By Pat Pickens
After 60 minutes of the Eastern Conference quarter-final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, it appeared as if the top-seeded Pens would roll.
Through 20 minutes on Friday night, at least on the scoreboard, it appeared that nothing had changed.
Yet, the Isles showed why they belong in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
New York came back from two two-goal deficits, rallying for a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh in Game 2 at CONSOL Energy Center.
OKIE-DOKE
Unlike the regular season, there is a dearth of fighting in the post-season.
Still, the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo picked a perfect time to mix it up and may have changed the series’ momentum.
Trailing 3-1 early in the second period, Okposo dropped the gloves with Matt Niskanen, bloodying the Pittsburgh defender’s face. Niskanen earned Okposo’s fists by rocking Matt Moulson with a hard open-ice check.
“I was sticking up for (Moulson),” Okposo said postgame, “and trying to give the team a little spark.”
Okposo skated over to Niskanen, and the duo decided to scrap. Many of the Isles referred to the fight as a turning point. Just 14 seconds after the fight, Colin McDonald lit the lamp, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead to one.
“Kyle stood up for one of his teammates and sparked us,” New York coach Jack Capuano said. “That’s what leaders do for your hockey club. It’s good to see a guy step up for his teammate.”
Okposo then scored the game-winning goal at 12:23 of the third when he took a rebound off the end boards and banked it off Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
“It was a heck of a play by (Moulson),” Okposo said. “I was just trying to turn and hit the net, and the puck trickled in the net.”
MIXING IT UP
Okposo wasn’t the only Islander to “mix it up.”
Capuano took Moulson off the team’s top line, moving him down with Okposo and Frans Nielsen. John Tavares and Brad Boyes played with Josh Bailey, and Tavares led New York with six shots on goals just two nights after being held shotless.
“It’s been something we’ve been thinking about for a while there,” Capuano said. “We didn’t have much success the way that our first two lines were going. It’s funny how things work.”
Ironically, Tavares’ lone assist came on Moulson’s first-period goal at 7:04, which cut the Penguins lead to 2-1.
UNLIKELY HEROES
While Okposo was starting trouble, his teammate Matt Martin was scoring goals.
Martin’s tally at 10:37 of the second served as the game-tying goal, drawing New York even at three.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Martin said of his game.
Defenceman Mark Streit also recorded two assists, and David Ullstrom — who hadn’t played since March 14 — earned an assist on McDonald’s second-period goal.
“You can talk about those switches, but I thought everyone played real well,” Capuano said. “The minutes were distributed pretty good. I thought all four lines contributed.”
HORRIBLE STARTERS
The Islanders couldn’t have started the game any worse.
The building was inspired by Sidney Crosby’s return from a broken jaw, and Pittsburgh used that energy to build a quick lead. Evgeni Malkin scored just 43 seconds into the game, and after Andrew McDonald took a slashing penalty, Crosby lit the lamp at 3:19, building a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead and sending the building into a frenzy.
Though he scored twice, Crosby finished a minus-1 in 23:26. Crosby — who played on a line with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis — also recorded eight shots on goal and won seven of 10 faceoffs in his first game since March 30.
Despite its rough start, New York registered 20 first-period shots.
“They came out hard,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “Regardless of the score early … they still came out hard and played very well to the other end.”
NABBY
Just two nights after being pulled, Evgeni Nabokov was among the players who started poorly, surrendering three goals in Pittsburgh’s first eight shots.
Still, Nabokov stopped all the rest, finishing the night with 30 saves.
“In the beginning, a couple of bounces went their way, the puck just bounced their way,” Nabokov said. “But we didn’t quit, and that was important and we started to fight.”
IGGY AND GENO
Jarome Iginla added two more assists Friday, enhancing his point total to four through two games.
Malkin, who also gained a secondary assist on Crosby’s first goal, has four points as well.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN
The scene will shift to Uniondale, N.Y., for Game 3 at noon eastern on Sunday.
