ELMONT, N.Y. — There is always drama between the Pittsburgh Penguins (28-15-12) and New York Islanders (31-21-5). Always.

In a four-point Metro Division battle between the second-place Penguins and third-place Islanders, the Penguins couldn’t hold a pair of one-goal leads in the third period.

Bo Horvat scored a breakaway goal in overtime for a 5-4 OT Islanders win, and a four-point game became a two-point game as the Penguins collected another loser point to offset the Islanders’ win.

A surprise tying goal midway through the third period by the Islanders was short-lived. Then the Penguins and New York Islanders began trading goals.

The Penguins reclaimed a 4-3 lead two minutes after the Islanders tied the game midway through the third period, when Justin Brazeau tipped Brett Kulak’s shot at 10:40.

However, the Islanders again tied the game with another goal from the top of the one when Adam Pelech beat Stuart Skinner at 15:24 of the third, and the drama only grew.

The Penguins thought they won the game later in the third period when Brazeau shoveled a rebound back to the net and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin retreated into the net, but a video review initiated by referees was inconclusive.

Oh, the drama.

Trailing 1-0 late in the first period, the Islanders scored a pair of goals in the final 1:19 of the period to claim a 2-1 lead.

The Penguins’ second pairing with Ryan Shea and Brett Kulak is a pair of left-handers, and that cost the Penguins as Shea was unable to clear a rebound from the crease on his backhand, and Bo Horvat (22) lunged to swipe the puck off Shea’s stick into the net at 18:41.

Using the advantage of a delayed penalty against the Penguins (likely a slashing penalty by Evgeni Malkin on rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer), the Islanders also scored with less than four seconds remaining in the first period when Schaefer (16) scored on a slapshot from the point through a screen by Anders Lee and past Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner at 19:56.

The Penguins controlled the territory advantage and much of the first period, claiming a 1-0 lead midway through the period when winger Justin Brazeau shielded the puck by using his 6-foot-6 frame and sweeping a one-handed pass to Anthony Mantha in front of the net. Mantha (20) quickly sniped a goal past Sorokin at 12:09.

Penguins winger Egor Chinakhov has been a revelation since general manager Kyle Dubas acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second and third-round picks. Chinakhov not only drew the Penguins’ first power play in the first period by bolting past the defense and being hooked, but he also tied the game 2-2 early in the second period.

The Penguins took the lead later in the second period. Bryan Rust, who returned to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension for a check to the head on Brock Boeser in Vancouver, used a trick popularized by linemate Sidney Crosby.

After Crosby tapped the puck to Rust behind the goal line, Rust (19) used Sorokin as a backboard and quickly banked it into the net at 14:09 for a 3-2 lead.

After breakdowns at the end of the first period, the Penguins attacked through the final horn of the second.

Midway through the third period, a quick shot from the top of the zone snaked through a Penguins screen in front of their own goalie, and Mathew Barzal’s shot from the blue line sailed past Skinner for a tie game 3-3 at 8:37.

Skinner stopped 18 of 22 shots. Sorokin stopped 31 of 35 shots.

Penguins Notes

Mantha’s goal marked the fourth line in the 32-year-old’s career that he’s hit the 20-goal plateau. He has six goals in his last 11 games.

Chinakhov has eight goals in 17 games with the Penguins, which is a 38-goal pace over an 82-game schedule. He was also tied with Crosby for the most shots after two periods (3).

The Penguins began the game two points ahead of the Islanders, with two games in hand.

The Islanders are 6-0 when the game is decided in 3v3 overtime. The Penguins are 3-5.

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