Islanders beat Penguins as power play delivers

Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored power-play goals and rookie Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves as the Islanders finished a strong February with a 2-0 win over the visiting Penguins on Sunday night.

The Islanders went 8-2-2 during February, with all four losses coming against the Penguins — who they were playing for sixth time in the month. The Islanders remained the only team in the league without a regulation loss at home, with a 7-0-2 mark at Nassau Coliseum.

The 25-year-old Sorokin made his fifth start for the Islanders and recorded his second win, both shutouts. His first victory was Feb. 16 at Buffalo. It was the first time the Penguins were shut out in 20 games this season.

Wahlstrom put the Islanders ahead at 19:20 of the first with his third goal of the season, blasting a one-timer over the left shoulder of Casey DeSmith on the power play.

Wahlstrom, the Islanders’ 2018 first-round pick, has become a lineup mainstay in recent weeks. The 6-foot-2 right wing extended his points streak to four games with the goal, while Nick Leddy’s assist was his eighth in the last eight games. Leddy leads the Islanders with 13 assists. Josh Bailey also assisted.

The Islanders outshot the Penguins 9-2 in the opening period.

Pageau made it 2-0 at 14:56 of the second with his ninth goal, also on the power-play. Wahlstrom and Bailey assisted. Pageau is tied with Islanders captain Anders Lee for the team lead in goals.

The Islanders held a 16-8 shots advantage in the second period, while the Penguins outshot them 10-4 in the third.

DeSmith started for the Penguins for the first time since defeating the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on Feb. 11 at Nassau Coliseum. DeSmith made 27 saves.

The contest was played with the same crisp playoff-quality pace as Saturday’s game which the Penguins won 4-3 on an overtime goal by high-scoring defenseman Kris Letang.

The Penguins beat the Islanders twice at home this month. The teams meet twice more in Pittsburgh in late March during this abbreviated 56-game season in which teams in the eight-team East are playing divisional opponents eight times.

Despite the loss Sunday, the Penguins are 7-2-3 in their last 11 games against the Islanders.