Holmstrom scores go-ahead goal in Isles' win over Penguins. Sorokin stops Crosby's late penalty shot

NEW YORK (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Ilya Sorokin stopped Sidney Crosby on a late penalty shot and the playoff-bound New York Islanders edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Samuel Bolduc and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist, and Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who ended the regular season having won eight of their last nine (8-0-1). Ruslan Iskhakov had his first NHL assist in his debut.

Sorokin finished with 39 saves, including one on Crosby in the final minute when the Penguins were awarded a penalty shot.

The Islanders, who finished third in the Metropolitan Division, open the playoffs Saturday at Carolina.

Pittsburgh's Jeff Carter had a goal in what was likely his final game in the NHL. Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin and Valtteri Puustinen also scored for the Penguins. Crosby had two assists and ended the season with 94 points — 42 goals and 52 assists.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves, but the Penguins failed to reach the postseason for the second straight season.

With the game tied at 4, Holmstrom wired a wrist shot from the faceoff circle past the blocker of Nedeljkovic and the Islanders regained a one-goal lead at 14:27 of the third period.

The goal came after the 39-year-old Carter finished a feed from Crosby to tie it at 4 at 10:56 of the third.

Nelson finished a pretty feed from Holmstrom to open the scoring at 4:56 of the first period.

Rakell evened it at 1 when he beat Sorokin with a soft wrister near the blue line late in the first.

Penguins took their first lead of the game when Crosby found Malkin near the far post as Pittsburgh capitalized on the power play. The goal was reviewed for a kicking motion, but was ruled a good goal per the officials.

Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov craftily kept the puck in the offensive zone and fired a shot that Cizikas redirected past Nedeljkovic to tie it at 2 at 13:19 of the second.

Puustinen gave Pittsburgh a short-lived one-goal advantage when he stole the puck from New York defenseman Adam Pelech and rifled a shot past Sorokin at 14:37.

Palmieri reached the 30-goal milestone for the second time in his NHL career, tying it at 3 in the final minute of the second.

Bolduc’s shot inadvertently deflected off Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea and past Nedeljkovic to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead 1:36 into the third. Ryan Pulock and Iskhakov assisted on the go-ahead power-play goal.

NOTES: New York's Jean-Gabriel Pageau left midway through the first and did not return. ... Oliver Wahlstrom and Samuel Bolduc also returned to the Islanders' lineup. Mathew Barzal, Pierre Engvall, Hudson Fasching and Anders Lee did not dress.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Head into the offseason.

Islanders: Visit Carolina on Saturday to begin their first-round playoff series.

—

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New York Islanders' Samuel Bolduc, right, celebrates his goal with Casey Cizikas, center, during the third period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders' Simon Holmstrom, left, and Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby scuffle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Rickard Rakell, left, celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with Michael Bunting during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders' Ruslan Iskhakov, left, talks with Sebastian Aho during a break during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders' Casey Cizikas (53) celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with Bo Horvat (14) and Alexander Romanov during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) lays a hit on New York Islanders' Sebastian Aho during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders' Ruslan Iskhakov slips as he reaches for the puck during the second period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with teammates, including Sidney Crosby, third from right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Islanders' Kyle Palmieri, right, celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with Samuel Bolduc during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.

His remarks will be closely watched after he received a $9,000 fine for making public statements about people connected to the case. In imposing the fine for posts on Trump's Truth Social account and campaign website, Judge Juan M. Merchan said that if Trump continued to violate his orders, he “will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

The former president is trying to achieve a balancing act unprecedented in American history by running for a second term as the presumptive Republican nominee while also fighting felony charges in New York. Trump frequently goes after Merchan, prosecutors and potential witnesses at his rallies and on social media, attack lines that play well with his supporters but that have potentially put him in legal jeopardy.

Trump insists he is merely exercising his free speech rights, but the offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website were taken down. Merchan is weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will hear arguments on Thursday.

Trump appeared frustrated after the ninth day of the trial came to an end, saying he should be out in Georgia and New Hampshire instead of sitting in court.

“They don’t want me on the campaign trail,” he told reporters.

Trump has often called this case and other criminal cases against him “election interference,” saying they keep him from campaigning for the presidential election in November.

The gag order barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his hush money case.

Manhattan prosecutors have argued Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and then burying stories. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s visits to Wisconsin and Michigan mark his second trip to the swing states in just a month. For the last rallies, the former president largely focused on immigration referring to people who are in the U.S. illegally and who are suspected of crimes as “animals.”

Wisconsin and Michigan are among a handful of battleground states expected to decide the 2024 election.

For Trump to win both states, he must do well in suburban areas like the areas outside of Milwaukee and Saginaw, Michigan, where he will hold Wednesday's rallies. He underperformed in suburban areas during this year's primary even as he dominated the Republican field overall.

Trump has repeatedly falsely said that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Trump’s losses in battleground states in 2020 have withstood recounts, audits and reviews by the Justice Department and outside observers.

Gomez Licon reported from Miami, and Price reported from Freeland, Mich.

Follow the AP's coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside the courtroom of his trial at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)