Pittsburgh, gearing for a run at the Stanley Cup, welcomed star forward Jarome Iginla to the lineup, but lost Sidney Crosby early in the first period after he was hit in the mouth with a puck.

Still, the Penguins managed to overcome the injury to Crosby on Saturday for their 15th straight victory as Matt Cooke and James Neal scored third-period goals during a 2-0 victory against the New York Islanders.

“It’s very tough to see that happen to anybody on the ice, but this is your teammate and Sid’s such a great player,” Iginla said. “It’s a very, very unfortunate play.”

Tomas Vokoun made 35 saves as Pittsburgh moved within two wins of the NHL record of 17 straight victories set by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins.

“The shutout is nice, but preserving the winning streak is even better,” Vokoun said. “It’s been great.”

It might be tough without Crosby.

Coach Dan Bylsma said Crosby lost several teeth and needed oral surgery. He did not know if Crosby would miss additional time and wasn’t sure if the injury affected his jaw.

“I just know he had some issues with his teeth,” Bylsma said. “Just from the replay I know that.”

Crosby, with 15 goals and 56 points, has enjoyed a resurgence this season, leading Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos by 10 points in the NHL scoring race.

Another head injury for Crosby, however, has to concern the Penguins.

Crosby has missed considerable time the past two years because of concussions. He was sidelined the final 41 games in 2011 and the Stanley Cup playoffs, and skipped most of the 2012 regular season as symptoms lingered.

“I think every time that type of thing happens to a player you think about it,” Bylsma said.

Crosby skated off the ice with a towel covering his mouth after a slap shot by teammate Brooks Orpik deflected off a stick and hit the NHL scoring leader in the face. Crosby, who immediately fell to the ice and tossed his stick in the air, did not return.

“When you see the replay, he had no chance to move,” Iginla said. “Guys were definitely checking to see how he was doing.”

Pittsburgh went 15-0-0 in March, the first perfect month in league history. The Penguins also won a franchise-best 12th straight at home.

The Penguins, with a win at home against Buffalo on Tuesday, will have a chance to tie the record of 17 straight wins the following night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

As it stands, they’re tied with the 1981-82 Islanders for the second longest winning streak in NHL history.

“It’s exciting for our team, exciting for the players,” Neal said. “We want to keep the streak going.”

Iginla, a six-time All-Star, was acquired by the Penguins from Calgary early Thursday and he arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday night. He was in the lineup a game earlier than originally anticipated.

The move for Iginla, who waived his no-trade clause to come to Pittsburgh, was the Penguins’ third big deal in a week. Pittsburgh also obtained former Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow and defenseman Doug Murray from San Jose.

The record crowd at Consol Energy Center responded with a huge ovation when Iginla was announced as part of the starting lineup.

Iginla, who played right wing for most of his career in Calgary, skated the left side on a line with reigning NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin and Neal, an All-Star forward.

The excitement quickly turned to concern 1:28 into the game when Crosby left the ice.

Pittsburgh appeared stunned without its captain, and the Islanders took advantage, getting the first eight shots of the game, but came up empty against Vokoun.

Vokoun earned his second consecutive shutout. Vokoun who hasn’t been scored on in more than 162 minutes, relieved injured starter Marc-Andre Fleury during a 1-0 victory Tuesday against Montreal.

Vokoun’s biggest save came in the third period, stopping Islanders speedy forward Michael Grabner on a breakaway.

Cooke scored his sixth goal of the season at 8:10, picking up the rebound from defenseman Deryk Engelland’s shot at the top of the crease, and firing a spinning shot behind Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

“I went to the net and the puck hit me in the stomach,” Cooke said. “I stayed with it, tried to settle it and get it on net.”

Neal scored at 13:04, firing a wrist shot past Nabokov. It was his 18th goal.

The Islanders entered Saturday’s game tied with the New York Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Islanders, who handed Pittsburgh one of four losses on home ice, ended up losing for the third time during the Penguins’ 15-game winning streak.

“They’ve proven they can play without Crosby or Malkin, so it’s not so much that,” Islanders forward John Tavares said. “It’s more about us and executing and doing what we need to do to win hockey games.”

The Penguins received the biggest boost from their penalty kill.

Chris Kunitz, the team’s second-leading scorer, was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct late in the second period for checking Islanders center Josh Bailey from behind.

Bailey initiated contact, but Kunitz got the better of the play, sending Bailey dangerously into the boards. Bailey did not return.

“I saw the hit, I’m not going to comment on the hit,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “Fortunately (Bailey) is OK, but obviously stiff.”

The major penalty turned into a two-man advantage for the Islanders three minutes later when Orpik was whistled for tripping, but Pittsburgh successfully killed off both penalties.

