Despite having forward Bryan Rust rejoin the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a rollicking 5-4 loss in overtime to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. on Tuesday.
The result cluttered up the competition for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Despite the loss, the Penguins (28-15-12, 68 points) maintained a slim lead over the Islanders (31-21-5, 67 points).
“We need that other point,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said to reporters in Elmont via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “Especially against these guys.”
A goal by forward Bo Horvat 52 seconds into overtime was the difference.
Returning to the ice after serving a three-game suspension, Rust scored a goal on Tuesday while skating from his typical station at right wing of the top line.
The NHL suspended Rust on Jan. 27 as punishment for an illegal hit to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser two days prior.
“It was good,” Rust said of his team’s play. “But we can always be better.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner’s record fell to 19-12-5 after he made 18 saves on 23 shots.
Penguins forward Anthony Mantha reached the 20-goal mark 12:09 into regulation.
After blocking a shot in his own left circle, Penguins forward Justin Brazeau fed an outlet pass to Mantha, who weaved his way into the neutral zone before dishing it back to Brazeau. Barging into New York’s zone on the right wing, Brazeau went wide along the boards against Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech and drove below the goal line before slipping an adroit one-handed pass toward the lower right hashmark, where Mantha snapped a wrister past goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s blocker on the far side. Brazeau had the only assist.
À VOIR: six buts en six matchs pour Anthony Mantha. La rencontre Penguins-Islanders se poursuit sur nos ondes.???? pic.twitter.com/SVeU8Dcn4X
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) February 4, 2026
The Islanders tied the contest at 18:41 of the first period via Horvat’s 22nd goal of the season.
From near the left point of the offensive zone, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal chucked a wrister that Skinner batted away with his glove. Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea tried to clear the rebound from above the crease with a backhander but wound up playing the puck right into the right leg of Islanders forward Anders Lee, and it deflected on net. Skinner made another save with his left leg but was unable to deny Horvat from jabbing in the ensuing rebound with a backhander. Lee logged the lone assist.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer put the Islanders in the lead at the last second — almost literally — with his 16th goal coming at 19:56 of the opening frame.
During a delayed penalty, Horvat fed a pass off the Penguins’ end boards past the right side of the cage to the top of the left circle. Linemate Ondrej Palat accepted the pass, then set up a one-timer in the high slot for Schaefer, who boomed a shot through a collection of bodies and past Skinner’s glove. Assists were procured by Palat and Horvat.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Forward Egor Chinakhov’s surge as a member of the Penguins continued as he scored his 11th goal at 3:52 of the second period.
After Penguins forward Tommy Novak won a draw in New York’s left circle, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson wound up with the puck at the near point and lobbed a wrister that was wide on the near side and struck the cage before clunking off the end boards. Novak got to the rebound and fed a pass past Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin towards the left hashmarks, where Chinakhov lasered a wrister through Sorokin’s five hole. Novak and Karlsson claimed assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Rust’s 19th goal at 14:09 restored a lead for the Penguins.
Pinching down low toward New York’s left corner, Penguins defenseman Ilya Solovyov beat Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a loose puck and rimmed it along the end boards for forward Sidney Crosby. Fighting off Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock, Crosby moved the puck along to Rust, who banked a shot from the right of the cage off of Sorokin’s glove and into the cage. Crosby and Solovyov secured assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
The Islanders persisted and tied the game again with Barzal’s 15th goal at 8:37 of the third period.
Pushing a puck up the right wing of the offensive zone, Pelech pulled up on the half-wall and slid a pass to the center point where Barzal thumped a one-timer past Skinner’s glove. Solovyov appeared to inadvertently screen Skinner on the sequence. The only assist went to Pelech.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Brazeau’s 15th goal put the Penguins back in front again only 123 seconds later.
Islanders defenseman Carson Soucy made a soft attempt at a backhand clear from near his own left corner. Penguins defenseman Brett Kulak accepted the charity and quickly snapped a wrister toward the cage. Stationed just below the lower left hashmark, Brazeau deflected the puck by Sorokin’s blocker on the near side. Kulak claimed the sole assist.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
The contest was tied yet again at 15:23 of the third period via Pulock’s third goal.
Off a furious effort to maintain possession by Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom, Barzal took a pass near the Penguins’ left corner, retreated a bit toward the near half-wall and moved the puck to the top of the left circle, where Pulock gripped and ripped a wrister that leaked through Skinner’s gear and hit twine. Barzal and Holmstrom had assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Brazeau appeared to score again at 15:41 of the third frame but a video review did not support that suspicion.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 4, 2026
Horvat claimed victory early in the extra period.
Operating with the expanse of three-on-three play, Kulak accepted a pass in New York’s right circle but fanned on a wrister thanks in part to a poke check by Schaefer. The puck trickled to the near hashmarks, where Barzal backhand chopped it to Horvat, springing him on a breakaway from behind the defensive blue line on in. Approaching the cage, Horvat lifted a wrister past Skinner’s glove. Assists went to Barzal and Schaefer.
Bo Horvat scores the breakaway game-ender for the Islanders in OT!
— Goosebump Sports (@GoosebumpSports) February 4, 2026
(via @Sportsnet) pic.twitter.com/FE1eBxUi0p
Notes:
• Chinakhov’s goal was the Penguins’ 15,000th regular season goal in franchise history.
• Since joining the Penguins in a Dec. 29 trade, Chinakhov has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 17 games.
• The Penguins’ last overtime loss to the Islanders was a 5-4 defeat at PPG Paints Arena, Feb. 20, 2024. Pelech had the winning goal against goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
• Penguins forwards Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty, as well as defenseman Ryan Graves, were healthy scratches.
• Former Penguins defenseman Jim Morrison has died. He was 94. The NHL Alumni Association announced his death but did not provide details. Born Oct 11, 1931, Morrison was the oldest living person to ever play for the Penguins. Morrison was a member of the Penguins during the 1969-70 and 1970-71 seasons. He also briefly skated for the former Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League during the 1951-52 season.
