Penguins Defeat Islanders in Overtime to Take 2-1 Series Lead Ben Solomon for The New York Times Chris Kunitz celebrated with teammates after his overtime goal gave the Penguins a victory in Game 3 of their series with the Islanders. UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz is exceptionally glad that Sidney Crosby is back on the ice. So are his teammates, who escaped with a win Sunday over the pesky Islanders. Crosby set up three goals, including Kunitz's power-play winner at 8 minutes 44 seconds of overtime, as the Penguins earned a 5-4 victory, taking a lead of two games to one in their opening-round playoff series. "It's great to have Sid back out there," said Kunitz, who led the Penguins with 22 goals in the regular season. He set me up on a tee in overtime. To get that goal feels really good. We fought hard for this win. Crosby returned for Game 2 on Friday after being out since March 30 with a broken jaw. He scored two goals in that game, but the Islanders rallied to win, 4-3. On Sunday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum, with raucous fans watching the Islanders" first home playoff game since 2007, Crosby found a way to extract a clutch win for his team, which had the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference. He assisted on first-period goals by Jarome Iginla and Pascal Dupuis, helping the Penguins take a 3-2 lead after the Islanders had scored twice in the first six minutes. In overtime, the smooth-skating Crosby drew a holding penalty on Islanders defenseman Brian Strait, then set up Kunitz for the winner. It was Kunitz's second goal of the game and Pittsburgh's sixth power-play goal in 13 chances during the series. "The only way to win in the playoffs is the hard way," said the 25-year-old Crosby, who led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009. Obviously it is emotional in overtime. You have to go through tough games like this to be successful. After the Islanders took a 2-0 lead, Pittsburgh answered with two power-play goals 19 seconds apart. Dupuis gave the Penguins a lead with a minute left in the first, knocking a rebound past goalie Evgeni Nabokov for his third goal of the series. Defenseman Douglas Murray made the score 4-2 late in the second period, but the Islanders did not relent, and the Penguins squandered a two-goal lead of their own. Kyle Okposo's short-handed goal at 5:31 of the third rejuvenated the crowd after the Penguins had seemingly taken control of the game. Okposo, who had scored the winner in Game 2 at Pittsburgh, took a pass from Frans Nielsen and skated in alone on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, beating him low to the glove side and cutting Pittsburgh's lead to 4-3. John Tavares, the first overall draft pick in 2009 by the Islanders, tied the score at 10:48 with his first career playoff goal. "You have to give the Islanders credit; they showed no quit," said Iginla, who joined Pittsburgh in a late-season trade with Calgary. They get up two early; we come back. Then we get up two, and they come back. Tavares said his team would learn and move on to the next game. "We showed good fight; we played a good game," Tavares said. That was a tough call in overtime, but that's part of the game. We need to regroup and come back strong in Game 4. Game 3 featured drastic momentum swings, starting with the Islanders dominating the Penguins for the first 10 minutes. Matt Moulson opened the scoring when he banged a rebound past Fleury at 1:43. The Islanders continued to swarm, making it 2-0 when Casey Cizikas fired the puck past Fleury at 5:41. The announced capacity crowd of 16,170, waving orange towels, roared as the Islanders applied pressure, outshooting the Penguins by 10-4 at one point. "The crowd was electric; we could all feel it," said Islanders Coach Jack Capuano, who declined to comment on the penalty called on his team in overtime. We pushed the pace and didn't stand around. The Penguins, who led the N.H.L. with 165 goals in the abbreviated 48-game regular season, altered the dynamic of the game when Islanders defensemen Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic were serving penalties midway through the first period. Pittsburgh wasted little time during the two-man advantage. Iginla tipped in a Kris Letang slap shot at 13:18 to make the score 2-1. Then, with a five-on-four advantage, Kunitz burst in alone on Nabokov and ripped a shot over his right shoulder 19 seconds later to tie the score. Despite trailing after the first period, the Islanders had a 13-8 shot advantage. "We knew the Islanders could be dangerous, and they gave us a lot to handle," Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma said. We have to learn there are many different ways to win in the playoffs. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum. "I'm not worried about our hockey team," Capuano said. They are learning about the ups and downs of the playoffs. We will come back and play the same way we've been playing all year.