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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored his 25th goal and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Tuesday night to win their final game before the Olympic break.

Jacob Trouba, Alex Killorn and Ross Johnston also scored as the resurgent Ducks built a 4-0 cushion before fending off a late Seattle push. They've won nine of 11 following a nine-game losing streak (0-8-1).

Anaheim climbed within one point of the Pacific Division lead and moved two ahead of the Kraken for third place. Seattle, which had won four in a row and five of six, holds a game in hand over the Ducks.

Lukas Dostal was 4 1/2 minutes from Anaheim's first shutout in 137 games when Jordan Eberle redirected Jared McCann's slap shot in front for his team-high 20th goal.

A giveaway by Dostal led to another Kraken goal when a pinballing puck caromed in off Shane Wright to make it 4-2 with 2:31 left.

Dostal was forced to make several more stops and Chandler Stephenson rang a shot off the post for Seattle before time expired. Dostal finished with 26 saves.

Jansen Harkins and defenseman Jackson LaCombe each had two assists for Anaheim, which improved to 17-8-1 at home. Those were the first two assists for Harkins this season to go with his three goals in 31 games.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots for the Kraken.

Gauthier opened the scoring at 4:01 of the second period on a snap shot from the top of the right circle just as a Ducks power play expired. Trouba made it 2-0 when the defenseman fired a hard slap shot from the right point with 32.8 seconds left in the period.

Killorn scored from a sharp angle 24 seconds into the third, and Johnston made it 4-0 at 13:54.

Anaheim's streak without a shutout is the longest active drought for any NHL team. The last time the Ducks blanked an opponent came when Dostal made 26 saves in a 2-0 victory at San Jose for their lone shutout last season on Oct. 12, 2024.

Up next

Kraken: Play at Los Angeles on Wednesday night to conclude a three-game trip heading into the Olympic break.

Ducks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 25 in their first game following the break.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Carolina Hurricanes won a tight battle with the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 on Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center.

Goaltender, Brandon Bussi earned the win and continued with his magical season by improving his overall record this season to 22-3-1.

While Bussi allowed three goals on the 25 shots he faced, many of his saves were off “high-danger” chances. The goaltender has now won six games in a row and his record is 15-1-0 on home ice.

After falling behind 1-0 early in the first period, Sebastian Aho was credited with his 20th goal of the season when his shot bounced in the net after Seth Jarvis crashed the net. The puck hit a Senator, so Aho got the credit for the score.

Aho now has 10 straight years of 20 goal seasons.

In the second period, Jarvis got on the scoreboard twice within a three minute time frame.

First, he blasted in a one-timer off a nice pass by Andrei Svechnikov during a powerplay chance.

Shortly after, he took a pass from Aho and made a pretty move to beat goalie, James Reimer to give the Canes a 3-1 lead. It was the 25th goal of the season for Jarvis.

The Senators took control of the game for awhile, especially in the third period. They tied the score and were looking to take the lead back, but Jordan Staal had other ideas.

During what looked like a bad line change by Ottawa, the Captain had a couple of steps on the opposition and roofed a perfect shot past Reimer which would eventually be the game-winner.

Nikolaj Ehlers made a beautiful pass to spring him.

The Hurricanes now have earned points in nine straight games. They are 7-1-2 in their last 10 and have an eight point lead over second place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division, (76-68).

Staal also led the team with six hits. William Carrier was next with five.

The Hurricanes have one more game before the Olympic break which will be in New York against the Rangers on Thursday night.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020890.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020890.HTM

Interviews – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xdq1h97o50t99jn5ggadc/AE3Xua01bW77otuxLjYKwNs?rlkey=xqt5z7jiu95pukhuf08g5a065&e=1&st=mi83chc1&dl=0

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Mathieu Olivier scored twice in the third period, and Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.

Dante Fabbro also scored for Columbus after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury.

Olivier’s first goal was a highlight-reel breakaway. Cole Sillinger sprung him behind the Devils’ defensemen, and he deked one way and went to his backhand, getting the puck past Jakob Markstrom at 12:05 of the third period to put the Blue Jackets up 2-0. He added an empty-netter with 4 minutes left, shortly after New Jersey’s Nico Hischer hit the post.

