PITTSBURGH — Jake Guentzel scored twice, Sidney Crosby also had a goal and the Penguins earned a playoff berth for the 16th straight season with a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Guentzel scored his 36th and 37th goals and Crosby his 29th as the Penguins extended the longest active postseason streak among teams in major North American professional sports.
Danton Heinen equaled a career high with his 16th goal, while Kris Letang and Brock McGinn also scored for Pittsburgh, which tied Calgary for the seventh-longest playoff streak in the NHL since 1967. Tristan Jarry made 36 saves for the Penguins, who have won two of three overall. Pittsburgh has 11 wins and points in 15 of its past 17 against the Islanders.
Zach Parise, Anders Lee and Zdeno Chara scored for the Islanders, who have lost three of their past five following a four-game winning streak. Ilya Sorokin stopped 22 shots.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the first nine minutes of the game for an early lead.
Letang beat Sorokin at 4:59 with a wrist shot from the left point and Heinen scored on a breakaway at 8:52.
Heinen just left the penalty box after a slashing call when he took a lead pass from Brian Boyle and beat Sorokin with a shot between the legs. Heinen has points in seven of 10 career games against the Islanders. Boyle has points in nine of his past 10 home games and Teddy Blueger established a career high in points with a secondary assist.
Parise cut the deficit in half at 5:51 of the second period. He took a pass from Mathew Barzal off the rush and sent a shot behind Jarry to put the Islanders on the board.
Guentzel regained Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead at 12:10 of the second. Guentzel, on a two-on-one, took a pass from Crosby and beat Sorokin with a blocker-side wrist shot.
Crosby and Guentzel combined for Pittsburgh’s fourth goal at 10:44 of the third period, following New York’s neutral-zone turnover. There was a slick passing sequence between the two on a two-on-none before Crosby finished it off with a slap shot from in close, cementing Pittsburgh’s return to the playoffs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.