Penguins Beat Islanders In Crosby’s 1,000th Game

PITTSBURGH — It was one special day for Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby — from the beginning to the very end. Crosby had two assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and the Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday night. Kris Letang scored twice, including a tiebreaking goal in the third period, as Pittsburgh won for the fourth time in five games. Mike Matheson also scored, and Tristan Jarry made 33 saves. Letang was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2005, the same year as Crosby. Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored for New York, which has dropped two straight following a season-high eight-game point streak. Semyon Varlamov stopped 15 shots. Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with his fifth goal just 53 seconds into the third period, but the Penguins responded. Matheson tied it with his first goal for Pittsburgh at 7:35. He started the rush and eventually finished the play with a wrist shot from the slot. Letang put the Penguins ahead for good at 13:34. His center-point wrist shot beat Varlamov over the shoulder to the blocker side.