Fabbro snapped a wrister from the top of the left circle past Markstrom 5:24 into the third period, breaking a scoreless tie with his fourth of the season.

A first-period goal was disallowed. Danton Heinen scored, but his linemate, Miles Wood — who was drafted by the Devils and spent most of his career in New Jersey — had crashed Markstrom’s crease, taking away his ability to defend it. The goal was taken off the board after a coach’s challenge.

Markstrom made 22 saves.

HURRICANES 4, SENATORS 3

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Staal scored the go-ahead goal with roughly five minutes left to help Carolina beat Ottawa.

The captain scored his 14th of the season after a neutral-zone turnover by the Senators, with Nikolaj Ehlers coming up with the puck and sending it ahead to Staal at the blue line. Staal skated in and fired from the left circle, banging the puck into the upper right corner of the goal at the 14:53 mark of the third period.

That finally put Carolina ahead for good on a night when it pushed to a 3-1 lead, only to have the Senators respond with a pair of power-play goals to tie it. Before those scores, Carolina had gone 14 for 14 on the penalty kill in its last six games.

Seth Jarvis scored twice in the second period for the Hurricanes, while Sebastian Aho struck for Carolina’s first goal late in the first. Brandon Bussi had 22 saves for the Hurricanes, including a big one while diving to his left in to deny Jake Sanderson with Ottawa going 6-on-5 late after pulling Reimer in an attempt to tie.

Sanderson blasted a one-timer to tie the game at 3 early in the third for the Senators, who got on the board less than 3 minutes in with Stephen Halliday’s redirection from the edge of the crease. Tim Stutzle also scored on the power play late in the second, a critical goal coming less than a minute after Jarvis’ second score pushed Carolina to a 3-1 lead.

Reimer finished with 14 saves.

FLYERS 4, CAPITALS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jamie Drysdale scored on the power play to snap a 20-game streak without a goal, Dan Vladar made 26 saves, and Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak by beating Washington.

Drysdale one-timed a pass from Trevor Zegras past Washington goalie Clay Stevenson to put the Flyers ahead to stay, 3-2.

Vladar kept the Flyers game, especially in the first period, stopping all 11 shots Washington fired at him in a period that was spent predominantly in the Flyers end.

He stopped a pair of one-timers by Alex Ovechkin from the high slot in the third period to keep the Flyers ahead. Ovechkin was trying to tie Sidney Crosby’s record of 29 goals, most by a Philadelphia opponent in the 30-year history of Xfinity Mobile arena.

Owen Tippett gave the Flyers an early lead when he took a cross-ice pass from defenseman Travis Sanheim and made a deft forehand-to-backhand move to slide it past Stevenson, who had 18 saves.

Carl Grundstrom, who was a healthy scratch the previous two games, returned to the lineup and snapped a 13-game scoring drought when his shot caromed of the skate of Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun to give the Flyers a two-goal lead in the second period.

Travis Konency had a pair of assists, marking his fourth straight multipoint game and his 15th this season.

LIGHTNING 4, SABRES 3, OT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Guentzel scored with 14 seconds remaining in overtime after teammate Darren Raddysh forced the extra session by scoring with 26 seconds left in regulation as Tampa Bay beat Buffalo.

Guentzel took a long pass from Nikita Kucherov just outside the blue line of the Sabres’ zone, skated in and beat Colten Ellis with a low shot to extend the Lightning’s winning streak to four games.

Kucherov had a four-point game with a goal and three assists. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Raddysh finished with a goal and an assist. Guentzel also assisted on Kucherov’s goal in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves.

Mattias Samuelsson scored twice and Josh Doan added a goal for Buffalo, which was coming off a win over Florida on Monday night and has won six of its last eight games. Ellis made 31 saves.

The teams traded goals in the first period and, after a scoreless second, each scored twice in the third.

After goals by Samuelsson and Bjorkstrand early in the third, Doan appeared to give Buffalo the edge, scoring a power-play goal with just over five minutes remaining. But, Tampa Bay took advantage of an extra skater and struck in the final seconds as Raddysh scored with 26 seconds remaining to force the extra session.

ISLANDERS 5, PENGUINS 4, OT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game 52 seconds into overtime and New York beat Pittsburgh.

Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists, Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves and New York snapped its two-game skid. Matthew Schaefer added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders.

Justin Brazeau had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who dropped their second consecutive game. Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust also scored. Stuart Skinner stopped 18 shots.

Horvat, who also had an assist, buried a breakaway in overtime to give the Islanders a critical victory in their second-to-last game before the Olympic break.

Barzal tied it at 3 midway through the third period, but Brazeau redirected a shot from Brett Kulak to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3 with 9:20 remaining.

Pulock responded for the Islanders with less than six minutes left in the third to tie it again and force overtime.

MAPLE LEAFS 5, OILERS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Matias Maccelli scored twice and Toronto defeated Edmonton.

Matthew Knies added a goal and an assist for Toronto. John Tavares scored his 20th of the season and Bobby McMann added an empty-netter.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced for the Maple Leafs, including a diving stop on Leon Draisaitl that prevent the Edmonton from getting back into the game in the final minutes of the third period.

Jake Walman and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Oilers, who have lost two straight. Connor Ingram made 22 saves.

Toronto was coming off a 4-2 victory over the Flames in Calgary on Monday, and heads into the Olympic break with a three-game winning streak.

Kapanen tied the score at 2 early in the third period, but a pair of penalties proved to be Edmonton’s undoing. Rookie winger Matthew Savoie was sent off for interference, and Mattias Janmark joined him seconds later on a high-sticking infraction. Maccelli scored just under a minute into Toronto’s 5-on-3 advantage and Tavares swiped a shot in from the side of the net on the power play to give Toronto a 3-2 lead at the 7:42 mark of the third period.

DUCKS 4, KRAKEN 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored his 25th goal of the season and Anaheim defeated Seattle to win its final game before the Olympic break.

Jacob Trouba, Alex Killorn and Ross Johnston also scored as the resurgent Ducks built a 4-0 cushion before fending off a late Seattle push. They have won nine of 11 following a nine-game losing streak (0-8-1).

Anaheim climbed within one point of the Pacific Division lead and moved two ahead of the Kraken for third place. Seattle holds a game in hand over the Ducks.

Lukas Dostal was 4 1/2 minutes from Anaheim’s first shutout in 137 games when Jordan Eberle redirected Jared McCann’s slap shot in front for his team-high 20th goal.

A giveaway by Dostal led to another Kraken goal when a pinballing puck caromed in off Shane Wright to make it 4-2 with 2:31 left.

ELMONT, NY --  New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat had gone scoreless in eight games leading into Tuesday night's showdown against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

That slump is no more as Horvat scored two goals, including the overtime winner, while also adding an assist in a 5-4 win.

At 18:41 of the first, Horvat tied the game at 1-1, poking one in from the doorstep:

Horvat crashes the net to tie the game at 1-1. #Islespic.twitter.com/R5tSV6s0rc

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) February 4, 2026

Then, at 19:56 of the second period, Matthew Schaefer scored after Horvat fed Pulock across the slot, who one-touched the puck to the 18-year-old for a one-time finish:

No. 48 give the #Isles a 2-1 lead heading into the second. pic.twitter.com/FZc2DcfFRn

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) February 4, 2026

And lastly, came the overtime winner in which Horvat went top shelf glove side on a breakaway to send the Islanders' faithful into a frenzy at the 52-second mark of the extra frame:

Somehow the #Isles find a way to gain two points, pic.twitter.com/etpX178edq

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) February 4, 2026

With the victory, the Islanders are one point behind the Penguins for second in the Metropolitan Division, with Pittsburgh earning a critical point. 

The Islanders now have a four-point lead for third place in the division. 

Horvat now has 23 goals and 15 assists for 38 points in 43 games. 

The New York Islanders pulled out a late equalizer and 5-4 overtime win in an intense, back-and-forth meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins that highlighted how we have Ilya Sorokin and they have Replacement Jarry.

True, Sorokin allowed at least one goal he would want back, when Bryan Rust banked a shot in off his glove from below the goal line to make it 3-2 in the second period, but he faced more shots (35-23) and stopped more nailbiters while Stuart Skinner offered holes the Islanders gratefully found.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

That applies to Bo Horvat’s late first period goal, when Skinner bobbled a glove save and Horvat pounced on the loose puck with Skinner unawares (to be fair, it took an odd carom in between). It also applies to noted cannon-launcher Mat Barzal’s one-timer from the point to tie it at 3-3 and Ryan Pulock’s snap shot from the slot to tie it at 4-4 with 4:36 left in regulation.

