Penguins Beat Islanders 3-1 for Fifth Win in Six Games

Penguins Beat Islanders 3-1 for Fifth Win in Six Games

The Pittsburgh Penguins secured a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders, marking their fifth win in six games as they continue to climb in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves, Lars Eller scored twice and the Penguins held off the New York Islanders 3-1 on Sunday night for their fifth win in six games. Pittsburgh is 7-1-1 overall over its last nine to climb into the Eastern Conference wild-card race as the season's midpoint nears.

Perhaps more importantly than winning is the way the Penguins are playing. They're largely avoiding the defensive lapses that cost them earlier in the season and getting a little offensive help from the bottom two lines to take some of the pressure off stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The two goals from Eller and another from Noel Acciari gives Pittsburgh's bottom two lines 17 goals over its last 13 games.

Nedeljkovic was spectacular at times while improving to 6-2-2 with the Penguins. His .923 save percentage is a massive jump from the .895 he posted last season with Detroit. He's also become a solid 1B to Tristan Jarry's 1A. The Penguins have given up the fourth-fewest goals in the league, one of the reasons they've managed to steady themselves despite their earlier offensive struggles.

Samuel Bolduc drew the Islanders within one with 6:09 left with the third goal of his career but New York could get no closer. Ilya Sorokin stopped 35 shots but couldn't stop the Islanders from falling to Pittsburgh for the second time in five days.

The Islanders' next game is scheduled for Tuesday night at Colorado, while the Penguins finish their three-game homestand Tuesday night against Washington.