Kyle Okposo scored three of his four goals in the third period to complete his first NHL hat trick, and the New York Islanders jumped back into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
The Penguins seemed poised to overtake the Islanders atop the Metropolitan Division and tie Tampa Bay for the top spot in the East, but they failed to hold leads of 2-0 and 3-2. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist in a losing cause.
Okposo cut New York's deficit to 2-1 in the first period, tied it 3-3 at 6:42 of the third, and put the Islanders ahead for the first time with 8:09 remaining. He added an insurance power-play goal with 2:39 remaining, and Michael Grabner scored an empty-net goal with 1:13 left.
Crosby gave the Penguins the lead in the first period with a power-play goal and then assisted on David Perron's man-advantage tally. He scored again with 4.4 seconds left in the second period to break a 2-2 tie.
Crosby's three points gave him 50 this season, tying him for the team lead with Evgeni Malkin, who had one assist. The Islanders (30-13-1) lead Pittsburgh (26-11-6) by three points in the division.
New York, which returned from a 5-2 trip, has won four straight. The Islanders are 3-1 against Pittsburgh this season with one meeting remaining.
Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves and outdueled fellow NHL All-Star Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 29 shots and heard taunting chants of his name after each goal allowed.
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Ryan Strome added a goal for New York, and Islanders captain John Tavares had three assists — including his 200th in the NHL.
Crosby got the Penguins on the board first when he drove down the middle and put in a rebound of Chris Kunitz's shot with 9:08 left in the first as Grabner served a tripping penalty.
Just 1:30 later, Crosby helped set up Perron's ninth goal and fourth in five games since being acquired by the Penguins from Edmonton on Jan. 2. Crosby got the puck to Kris Letang, who moved it to Perron for a drive from above the left circle.
The Penguins scored two goals on two shots in 55 seconds of combined power-play time in the first period. After netting only two man-advantage goals in 10 games, Pittsburgh has four in the past three.
New York's second power play failed to produce a goal, but the Islanders cut the deficit in half just seconds after the advantage. Tavares drove down the left side of the Penguins zone, made a slick move to get around defenseman Simon Despres, and slid a pass across the crease to Okposo, who guided the puck in with his skate with 3:09 left.
Strome tied it with 7:29 left in the second when he swept in a loose puck in the crease, but Crosby put the Penguins back ahead 3-2 during a delayed penalty.
