Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins went into yesterday’s matchup against the Islanders riding a spectacular 14–0–2 run, but there were some crystal-clear signs that a letdown was imminent. In four of their previous five games, the Pens blew multi-goal leads, and in the Isles, they were facing a tenacious opponent that nearly always finishes strong. True to form, the Pens let three separate leads slip away, ultimately falling 6–5 to the scrappy Isles.

As expected, the Penguins came out of the starting gate like gangbusters, opening the scoring just 45 seconds in when Ryan Malone corralled a centering pass from Crosby and fired the puck past Rick DiPietro to give Pittsburgh the early lead. Fourteen minutes later, with Penguins blueliner Sergei Gonchar in the penalty box for hooking, the Isles answered back, as Viktor Kozlov launched a laserlike wrist shot past Marc-Andre Fleury to even the score.

Assisting on Kozlov’s goal was defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, who was making his Islanders debut. Bergeron was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (along with a thirdround pick) in exchange for highly touted defense prospect, Denis Grebeshkov, in what should turn out to be a good trade for both teams.

In Bergeron the Isles landed the power play quarterback they’ve sorely lacked all season. Boasting a 103-mph slap shot, Bergeron should give a very valuable boost to the Islanders’ power play. Meanwhile, though Grebeshkov has tremendous potential (he’s playing in Russia this season), he was no help to the Isles in their ongoing playoff push.

Bergeron tallied two assists and earned a plus-two rating in yesterday’s game, and looks as if he’ll fit in nicely on Long Island. At a cap cost of only $866,400 per season through 2008–09, this was a good job of bargain hunting by general manager Garth Snow, who still has the cap room to do some roster tinkering in advance of the February 27 trade deadline.

Late in the first period, the Isles gave Pittsburgh a golden opportunity to retake control of the game. Miroslav Satan and Tom Poti were incarcerated for hooking within a span of 69 seconds, and though the Pens failed to score on the resulting five-onthree power play, they still managed to convert. With Satan scrambling to get back into coverage — and with Isles blueliner Brendan Witt playing without a stick — Crosby found veteran Mark Recchi with a seeing-eye pass. Recchi buried the puck past DiPietro, and the period ended with the Pens up 2–1.

Things got wild in the second stanza, with the Pens extending their lead to 3–1 on another Malone goal. He scored in the first minute of each period in yesterday’s game to earn his second hat trick against the Islanders this season. And in fact, half of the talented underachiever’s 12 goals have come against the Isles.

Down 3–1, the Isles stormed right back, demonstrating the tenacity and persistence that typifies Ted Nolan-coached hockey clubs. Chris Simon and Jason Blake evened the score with two quick goals scored just 15 seconds apart (at 2:03 and 2:18, respectively), and Miroslav Satan gave the Isles their first lead just over eight minutes into the second period.

But the lead was not to last. With Randy Robitaille (tripping) and Trent Hunter (hooking) in the penalty box, Mark Recchi took advantage of the five-on-three power play to even the score. Through 60 games, the Islanders have been shorthanded 332 times (tied for most in the league), and their penalty-killing effectiveness is only 22nd best. Needless to say, the Isles will need to be far more disciplined down the stretch if they’re to battle their way into the postseason, much less to advance in the playoffs.

Malone struck early in the third to complete his hat trick, and once again it was Simon who answered. Although he is not typically known for his goal-scoring ability (Simon has lit the lamp only seven times this season), he converted on two of three shots yesterday and finished the afternoon with an impressive plus-three rating.

Neither team distinguished themselves with their defensive play in this firewagon hockey game, a gutsy effort by Hunter in the game’s final minute set up the game-winning goal, proving to be the turning point. He doggedly pursued Crosby deep in the Isles’ zone for close to 30 seconds, giving the Penguins superstar precious little creative space.

During an ensuing scramble in front of the Isles’ net, Hunter chipped the puck to Andy Hilbert, who carried it up ice and feathered a pass to Mike Sillinger in the high slot. Sillinger waited until Hilbert passed in front of Fleury, providing a perfect screen, and he fired the puck off Fleury’s glove and into the net to give the Isles a dramatic 6–5 triumph.

For the Islanders, it was an absolutely critical victory. It moved them into a three-way tie with the Maple Leafs and Canadiens for the eighth and final playoff spot (the Leafs have one game in hand on the Isles, the Isles one game in hand on the Habs). It got the Bergeron era off to a good start, showing Snow that he was right to operate as a “buyer” in the trade market. It demonstrated to the Isles that they have what it takes to compete with the Penguins in any type of hockey game, even one in which the Pens tally five goals.

And most important, in front of a rare sellout crowdat the Coliseum, the Isles demonstrated to their (justifiably) skeptical fans that playoff tickets could turn out to be a worthwhile investment after all.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.