Okposo scores four for Islanders

Islanders 6, Penguins 3: Kyle Okposo scored three of his four goals in the third period to complete his first NHL hat trick, and host New York jumped back into first place in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Pittsburgh last night.

The Penguins seemed poised to overtake the Islanders atop the Metropolitan Division and tie the Tampa Bay Lightning for the conference lead, but they failed to hold leads of 2-0 and 3-2. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist.

Okposo cut New York’s deficit to 2-1 in the first period, tied the score at 3 at 6:42 of the third and put the Islanders ahead for the first time with 8:09 remaining. He added a power-play goal with 2:39 left, and Michael Grabner scored an empty-net goal with 1:13 to go.

Crosby gave the Penguins the lead in the first period with a power-play goal and then assisted on David Perron’s manadvantage goal. He scored again with 4.4 seconds left in the second period to break a 2-2 tie.

Crosby’s three points gave him 50 on the season, tying Evgeni Malkin for the team lead. Malkin had one assist.

The Islanders lead Pittsburgh by three points in the division.

New York, which returned from a 5-2 trip, has won four straight. The Islanders are 3-1 against Pittsburgh this season with one game remaining.

The Islanders’ Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves and outdueled fellow All-Star Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 29 shots. Jets 4, Blackhawks 2: Bryan Little and Chris Thorburn scored 28 seconds apart midway through the third period to snap a tie, and visiting Winnipeg earned its third straight victory.

Zach Bogosian and Andrew Ladd each had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who — along with rookie goalie Michael Hutchinson — beat the Blackhawks for the third time this season, all in Chicago. Predators 4, Capitals 3: James Neal scored twice and the surging Predators spoiled coach Barry Trotz’s return to Nashville, beating Washington for their fifth straight victory.

Seth Jones and Mattias Ekholm had the other goals for the Predators, who fired Trotz at the end of last season. Trotz was the team’s inaugural coach, leading Nashville through its first 15 seasons before taking the job in Washington. Canucks 3, Hurricanes 0: Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots in his second straight shutout for visiting Vancouver.

Derek Dorsett, Shawn Matthias and Alexandre Burrows scored the Canucks’ three goals in a span of 10 minutes, 31 seconds of the second period.

Kevin Bieksa had two assists for Vancouver, which has followed a three-game losing streak with back-to-back shutouts on the road.