Penguins drop overtime heartbreaker to Islanders in key division showdown

King Jemison, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 3, 2026

Published in Hockey

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PITTSBURGH — Coming off a listless home loss Monday, the Penguins headed to Long Island for a massive Metropolitan Division showdown one night later.

The Ottawa defeat was among the worst performances of the season for Pittsburgh, despite the 3-2 final score.

They needed a response — and they largely got it.

But the Penguins’ overtime struggles reared their ugly heads again. They lost, 5-4, in the extra period to the Islanders on a Bo Horvat breakaway goal at UBS Arena.

Pittsburgh held a two-point edge over the Islanders for second place in the division entering the game. That margin has shrunk to one after the Penguins let a game they largely controlled slip away in the third period — and were left with another loser point.

Pittsburgh dominated much of the opening period and scored first for the 34th time in 55 games. Anthony Mantha tallied his 20th goal of the season on a crafty one-handed pass by Justin Brazeau — the latest chapter in a connection that has paid serious dividends for the Penguins this season.

They kept the Islanders out of their zone, and Stuart Skinner was there to deny the chances that slipped through.

But it all turned in a 1-minute, 19-second stretch to close the period. First, Horvat located a loose puck between Ryan Shea and Skinner and poked it through to tie the game.

About a minute later, the Islanders capitalized on a delayed penalty to carry the puck into Penguins ice. Matthew Schaefer unloaded a rocket — with lots of traffic in front of Skinner — to put the Islanders in front with 2.3 seconds remaining.

That putrid end to the period threatened to tilt the game in the home team’s favor. But the Penguins responded with a stingy defensive period punctuated by some opportunistic offense.

The line that has recently carried the Pittsburgh offense tied the game, as Egor Chinakhov scored his eighth goal in 17 games as a Penguin. Tommy Novak slipped a slick pass to his linemate in front of the net. Chinakhov’s lightning release seemed to catch even Ilya Sorokin by surprise.

Erik Karlsson registered a secondary assist on the play. But his bigger contribution was hustling to win a foot race at the other end of the rink to set up an icing call on the Islanders. Chinakhov scored shortly after the ensuing faceoff. After a really rough game for Karlsson the night before against Ottawa, he returned to the solid form he’s displayed throughout most of the season.

Dan Muse’s squad continued applying pressure throughout the period. But it wasn’t some beautiful offensive action that put them in the lead at the second intermission.

It was a wily welcome-back goal by Bryan Rust, who banked the puck off Sorokin for his 19th of the season (in 48 games).

Sidney Crosby picked up an assist on the play, part of a resurgent night for the Penguins captain who had been quiet for a few games.

Pittsburgh continued to largely stifle the Islanders in the third. But a mental error cost the Penguins the lead. Ilya Solovyov — who has played very well since entering the lineup a few games ago — unnecessarily screened his own goalie. The defenseman and his 6-foot-3 frame stood right in front of Skinner with no Islanders in the vicinity.

Mathew Barzal took advantage to score from long range.

The tie didn’t last long.

With just more than nine minutes to play, Brett Kulak rifled a shot at the net. Brazeau perfectly redirected it with his backhand for his second point of the night and a 4-3 lead.

It was yet another example of the 6-foot-6, 232-pound winger flashing his incredible mitts around the net.

But in a wild back-and-forth game — especially in the third period — the Islanders had an answer.

Ryan Pulock fired a shot from just outside the circle. Skinner couldn’t trap it — a rare play the Penguins netminder would have liked back amid his excellent stretch since the holiday break.

That goal with less than five minutes remaining sent the game to overtime — where Horvat scored 52 seconds in.

It was over when …

Horvat took advantage of a botched Kulak shot and raced the other way for a winner.

Stat of the game

— 4-12: The Penguins’ overtime record this season.

Around the boards

— Rust returned from a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head in Vancouver. With Rust stepping back to his usual spot on Crosby’s wing, Rutger McGroarty exited the lineup after three strong games.

The 21-year-old had one assist but generated many more opportunities than that. He was a plus-3.

— Mantha reached the 20-goal threshold for the fourth time in his career. The 31-year-old is the first Penguins free-agent signee to hit that mark in his first season with the franchise since Petr Sykora in 2007-08.

Up next

The Penguins play one more game before the three-week Olympic break starts with a contest Thursday at the Buffalo Sabres.