RYAN PULOCK TIES IT FOR THE @NYISLANDERS!

IT'S 4-4 WITH LESS THAN FIVE IN THE THIRD 👀

📺: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3Tpic.twitter.com/Ij7LFVR9Ot

— NHL (@NHL) February 4, 2026

Horvat finished things off on an overtime breakaway, snapping a shot past Skinner right as the wobbling, rolling puck finally settled down.

Notes

• It was a competitive game throughout, but felt too tilted Pittsburgh’s way for comfort. As has often been the case this season, Islanders goaltending provided an important difference, just enough cover to keep them in the game.
• There Barzal Offensive Zone Orbits aplenty, but his rushes and breakouts were also key to several goals, including his own. Made a nice chip to send Horvat on the breakaway for the OT winner, too.
• Matthew Schaefer continued his “moah than Bahbby Aahh” season with his 16th goal of the season, and 23rd assist on the winner.
• Was that a power play goal? No. No, the Isles did not score on the power play. 0 for 2.
• Gotta be huge for Horvat to put a couple in; he’s had some breakaways since coming back from injury, so finishing one will help make him feel whole going to Italy.
• Damn, Patrick Roy is cold and hard-ass with Anthony Duclair. Benched him after four shifts, 3:04 TOI. Per Andrew Gross, “Roy said this was a ‘big game’ and he didn’t like Duclair’s defensive tracking. But he said Duclair will be OK.” Duclair got back as the third man on Anthony Mantha’s goal, but he was covering no one. So I definitely get it, especially if this is a discussion they’ve had before.
• After the Isles tied it up yet again at 4-4, the Penguins thought they had another go-ahead goal, but Ben Kindel clearly was kicking Sorokin’s pad and then continuing to drive him into the net, so even by current random standards that was pretty obvious goalie interference. Took the refs long enough to review it though.

Sidney Crosby had a bout of Vintage Crosby Whiner when he tripped Simon Holmstrom as the Isles winger carried the puck out of the zone in the third period. It was special edition, since Crosby pre-whined, stopping and making a diving gesture as play carried on before a penalty was called…oh, by the way, no penalty was called. So it was fun to see Crosby continue to whine after he went to the bench, a display reminiscent of his early Entitlement Years in the league. It was one of those occasion where it didn’t take much to cause Holmstrom to fall — skating fast on edges can be like that — but it wasn’t a dive. I didn’t see Crosby’s reaction to his trip of Barzal, also in the third, but I’m sure it was totally dignified.

Second-Best Moment of the Night

Schaefer with the laser, after the Isles make a big push as the clock wound down in the first, making two goals in 1:15:

Matthew Schaefer:

Laser and tongue’s out celly! pic.twitter.com/BTdOfCvP4l

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 4, 2026

Best Moment of the Night

Gotta be the Horvat winner. Schaefer breaks up the play, Barzal pitches it forward, Horvat keeps the wobbling puck moving forward and is able to snap it just in time:

BO HORVAT! GINORMOUS WIN! 6-0 in OT this year! pic.twitter.com/UiocXfp9dV

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 4, 2026

Up Next

Damn, the Isles needed those two points. It was not looking promising at several moments there. Unfortunate that they let the Penguins get a point, too, but it sure beats zero and two.

They finish the pre-Olympics stretch with a visit to the struggling Devils on Thursday.

The Islanders are sputtering to the NHL’s three-week Olympic break, that much is clear. You can see them night after night, treading water and trying to get results better than their play warrants.

Thing is, they have a way of finding a way.

That’s just what they did Tuesday night in a crucial match against the Penguins, overcoming themselves and three different Pittsburgh leads for a mad, mad 5-4 win in overtime at UBS Arena in which they flipped the night’s narrative on its head over the game’s last 10 minutes.

“I just think tonight was massive,” Mat Barzal said after assisting Bo Horvat’s OT winner. “You’re playing a team you’re right there with [in the standings]. Down a goal, up a goal, down a goal. Just a great game.”

