The Pittsburgh Penguins needed their best for a vital confrontation with the Metropolitan Division New York Islanders on Monday.
And they got their best back in the lineup as forward Sidney Crosby rejoined his teammates after missing a game because of an undisclosed injury.
His return buoyed his team to an emphatic 8-3 comeback victory at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., that pushed the Penguins (37-21-16, 90 points) past the Islanders (42-28-5, 89 points) into second place of the division with just barely two weeks remaining in regular-season play.
Crosby’s contributions to the offense were limited to a pair of assists, but the Penguins established a season high for goals, thanks to a pair of two-goal performances by forwards Anthony Mantha and Rickard Rakell.
“It’s a big race, a big stretch for us,” Crosby said Sunday in Cranberry. “As a player, these are the ones you want to be in. These are big games.”
Though Crosby opened play in his typical deployment as the top-line center, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was scratched for a fourth consecutive game because of an undisclosed injury.
Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs unofficially made 20 saves on 23 shots as his record improved to 17-10-8.
Following a scoreless first period, the teams erupted for a combined eight goals in the second period.
Only 97 seconds into the second frame, the Penguins allowed a power-play goal for the fifth consecutive game when Islanders forward Anders Lee scored his 17th goal of the season.
Islanders forward Mathew Barzal doubled the lead with his 19th goal only 89 seconds later.
The Penguins’ fourth line generated some offense as forward Elmer Soderblom notched his fourth goal at 6:41 of the second frame.
Islanders forward Brayden Schenn restored a two-score lead for the hosts with his 16th goal at 9:17 of the second.
The Penguins persisted as Rakell scored the first short-handed goal of his career — and his 18th overall goal of the season — at 11:01 of the second.
Chasing down a puck behind the Penguins’ cage, Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon maneuvered toward the right corner and cleared it up ice, only to have Rakell knock it down at the defensive blue line. Pushing play into the offensive zone, Rakell gained the blue line, held up a bit above the left circle and left a drop pass for Penguins forward Bryan Rust. With Islanders defenseman Adam Boqvist twisted around in trying to defend the attack, Rust slipped a pass to the slot for Rakell, who shoveled a forehand shot through goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s legs.
After Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea tied the score with his fifth goal 66 seconds later, Mantha continued to author a marvelous comeback season by finding a pair of scores.
Mantha’s 28th goal came on a breakaway at the 14:35 of the middle period, then he doubled up at the 17:18 mark.
The Penguins went up by a field goal 6:06 into the third period via rookie forward Avery Hayes’ third goal off a pass by another rookie forward, Ben Kindel.
Rakell recorded the chili goal at 7:54 of the final frame as he cleaned up a rebound off a shot by linemate Justin Brazeau, who finished with three assists.
Sorokin, one of the NHL’s top goaltenders, was pulled after that score and replaced by David Rittich.
Rust capped the scoring with his 27th goal at 16:16 of the third. Crosby recorded an assist, the 1,100th of his career.
Notes: The Penguins recalled Hayes from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Monday morning. … Soderblom recorded his first career fighting major at 4:35 of the third period when he tussled with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield. … In addition to Malkin, Penguins forwards Kevin Hayes and Blake Lizotte were scratched because of undisclosed injuries. … Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov and Jack St. Ivany, as well as forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, were healthy scratches.