Josh Bailey’s double-overtime winner lifts Islanders past Penguins in Game 5

PITTSBURGH – Ilya Sorokin deserved to win this game. The Islanders, at least until overtime started, did not.

Yet the Islanders, outskated and outshot significantly in regulation, pushed the Penguins to the brink of elimination with a 3-2, double-overtime win in Game 5 on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Josh Bailey scored the winner, getting open near the crease, just 51 seconds into the second extra period.

Game 6 will be Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum as the Islanders lead the series, 3-2.

But this game was all about the Islanders’ rookie goalie, who stopped 48 shots and has won all three of his starts in this series.

The Penguins’ Tristan Jarry made 25 saves.

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The Islanders also won Game 1, 4-3, in overtime in Pittsburgh.

The winner of this series will face the Bruins in the second round after they eliminated the Capitals in the East Division’s other first-round series with a 3-1 win in Sunday night’s Game 5 in Washington.

“Everybody saw that series ended and everybody is conscious of it,” coach Barry Trotz said. “But I don’t think it gives you extra motivation. You have to focus on the moment and the task at hand. These are two really good teams and there’s not much separating them. You’ve just got to leave everything out there. Whatever happens at the end of the game, we have to flush it, good, bad or indifferent. We have to move on to the next one and really have a micro focus.”

The Islanders were again being outshot – this time 4-0 – and outplayed to start the third period. But Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s forecheck forced Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin into a turnover and Leo Komarov fed Jordan Eberle at the crease as the Islanders tied it at 2 at 8:50 on their first shot of the third period.

Sorokin had single-handedly kept the Islanders within one goal through a turnover-prone first period long enough for Anthony Beauvillier to tie the game at 1 with 54.4 seconds remaining on a great individual effort.

Beauvillier used his speed to skate around Jake Guentzel after Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was caught up ice.

Still, overall, the Islanders’ skating and physicality did not resemble their effort in Saturday’s 4-1 Game 4 win at Nassau Coliseum.

“I think we can always improve,” defenseman Nick Leddy said. “I thought [Game 4] was a very complete game for us, for the most part. They’re a very good team, they’re going to get chances here and there but just trying to limit those high-risk chances and trying to take away the time and space as much as possible.”

Instead, the Penguins consistently beat the Islanders to the puck through the first 40 minutes.

Evgeni Malkin’s power-play goal off a crisp passing sequence from Bryan Rust and Letang gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 8:20 of the first period as he beat Sorokin to the near side from the left circle.

By then, Sorokin had already denied Teddy Blueger on two shots at the crease at 3:17 and Rust from in tight at 6:37 after defenseman Scott Mayfield inexplicably tried to pass the puck off the endboard and it deflected directly in front of the Islanders’ net.

Sorokin also stopped Blueger from close range at 13:44 of the first period.

“I think it just shows his confidence in his game and the guys around him, as well,” Leddy said of Sorokin. “I think it resonates with us, too, in having complete confidence in him.”

Then, within the first 61 seconds of a second period in which the Islanders were outshot 20-4, Sorokin had to make two-on-one saves on Sidney Crosby and Brandon Tanev, stretching out his right leg to stop the latter.

The Islanders failed to generate a shot on their first power play, with Sorokin having to deny Jeff Carter on a shorthanded one-on-three rush. Later, the Islanders would have a three-on-one shorthanded rush with defenseman Andy Greene off for high-sticking but Pageau could not connect on a pass to defenseman Adam Pelech.

The Penguins gained more momentum from their penalty kill and Rust regained a 2-1 lead at 7:37 on a screened slap shot from the right point to the far post.

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.