The win, plus the loser point for the Penguins, meant the Islanders finished the night a point behind Pittsburgh for second in the Metro. Crucially, though, they kept the Capitals and Blue Jackets both four points behind for third.

All night, it looked like the Islanders were veering toward a third straight defeat that would have warranted some alarm bells.

They were struggling to generate a forecheck or sustain pressure. There was little physicality in their game. Anthony Duclair was benched early, and the list of players who could have followed him was not at all short. Pittsburgh led just 3-2 entering the third, which often amounts to nothing in the NHL.

It felt, though, like there was a measure of good fortune in the Islanders being that close, even after Bryan Rust’s sharp-angle shot broke a 2-all tie at 14:09 of the second.

Then the Islanders found what they’d been missing, and the night went all haywire.

After Horvat and Matthew Schaefer had scored the Islanders’ first two goals, it was only fitting that their third superstar, Barzal, would score their third, connecting on a blast from the top of the zone 8:35 into the third to tie the game at three and give the Islanders some badly needed momentum.

The momentum lasted all of 2:03 before Justin Brazeau’s tip from Brett Kulak gave Pittsburgh the lead back.

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

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The Islanders weren’t done yet, though, as Ryan Pulock — who, to that point, was having a rough night — connected on a wrist shot to tie it back up with just under five minutes left.

That got it to the extra period, where Horvat’s breakaway ended it, handing the Islanders two of their guttiest points of the season.

“I think just guys responding,” Horvat said. “Us not getting down on ourselves. Not shying away from the fight. … I think just the resiliency here in this room. We have the belief we can do it.

“We got it done.”

The Islanders had taken a 2-1 lead in the first with goals from Horvat and Schaefer after Anthony Mantha had opened the scoring. Under the hood, though, it was less encouraging.

All three defense pairs had been on the ice for at least one goal against, and the Islanders were bleeding traffic around their own net. The fourth line was struggling and so was Jean-Gabriel Pageau, whose linemates shifted all night after Duclair’s benching. The power play, across two chances, accounted for zero shots on goal.

Even Ilya Sorokin, usually the Islanders rock, let in a rare bad goal from Rust.

Two points doesn’t erase those worries, and truth be told, they’ve been building for the better part of a month.

But the Islanders have just one more game to get through, and then comes a three-week exhale in which they’ll hope that rest can solve at least a chunk of their problems.

So, again, they punted away the worries for another day.

“There’s belief in here we can do it the right way and find a way to win any night,” Ryan Pulock said. “This group is resilient. There’s nights where it works and there’s nights where it doesn’t. I feel like every night we push to the end and give it a shot.

“Obviously tonight we got rewarded.”

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Guentzel scored with 14 seconds remaining in overtime after teammate Darren Raddysh forced the extra session by scoring with 26 seconds left in regulation as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Guentzel took a long pass from Nikita Kucherov just outside the blue line of the Sabres' zone, skated in and beat Colten Ellis with a low shot to extend the Lightning's winning streak to four games.

Kucherov had a four-point game with a goal and three assists. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Raddysh finished with a goal and an assist. Guentzel also assisted on Kucherov's goal in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves.

Mattias Samuelsson scored twice and Josh Doan added a goal for Buffalo, which was coming off a win over Florida on Monday night and has won six of its last eight games. Ellis made 31 saves.

The teams traded goals in the first period and, after a scoreless second, each scored twice in the third.

After goals by Samuelsson and Bjorkstrand early in the third, Doan appeared to give Buffalo the edge, scoring a power-play goal with just over five minutes remaining. But, Tampa Bay took advantage of an extra skater and struck in the final seconds as Raddysh scored with 26 seconds remaining to force the extra session.

The Atlantic Division-leading Lightning were coming off a 6-5 win over Boston in an NHL Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Tampa Bay rallied from a four-goal deficit and won that game in a shootout.

Tampa Bay was without centers Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) and Brayden Point (lower body) and winger Nick Paul (undisclosed). Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before the game that Cirelli and Paul would also miss Thursday’s game against Florida. Cirelli was replaced on Canada’s Olympic roster.

Buffalo was without Zach Benson (upper body), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) and Jordan Greenway (abdomen). Luukkonen’s injury will keep him off Finland’s roster for the upcoming Milan Cortina Games.

