National Hockey League
NY Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Where: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Referees: Wes McCauley, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Steve Barton, David Brisebois
Attendance: 17255

Simon Holmstrom roofed a shot for the go-ahead goal at 14:27 of the third as the New York Islanders topped the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday night in Elmont, N.Y.

Holmstrom, Brock Nelson and Samuel Bolduc each had a goal and an assist and Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who finished the regular season 39-27-16 to record 94 points. They begin a playoff series Saturday against Carolina.

New York goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 40 saves. Sorokin made a save on a penalty shot by Sidney Crosby with 30 seconds left.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, Rickard Rakell, Valtteri Puustinen and Jeff Carter also scored and Crosby and Michael Bunting each had two assists for the Penguins, who finished 38-32-12 with 88 points after being eliminated from playoff contention a night earlier.

Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves.

Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:56 of the first on a backdoor play set up by Holmstrom.

At 18:29 of the first, Rakell tied it for the Penguins on a blast from near the top of the left circle.

Malkin scored career goal No. 498 on a power play at 6:14 of the second for a 2-1 Pittsburgh lead. A pass from Crosby went in off him. There was a review to ensure that Malkin did not kick the puck in.

At 7:05 of the second, Puustinen beat Sorokin on a short breakaway, but the Islanders successfully challenged that he was offside.

Cizikas tied it 2-2 at 13:19 of the second on a deflection of a shot by Alexander Romanov.

Puustinen got a goal that stood 1:18 later for a 3-2 Penguins lead. He stole the puck in the slot and shot it over Sorokin's glove.

A power-play goal by Palmieri withstood a Penguins challenge with 16 seconds left in the second for another tie.

Bolduc got a power-play goal at 1:36 of the third for a 4-3 New York lead when his shot went in off Pittsburgh's Ryan Shea.

On a power play, Carter deflected the puck in at 10:56 of the third for a 4-all tie.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   NY Islanders
Evgeni Malkin 2 Points Samuel Bolduc 2
Evgeni Malkin 1 Goals Samuel Bolduc 1
Michael Bunting 2 Assists Samuel Bolduc 1
Evgeni Malkin 1 Power Play Goals Samuel Bolduc 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alex Nedeljkovic .844 Save Percentage Ilya Sorokin .909
Alex Nedeljkovic 27 Saves Ilya Sorokin 40
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 44 4 2-2 1-3 6 42
NY Islanders 32 5 2-3 0-2 4 29
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Islanders have a W/L % of .526 after a win and .432 after a loss.