UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Kyle Okposo scored three of his four goals in the third period to complete his first NHL hat trick, and the New York Islanders jumped back into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
Ryan Strome and Michael Grabner also scored, and John Tavares had three assists – including his career 200th.
The Penguins seemed poised to overtake the Islanders atop the Metropolitan Division and tie Tampa Bay for the top spot in the East, but they failed to hold leads of 2-0 and 3-2.
Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby scored twice and assisted on David Perron’s power-play goal.
RANGERS 2, BLUE JACKETS 1: Marc Staal and Chris Kreider both scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves to lead New York at Columbus.
Scott Hartnell had the goal for the Blue Jackets.
CANUCKS 3, HURRICANES 0: Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots in his second straight shutout and Vancouver won at Carolina.
Derek Dorsett, Shawn Matthias and Alexandre Burrows scored for the Canucks.
PREDATORS 4, CAPITALS 3: James Neal scored twice and the surging Predators spoiled Washington Coach Barry Trotz’s return to Nashville.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.