Up next

Sabres: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Lightning: Host Florida on Thursday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Pregame

The Penguins happily welcome the return of Bryan Rust from his suspension and get Stuart Skinner in net.

Hockey 🔜 pic.twitter.com/3kBCJWSHXh

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2026

First period

Good start for the Penguins, they get an early power play after Scott Mayfield hooks Egor Chinakhov. Smart penalty to take being as Chinakhov was in a similar position to his goal last night, catching a centering feed from Tommy Novak this time and about ready to fire before getting impeded. The Islanders kill the penalty, though Sidney Crosby almost has a highlight reel goal skating by Matthew Schaefer and getting a nice shot away.

Game goes back and forth for a little, the big guys come through. Justin Brazeau dishes to Anthony Mantha who uses his reach to manipulate just how he can lift the puck to the far-side of Ilya Sorokin. 1-0 Pittsburgh.

That's 20 goals on the season for Anthony Mantha 💪 pic.twitter.com/pVInf4p0sP

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2026

The period turns sour for the Penguins as the Islanders score two goals in the final 1:19.

The first goal is mostly bad luck compounding, Skinner leaves a rebound off his glove, then Ryan Shea can’t clear the puck out of danger. The opposite happens with it ricocheting off bodies and right back to Bo Horvat. Horvat reaches to it before Shea can recover. 1-1.

LET'S BO! pic.twitter.com/LcC0LgvzH1

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 4, 2026

As the period nears its end, a delayed penalty call is coming up on Pittsburgh. It never gets called, a long stretch of puck control tires the Pens out and Schaefer is there to hammer one from deep. 2-1 NYI.

What a goal from Schaef! pic.twitter.com/LYEtGIIwH4

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 4, 2026

Not a good last minute or so for the visitors to see their lead turn into a 2-1 deficit after 20.

Second period

The Pens find a goal to tie the game. Slick setup from Tommy Novak coming from behind the net. Who else but Egor Chinakhov is there to somehow get just far enough away from the reach of Ryan Pulock and still stay in a prime scoring position. Then again, with his release speed and shot velo, almost everywhere in a prime scoring position. 2-2.

ELECTRIC EGOR.

Since he made his Penguins debut on January 1, no one has scored more goals than Egor Chinakhov (8). pic.twitter.com/l6Pnzw3hQJ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2026

Rust gets back on the scoreboard in his first game back from suspension, sneaking a bad angle shot off Sorokin and in. Fittingly the sequence starts with Rust out-working Schaefer to keep a puck alive in the zone, a few seconds later it comes back around behind the net and Rust puts some mustard on a Crosby-esque bank shot that leaks through. 3-2.

THE RETURN OF THE RUSTY RAZOR!@MShakeFactory, get those half-off Rustys shakes ready for tomorrow 😤 pic.twitter.com/bXlNrENZAu

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2026

Chinakhov and Novak nearly combine for another highlight-reel goal but toss around one too many passes (gahh). Chinakhov does draw his second power play of the game, again for getting impeded as he slipped behind the defense and cut into the net. The power play doesn’t score and the second period wraps up.

Great response period for the Pens, who outshoot NYI 12-5 in the second period and outscore them 2-1 to regain the lead.

Third period

More good work in the early going, it takes until the 13:59 to go mark before NYI gets their first shot of the period, an outside shot that Skinner easily corrals. By then the Pens had four shots, including Malkin nearly scoring from just in front of the net.

Which makes it more frustrating when the Islanders find a tying goal with 11:23 to go. Crosby and Ilya Solovyov bump into each other in front of Skinner with no Islanders around them. Mat Barzal shoots from long range, there’s no one in the lanes to block it. Not sure if that puck deflected off Rakell or Solovyov there, it hits the back of the net. 3-3 game.

BARZAL BEAUTY FROM THE BLUE LINE 🤌

📺: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3Tpic.twitter.com/goC9StcJkn

— NHL (@NHL) February 4, 2026

The crowd comes to life with something to cheer about and the Pens quiet them with a big answer. Brett Kulak does well to win a puck off the wall and quickly fire it to the net. Justin Brazeau makes a brilliant deflection back across where Sorokin thinks it’s going. 4-3 game, Pittsburgh back in front with 9:20 to go.

