The Penguins won in a shootout against the New York Islanders Friday night, 4-3, clinching home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Mike Rupp scored first for the Penguins midway through the first period, and Zbynek Michalek scored his fifth goal of the season to put the Pens up 2-0. Blake Comeau then scored two goals for the Islanders, one on the power play, to tie the game. Mark Letestu answered midway through the third period, but Travis Hamonic scored just before the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. The game headed into a shootout from there, and Chris Kunitz was the only player from the two teams to score.
The Philadelphia Flyers lost to Buffalo in overtime Friday night, as well, tying the Penguins and Flyers with 104 points each. If the Pens can overtake the Flyers, they’ll get the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but first, the Flyers will have to lose to the Islanders on Saturday, because Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh.