Arena.