BIG BOY BRAZ PUTS US BACK 🆙 pic.twitter.com/qfewZVu3Tu

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2026

Crosby gets the gate for a tripping call and the NYI power play gets a crack at it, they’re unable to generate a shot.

Crosby gets high-sticked, no penalty since it was Karlsson’s stick. The Islanders get back to work, Barzal’s pass clicks off Malkin and right to Pulock. Pulock measures up and beats Skinner cleanly. 4-4 game, 4:36 to go.

TIED UP AT 4. pic.twitter.com/Rqf17T7Ian

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 4, 2026

The Pens get a close call for a goal, which would have been controversial on Ben Kindel’s part by sticking his leg into Sorokin as Brazeau followed up on a chance.

Pittsburgh takes their timeout, the plans they draw up don’t work out.

Frantic third period leads to extra time.

Overtime

Crosby-Rust-Karlsson start things out, Crosby wins the draw and the Pens get the all-important possession though only for the first 20 seconds. The Pens get it back but Kulak mis-hits the puck and Horvat goes the other way on a breakaway. He makes no mistakes beating Skinner and ending the game.

Some thoughts

• It seemed like the Islanders were either lazy/fatigued in their gap control or perhaps surprised by how fast the Penguins looked when they allowed them to slip behind them and then play catch up on rushes up the wall. These teams haven’t seen each other since the early days of the season. These Pens with players like Chinakhov, Novak and even the deceptively fast Mantha aren’t really the Pittsburgh teams of the past few years. Not that these Penguins are excessively fast across the board but it probably caught their opponent off guard that this team isn’t quite as familiar as they might have remembered.
• Speaking of growth and changes from the beginning of the season, how amazing is that Schaefer huh? Hard to believe the last time he played the Penguins it was his first night in the NHL. He’s had plenty of highlight moments since then, just seeing how comfortable and much more in control he is out there from where he was in Game 1 in October to now is really remarkable. Schaefer’s already one of the best and most dynamic players out there, scary to think what he’s going to look like in another 1-2-3 years as he gains even more experience.
• There’s an old trope that when the second line wingers get too productive they soon find themselves playing on Crosby’s line. That turned out to finally benefit Evgeni Malkin now that *he* has become the productive second line winger. The Pens tried a Chinakhov-Crosby-Malkin line for an o-zone draw. They got too cute with the passing and then someone took a penalty (negated by the Schaefer goal). Humble beginnings, maybe it’ll work out next time.
• Sorokin’s been arguably the best goalie in the league by far this season, which might make it all the more surprising he just looked average tonight. Everyone has their off days (see also, the Penguins last night), how she goes sometimes. Probably aren’t too many times when he’s just straight up getting beat (Mantha, Chinakhov shots) or giving up a weak, leaky goal from no angle that he definitely would want back (Rust). It wasn’t like it was bad luck on bounces or instances where traffic was making his life difficult, just maybe a “C” type of game for what’s been an A goalie.
• Then again, Skinner had a few he would want back too. That fourth goal, by Pulock, is one that has to be a save. The earlier goal in the third period was a team breakdown, it was also the type of stop Skinner was making when he was in a groove a few weeks ago. Now, not so much. Olympic break suddenly is coming at a good time for him.
• Chinakhov has scored a goal in five of his last seven games. Sometimes you see a guy pop a high shooting percentage or maybe string a couple of two-goal games together or hit an empty net or two and can see the inevitable fall coming a mile away. In this case it looks like Chinakhov is still getting started, he’s just scratching the surface of what he could lie ahead. If he (and, to be fair, his linemates) didn’t over-pass the puck so much, there would be even more. They’re generating so many potential looks and his shot is so good that it’s going to find success as long as they keep it going.
• The Bob Grove stat of the night is a good one: Pittsburgh recorded their 15,000th regular season goal tonight as a franchise. Only the Original 6 teams have more.
• Getting one point on the road is something, based on the first 40 minutes it was a night where the Pens were the better team for the majority of the night, so not getting that second point hurts in that regard.

This has been a crazy stretch of games (five in eight nights) and it’s nearly over. One more to go on Thursday night in Buffalo and then the NHL takes an Olympic pause.