PITTSBURGH _ The Islanders squandered an overtime man advantage and then fell victim to Sidney Crosby as they lost to the Penguins, 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
Crosby scored with 1:12 left in OT, victimizing an otherwise brilliant Christopher Gibson, playing on only his fifth NHL game. Gibson made 47 saves. The loss, their sixth in a row, dims even further the Islanders' chances to make the playoffs.
As has so often been the case in this last month, the Penguins outshot the Islanders 19-8 after the first period but they got excellent backup from Gibson. Gibson was tested early and often, including a dizzying sequence about four minutes in when he stopped a one-timer from Conor Sheary and recuperated in time to quash Derick Brassard seconds later.
The Islanders capitalized ... almost without trying to. A little more than a minute into the game, a double-teamed Brandon Davidson rattled off a last-ditch attempt from near the right circle, but Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry fell as it slid ever-so-gently toward the net, putting the Islanders up 1-0.
After 36 futile shots, the Penguins finally snuck one through _ a power play goal by Patric Hornqvist, a poke through the crease on a feed from Phil Kessel that tied the game at 1 with 2:56 left in the second period. Gibson was tested one last time that period, on a breakaway by Jake Guentzel as time expired, but made the pad save.
The Islanders managed to get a few very favorable bounces in the third. About five minutes into the period, John Tavares broke toward the net, falling as he tried to push the puck by two defenders and sweeping it with his arm toward Anders Lee. Lee bunted in his shot attempt, which rattled around near the crease before sliding past the goal line.
Derick Brassard, the former Ranger fresh off his trade from the Senators, wrapped his stick around Gibson's glove side to knock in a feed from Kessel deflected by Dominik Simon to tie the game at 2 at 8:31 of the third.
