National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 4, NY Islanders 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 9, 2025
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: Mitch Dunning, Gord Dwyer
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Michel Cormier
Attendance: 16107

Justin Brazeau scored the go-ahead goal with 5:39 remaining in the third period, helping the host Pittsburgh Penguins spoil the debut of top draft pick Matthew Schaefer with a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Evgeni Malkin's diagonal outlet pass sprung Brazeau to skate in and backhand the puck past Ilya Sorokin for his third goal of the season. Brazeau tallied twice in Pittsburgh's 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

Malkin collected three assists, captain Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell each had one goal and one assist and rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke also tallied to become the first South African-born skater to score a goal in the NHL.

Tristan Jarry turned aside 34 shots for the Penguins.

Schaefer, at 18 years and 34 days old, notched an assist on Jonathan Drouin's first-period goal to become the youngest defenseman in NHL history to collect a point in his NHL debut. The No. 1 overall pick is 12 days younger than Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer was when he set the previous mark on Oct. 16, 1991.

Kyle Palmieri and Maxim Shabanov each scored a goal and Sorokin made 24 saves in the Islanders' season opener.

With his team on a four-on-three advantage in the second period, Malkin gained possession of the puck just above the goal line. He alertly banked the puck off Crosby's stick as the latter went to a knee on the doorstep while fending off New York defenseman Ryan Pulock to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead at 8:58 of the period.

Shabanov unleashed a one-timer off a feed from Simon Holmstrom to forge a 3-3 tie with 41 seconds left in the second period.

Rakell poked home a loose puck to open the scoring at 3:23 of the first period before Schaefer recorded his first point to level the contest nearly nine minutes later. The rookie gained entry into the offensive zone and wired a sharp feed from the left circle to the slot for Drouin, who fluttered a shot past Jarry.

Palmieri wired a shot from the right circle that beat Jarry at 4:04 into the second period, but Brunicke answered 97 seconds later by depositing a drop pass from Filip Hallander past Sorokin for his first career NHL goal.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Pittsburgh
Jonathan Drouin 1 Points Evgeni Malkin 3
Jonathan Drouin 1 Goals Sidney Crosby 1
Mathew Barzal 1 Assists Evgeni Malkin 3
N/A Power Play Goals Sidney Crosby 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ilya Sorokin .857 Save Percentage Tristan Jarry .919
Ilya Sorokin 24 Saves Tristan Jarry 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 37 3 0-3 3-5 25 39
Pittsburgh 28 4 2-5 3-3 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Penguins have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against Washington. The Islanders have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.