Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders: From Rivalry to one the Greatest Comeback for the Islanders to win OT
- Feb 7
- 4 min read
Brett and I always wanted to go to a Penguins and Islanders Game at UBS Arena.
There’s something different about a rivalry night when the building is buzzing before the puck even drops. Seeing the Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders, you can feel the history in the air the kind of matchup where every shift matters and the crowd hangs on every rush up the ice. Inside UBS Arena, the energy was electric from warmups through the final horn, with fans on their feet and the tension building as the game tightened. Brett and I have been to an Islanders game many times but we haven’t been to a Penguins Islanders game since 2013 at the Nassau Coliseum good times but now it’s a new story of rival where we get to finally witness the both of them play UBS Arena home of the New York Islanders.
The match started off with the Penguins going for a strong start taking control of the puck. The Islanders tried to rebound the puck and had their first shares with the shots on goals. With 7 minutes left of the 1st Period, Anthony of the (Penguins) Snap shot from the slot after a setup pass from Justin Brazeau as they took the lead 1-0. Before the Islanders took control, their was a honor of Ken Morrow the Islanders legend and cheered for him. Not too long, Bo Horvat of the (Islanders) Backhand on a rebound in front as the Assist from Anders Lee to tied the game score at 1-1. There was excitement as soon as the Islanders scored. When it was 3 seconds left Matthew Schaefer of the (Islanders) made an incredible Slap shot from the point through traffic. The fans went wild as ther was great assists from Ondrej Palat and Bo Horvat. The New York Islanders ended the 1st Period with the lead of 2-1. When it was done, I was ready to go to the Heineken Terrace to enjoyed the music and the people to socialize and dance with.
I went to the Heineken Bar during between intermission and I loved it there because it has a DJ the music was great and it has a garden to watch the view of the east side of the Arena from the view of Hempstead Tpke and the front view of the drop off area.
When I got back to my seat, I wasn’t too thrilled when Yegor Chinakhov of the Penguins Snap shot from the left hash marks on a cross-ice feed. There was incredible assists from Tommy Novak and Erik Karlsson helped the Penguins tied it at 2-2. The Pittsburgh Penguins took full control and Brett was excited about the Penguins taking control. Bryan Rust of the Penguins took a Wrist shot that banked in off the goalie from behind the net. Sidney Crosby and Ilya Solovyov helped out to give The Penguins the lead 3-2. I went to the Isles Shop to get a high quality sweatshirt with the Lighthouse logo which it looked amazing.
After a deflect of disappointment, I went back to the Bar to forget about the moment for a while as the Music helped me get back into my system of expectations. I also ran into a friend of mine from High School which I chatted for a while and life’s moments. After that, I went back to the dance floor by the DJ and fans used the scarf to play limbo as it was fun. I lasted through the moment until the 3rd Period started.
When the 3rd started, I walked around inside of UBS before I got myself a treat. When I was getting ready to go upstairs, I heard the horn as the echo of fans cheering. I was happy to hear the fans celebrated the 3rd goal to leveled off with Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders with a Slap shot one-timer from inside the blue line with the assist from Adam Pelech. When I got back to my seat, the Pittsburgh Penguins took the lead back as Justin Brazeau Tip-in redirection from the slot on a point shot thanks to the assist from Brett Kulak. The Penguins took the lead 4-3 with 10 minutes remaining of the game. with under 5 minutes left, Ryan Pulock of the Islanders took a Snap shot from above the left face-off circle. The fans went electric thanks from the assists by Mathew Barzal and Simon Holmstrom. UBS Arena went wild with an almost sold out crowd as fans were getting excited to hopefully get the wake up call.
Just 19 seconds after Pulock’s tying goal, the Penguins had a scramble in front where the puck appeared to cross the line, but after video review, the call on the ice was confirmed as no goal, the puck didn’t fully cross the Islanders’ goal line. That would’ve been Pittsburgh’s 5th and a huge late lead, but instead, it stayed tied and headed to OT
This was the first time that the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins has faced against each other in overtime since 2013 at Nassau Coliseum. The Penguins had most of control in the first 30 seconds as the Islanders stayed on their defense side. The Penguins were about to take the target until it was tripped over as Mathew Barzal and Matthew Schaefer team up to assist the puck to Bo Horvat as fans stand up to see the Snap shot top-shelf on a breakaway. Bo Horvat scored the winning goal as it became one of the most thrilling goals in Overtime History. It was one of the best Islanders game ever this season. The New York Islanders won 5-4 OT.
Even though the Penguins won OT 5-4 in 2013 at the Nassau Coliseum, but this time it was in reversed that the Islanders won OT 5-4 in 2026 at UBS Arena. It was one of the greatest comebacks that I’ve ever witnessed in New York Islanders history. I hope this year the New York Islanders will win the Metropolitan division title and they could finally go on the banner if it becomes a real reality. Let’s go Islanders. Yes! Yes! Yes! 💙🧡🏒
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