Penguins 4, Islanders 0

Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh Penguins back quickly from a disappointing defeat at home.

Crosby had a goal and three assists, Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the season and Pittsburgh beat the Islanders Friday night.

Daniel Sprong had two goals and an assist, Evgeni Malkin also scored and Dominik Simon added two assists for the Penguins, who had dropped four of six and were coming off a 4-0 loss to Carolina on Thursday night.

"We had a quick turnaround and that was fresh in our minds. I thought we responded well," Crosby said. "It felt like we were all more on the same page. ... We knew how important this game was and we came in here and had a strong game."

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions pulled within one point of the Hurricanes for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

"As you get closer to the playoffs, the games get tighter and the stakes get higher," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We've got to have a playoff mindset right now and I thought we had that tonight."

With the Penguins ahead 3-0, Jarry stopped a slap shot by Ryan Pulock two minutes into the third period, and then another attempt by the forward from the inside edge of the right circle 90 seconds later. Jarry also denied a tip by Jordan Eberle a little more than 5 1/2 minutes in and a try in front by Brock Nelson 20 seconds later.

Jarry, who improved to 7-3-2 with a 2.17 goals-against average in 14 games this season, was pleased with the way he played after leaving with a wrist injury late in the second period of the Penguins' 5-1 win at Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

"I wanted to come back and have a good game. I think that helps a lot," he said. "We had a couple of guys step up tonight. ... That's huge to get offense throughout the whole team and have the whole team working."

Sprong got his second goal with 6 1/2 minutes to go, beating Jaroslav Halak in the top left corner.

Halak finished with 31 saves as the Islanders lost their season-high fifth straight — all in regulation. They've been outscored 25-8 during the skid.

"I've been concerned for a few weeks," New York coach Doug Weight said. "It's a concerning time. We looked tired at times. Jarry played really well. We have to recharge and get revamped."

The Islanders lost right wing Josh Bailey to a lower-body injury early in the first period and he did not return. Bailey leads the team with 38 assists and is tied with captain John Tavares for tops with 50 points.

After a scoreless first period, the Penguins scored three times in the second while outshooting the Islanders 18-8.

Sprong got the Penguins on the scoreboard 41 seconds in as Crosby brought the puck up the left side and passed it through sliding Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy to Sprong, who tapped it past Halak for his first goal in his fourth game this season.

"I just saw him go 2-on-1 with me," Sprong said of Crosby. "I just wanted to go hard to the net and keep my stick on the ice and he put it right on my tape."

After Pulock was whistled for tripping Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play took advantage. Malkin got a pass from Crosby at the right faceoff dot and fired a one-timer past Halak to make it 2-0 with his 15th at 3:30.

Crosby made it 3-0 with 4:10 left in the middle period as he got the puck on a rebound off the end boards and put it in off Halak's left hip from behind the goal line for his 15th.

"We played fast, we generated a lot of shots, a lot of opportunities," Crosby said. "That's more of the way we need to play."

New York had a two-man advantage for 1:16 late in the second, but couldn't get anything past Jarry on a pair of scrambles in close.

Pittsburgh outshot New York 13-8 in the first period. The Penguins were outshot 7-1 over the first 9 1/2 minutes before picking up the intensity.

Jarry had a stellar sliding save on an attempt by Casey Cizikas on an Islanders 3-on-1 break with 1 1/2 minutes left in the opening period.

Knights 5, Blackhawks 4

Reilly Smith had a goal and two assists, and Vegas beat Chicago for its ninth win in 10 games.

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist as expansion Vegas won in its first trip to Chicago. Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin also scored, and Malcolm Subban made 28 saves.

The game was tied at 4 when Smith stole a pass and beat Jeff Glass on a breakaway for his 11th of the season 13:53 into the third.

Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and two assists for Chicago, which was coming off a 2-3-1 trip. Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist, and Glass finished with 38 stops. Patrick Sharp and Nick Schmaltz also scored for the Blackhawks.

Red Wings 4, Panthers 2

Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist scored in the third period to lift Detroit over Florida for its fourth straight victory.

The Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and had been outplayed for most of the night, but Mantha gave Detroit the lead back on the power play, and Nyquist added a breakaway goal with 4:38 remaining.

Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Red Wings. Mike Matheson and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who had their game at Boston on Thursday night postponed because of severe weather. They were able to make it from there to Detroit to play Friday's game as scheduled.

Jets 4, Sabres 3

Blake Wheeler and Jacob Trouba each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg topped Buffalo, extending its point streak to five games.

Wheeler has a point in five straight games, with five goals and three assists during that span. All five of those goals have been scored in the four games the right wing has played at center in place of injured Mark Scheifele.

The Jets are 4-0-1 in their last five and 24-11-7 overall, good for first place in the Central Division — one point ahead of idle St. Louis.

Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored his first goal of the season in his 30th game. It was his second game back after missing 10 with a lower-body injury.

Bryan Little also scored for the Jets, who are 15-3-1 at home. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves and improved to 22-4-6.

Marco Scandella, Scott Wilson and Johan Larsson scored for the struggling Sabres.

Senators 6, Sharks 5 (OT)

Matt Duchene scored his second goal of the game seven seconds into overtime and Ottawa capped a four-goal comeback with a win over San Jose.

Down 5-2 to start the third period, the Senators got goals from Derick Brassard, Duchene and Mike Hoffman. Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone also scored for Ottawa, and Craig Anderson made 30 saves.

Hoffman and Duchene raced for a 2-on-1 off the OT faceoff, and Hoffman slipped a backhand pass across the slot to Duchene, who pushed the puck past goalie Aaron Dell.

Tomas Hertl led the Sharks with two goals. Melker Karlsson, Chris Tierney and Brett Burns also scored. Dell stopped 37 shots.