Tensions heated up in the third period between the Penguins and Islanders, as all 10 skaters on the ice were thrown in the penalty box after a scrum in Thursday’s Game 3.
                                 Frank Franklin II | AP photo

Pens survive wild 3rd period, beat Isles for series lead

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — It was anxiety overload, but the Penguins got it done.

Brandon Tanev batted a puck past Semyon Varlamov with 3:36 left in regulation to give the Penguins a 5-4 win over the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday. The thrilling win gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Game 4 of the series is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m. here on Long Island.

The Penguins appeared to be taking control of the game and the series when Jeff Carter and Jason Zucker got goals a few minutes apart in the second period. But Cal Clutterbuck and Anthony Beauvillier scored early in the third to tie it 3-3.

Clutterbuck potted a loose puck 3:46 into the third. The Penguins were scrambling on that play in part because John Marino lost his helmet and was required to skate to the bench. Cody Ceci couldn’t arrive in time to lift Clutterbuck’s stick.

About a minute later, capacity limits were stretched in the two penalty boxes.

At the end of a mad scramble in front of Tristan Jarry, all 10 skaters on the ice wrestled in the corner. Sidney Crosby jumped on top of Kyle Palmieri. Jake Guentzel jostled with Nick Leddy. Kris Letang’s long locks were all over the place.

When everyone got untangled and headed to the box — yes, all five guys on each team took a seat — Beauvillier scored on the ensuing Islanders power play.

The two-goal lead had evaporated. It felt like the Nassau Coliseum was shaking. And five of Pittsburgh’s top players were crammed inside a penalty box.

It was moments like that the Penguins had in mind when they made the move to land Carter, with his two Cups and silent swagger, at the trade deadline.

Carter scored 66 seconds later to put the Penguins back on top. But Clutterbuck got his second of the night when an errant shot hit him and dropped in.

In the first two games of the series, the Penguins did an excellent job of neutralizing the Islanders’ forecheck. But the Islanders finally flustered them into a goal off of a botched Penguins breakout, with Clutterbuck scoring with 5:43 left.

But Tanev would get the last laugh as the Penguins took control of the series.

Good vibes were flowing when the Penguins first arrived at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday morning. The players, pounded 118 total times by the Islanders in the first two games of the series, felt refreshed after coach Mike Sullivan canceled practice a day earlier. And the looming return of Malkin uplifted them, too.

At the morning skate, Malkin appeared to be soaking in the moment, often glancing up at the blue-and-orange bangers dangling from the rafters. Malkin, who hadn’t played since May 8 due to a knee injury, joked with teammates, taunted goalies and even startled a PR staffer by tomahawking his stick on the glass.

“Obviously, he’s a huge difference-maker out there. He’s one of the best players in the world,” John Marino said after the skate. “It’ll be great to have him in the room, just his energy. I’m sure everyone will be fired up to have him back.”

Even with Nassau Coliseum at 50% capacity, the Penguins expected another rude welcome from rowdy Islanders fans, some of whom started chugging beers a few hours before the 7 p.m. puck-drop. For the players left over from the 2019 playoffs, memories of the frantic first minutes of that Game 1 remain fresh.

“We know it’s a lively crowd. It’s a raucous building,” Sullivan said before Game 3. “They’ve got a passionate fan base and it’s one of those buildings [where] there’s a lot of energy in it. … We’re certainly going to look to embrace it.”

Given their surroundings, the Penguins placed even more emphasis on starting strong again — control territory from the jump, pepper Semyon Varlamov, try to match the physicality of the Islanders and keep the pressure on them.

Mission accomplished. Plus, the Penguins quieted the crowd, or at least had Long Islanders muttering for a few seconds, by scoring on the game’s first shot.

Letang sprinted to just barely keep the puck inside the blue line then flung it at the goal. It caromed off of defenseman Ryan Pulock and through Varlamov.

The Penguins played a tight defensive game in the first period. The only sustained Islanders pressure came when Malkin and four others just couldn’t get a clear and get off the ice. But three blocks in quick succession kept the lead intact.

The Islanders ratcheted up the pressure in the second period. Scott Mayfield tied the score midway through the period when he faked a shot and dragged the puck around Zach Aston-Reese before sniping Jarry through a screen.

But in the final 10 minutes of the period, Pittsburgh’s forward depth paid off.

Carter, who leads the Penguins in scoring since he was acquired before the April 12 trade deadline, caught Varlamov leaning and beat him on his blocker side.

A few minutes later, Zucker scored on a sneaky shot from the slot to blow the game open. His sense of relief could be felt all the way up in the upper deck.

Zucker hasn’t lived up to expectations in Pittsburgh and found himself skating on the fourth line the first two games of the series. When he stepped onto the ice at the morning skate, Sullivan called the winger over for a quiet chat.

Sullivan would later rattle off all the little things that Zucker does to help the team. Add that goal, in a give-and-go off the cycle game with Malkin, to the list.

Malkin in his return logged 11:41 of ice time and picked up that assist.