PITTSBURGH _ If Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is looking for a new motivational tactic, he might try telling his team that every period is now a third period.
The Penguins scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to beat the Islanders, 4-2, Thursday at PPG Paints Arena, overcoming a mostly lethargic opening 40 minutes once again.
No matter, though. The result was a victory, and the Penguins (5-2-1) remained undefeated in regulation at home so far this season.
Sidney Crosby scored on a scrum in front of the net at 17:35 of the third to give the Penguins the win. It was his second goal in as many games since returning from a concussion Tuesday against Florida.
Phil Kessel added an insurance goal less than a minute later to seal the victory.
The Penguins had already lost a lead earlier in the third after Evgeni Malkin put them up 2-1 at 12:48 of the period. Kessel's pass found Malkin at the right faceoff dot, where he made a quick stop and fired a shot that beat Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak to the short side.
A few minutes later, though, with Malkin in the box thanks to a tripping penalty, Marc-Andre Fleury lost control of a carom behind the net. Shane Prince pounced on the puck and fired it into a nearly-empty net to tie things up, 2-2, at 15:38 of the third.
That was one of the few mistakes Fleury made all night, as he largely kept the Penguins in the game during an up-and-down first and second period that was typical of their inconsistent play so far this season.
The Islanders got 32 shots on Fleury in the first two periods, and he stopped 31 of them _ including the first 27 he faced _ to give the rest of the Penguins some time to find their games.
The Penguins took an early lead on a Patric Hornqvist power-play goal just 46 seconds into the game. The score came at the end of a beautiful series of tic-tac-toe passes from Kessel to Crosby to Hornqvist, who pushed the puck past Halak.
The goal was Hornqvist's third on the season, all of which have come on the power play.
Despite giving the Islanders chances early, the Penguins held onto the lead for the rest of the first period _ going to the intermission with a lead for the first time this season _ and most of the second period, thanks largely to Fleury. He made a barrage of impressive saves late in the first period, including back-to-back-to-back stops in the span of three seconds.
The Islanders finally broke through on their 28th shot of the game. A Penguins scoring chance led to Prince and Travis Hamonic on a two-on-one the other way, with Olli Maatta as the sole defenseman back. Prince sent a pass across the ice to Hamonic, who fired it past Fleury to tie the score, 1-1, at 15:13 of the second period _ where it stayed until Malkin's go-ahead goal in the third.
The Penguins return to action Saturday in Philadelphia, where they'll try for their first road win of the season against the Flyers.
.jpg?w=600)
