Metropolitan Division
1st NYI 30-16-1 61-points
2nd PITT 26-11-6 58-points
New York Islanders: Kyle Okposo's 4 goals elevate team to the 60-point club; take 3-point lead over Penguins in Metropolitan Division standings.
The Isles remain in 1st place of the Metropolitan Division
over the Pittsburgh Penguins,
and lead the Eastern Conference by 1-point over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
over the Pittsburgh Penguins,
and lead the Eastern Conference by 1-point over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
They're also the first Eastern Conference team to reach 30 victories this season.
Look what the Islanders did to the Penguins, again!
After losing to the Pens in their first meeting of the season, the Islanders have now rolled Pittsburgh in their last three meetings to take outright ownership of the Metropolitan Division.
Despite a pair of goals from Sidney Crosby, and with Bryan Trottier in the building, Long Island overcame a 2-0 1st period deficit on Kyle Okposo goal in the first, and with Ryan Strome's game tying goal midway through the 2nd. But, Sidney Crosby struck with just 0:05 left in the 2nd to put the Pens ahead again 3-2.
The third period then turned into Kyle Okposo's personal showcase. He tied the game at three with his second goal at the 6:41 mark. At the 11:51 mark, Okposos's go-ahead goal capped off a natural hat trick. But, he wasn't through. At the 17:29 mark, his fourth goal of the evening, and 12th of the season, came on an Islanders power play.
This was the first hat trick of his career. Kyle scored 4 times in 6 shots on goal.
Michael Grabner scored into an empty net to give the Islanders a 6-3 victory over the stunned Penguins.
John Tavares and Josh Bailey registered 3 assists apiece.
Both teams threw their bodies around in this game. Defenseman Simon Despres led the Pens with 8 hits, while Islanders blue liner Johnny Boychuk levied 5 hits. Long Island's crash lines made a clear difference. Pittsburgh's Zack Sill and David Perron led with 5 hits each, while Matt Martin issued 8 hits, and Cal Clutterbuck 7 hits.
The Islanders have now won four straight games.
*Goalie Jaroslav Halak will join John Tavares at the NHL all-star game.
Mike
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