Sidney gets the best of Isles

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-2 victory over the Islanders on Thursday night.

Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel also scored — each getting his third of the season — to help the defending champion Penguins win for the third time in four games and improve to 5-0-1 at home.

Crosby, playing for the second straight game after missing the first six with a concussion, scored with 2:25 left as he took a pass from Scott Wilson at the top of the crease and turned to his forehand to put the puck behind Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.

Crosby, who also scored in his season debut on Tuesday, now has points in 10 straight regular season games dating back to last season.

Kessel added a power-play goal to cap the scoring 32 seconds later.

Travis Hamonic and Shane Prince scored for the Islanders, who fell to 0-3-0 on the road. Halak finished with 31 saves.

Prince, playing for the first time after missing five games with a lower-body injury, tied the score at 2-2 with 4:22 remaining. Fleury left the net to play a shot into the zone but the puck caromed off the boards to Prince, who put it into an empty net.

Malkin had broken a 1-1 tie with 7:12 left in the third as he took a pass from Kessel and pulled up ahead of Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg before placing a shot between Halak’s pads.

Hornqvist opened the scoring with a power-play goal 46 seconds into the game.

The Islanders tied it late in the second on their 28th shot. Hamonic finished a 2-on-1 from Prince, beating Fleury to the blocker side. —AP