“We had blocked shots, clears, we won some battles at the net,” Bylsma said. “That’s a long time to kill a 5-on-3 against a really good power play team.”

“Every time we get a big kill, it’s the loudest our crowd has been,” Cooke said. “The crowd was intense and it definitely energized us.”

Game notes

The Penguins have allowed nine goals in their past 11 games. … Paul Martin will have surgery Sunday on a broken bone and will miss six weeks. The Penguins are already without Kris Letang, the NHL’s leading scorer among defenseman, who is out seven to 10 days with a broken toe. … Orpik appeared in his 621st career game, tying Ron Stackhouse for fifth on the team’s games played list and first among defensemen.

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Now, it’s Crosby’s turn to return the favor.

Crosby had two goals and an assist to lead Pittsburgh past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Sunday night in the Penguins’ first game since reigning MVP Malkin was injured.

“They’re a dangerous team, so we wanted to make sure we played in their end as much as we could,” Crosby said. “They don’t need much room in order to create chances.”

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Malkin was diagnosed with a concussion after slamming back-first into the end boards during Friday night’s win over Florida.

Bylsma said Malkin, whose head snapped back when he hit the boards, initially suffered short-term memory loss, but he is improving. Still, Malkin will not join the team when it begins a three-game road swing Tuesday.

“He’s feeling fine and his memory is returning,” Bylsma said.

James Neal, Malkin’s regular linemate, played alongside Crosby and Chris Kunitz against the Lightning. Neal is tied for second in the league in goals.

Beau Bennett scored his first career goal on the power play to help Pittsburgh take over sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. Matt Cooke and defenseman Paul Martin each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who have won five of six to tie Montreal for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Steven Stamkos had a three-point night for Tampa Bay, with his 13th goal and two assists. Stamkos and John Tavares of the New York Islanders are tied for the NHL lead in goals.

Cory Conacher, the NHL’s leading scorer among rookies, and defenseman Eric Brewer also scored for the Lightning, who are tied with Carolina for first place in the Southeast Division.

Stamkos, with 29 points, is one ahead of Crosby for the NHL scoring lead.

“You can’t give a team like that a three-goal lead in the first,” Stamkos said. “We made a game of it, we did a lot of positive things, but we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Marc-Andre Fleury, tied for first in the league with 10 wins, won his fifth straight game.

Anders Lindback started in goal for the Lightning and allowed three first-period goals on 10 shots before he was replaced at the start of the second by Mathieu Garon.

Tampa Bay, which outshot Pittsburgh 30-22, nearly crawled out of the 3-0 first-period hole with two goals early in the second period. The Lightning scored another in the third after the Penguins’ second-period power-play goal, cutting the deficit to 4-3, but Tampa Bay, which scored four goals in the third period during a 5-2 win one night earlier at Carolina, couldn’t complete the comeback.

“We’re the No. 1 team in the league for comebacks after two periods the last three years and we proved again why,” Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. “It’s just we can’t dig ourselves that big of a hole early, especially in a back-to-back.”

Crosby faced the Lightning for the first time since absorbing a check into the glass from Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman two years ago. It was a hit that contributed to the concussion problems that plagued the Penguins’ captain, forcing him to miss the final 41 games of the that regular season, the Stanley Cup playoffs, and most of last season as symptoms lingered.

Those days appear behind Crosby, who has 21 points in his last 12 games. The Penguins’ captain put his team ahead early with two goals less than 8 minutes into the game.

The first one came just 1:16 in. Crosby took a pass from Kunitz, skated alone down the left side and roofed a short-side wrist shot over Lindback’s shoulder from the faceoff dot.

Crosby’s second goal came 6 minutes later. Lindback had trouble trying to glove Martin’s shot from the point. Crosby got a stick on the puck, which bounced between Lindback’s legs and into the net after the Lightning goalie kicked it in.

Martin scored with 33 seconds left in the first period, tapping the rebound from Cooke’s initial shot into a partially empty net to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead.

The Lightning, after a dismal opening period, needed just 3:14 to score twice in the second.

Brewer got the first one 1:37 into the period on a tip-in from Stamkos, who followed it up by scoring the second — his fifth straight game with a goal — just 20 seconds into a two-man advantage.

Stamkos, with Pittsburgh’s Simon Despres and Craig Adams in the penalty box, wasted little time scoring on the power play, ripping a one-timer from the left side past Fleury to make it 3-2.

“They got right back into it and our three-goal lead evaporated,” Bylsma said. “I like how we stabilized the ship.”

The Penguins regained a two-goal lead, scoring on their own two-man advantage. It was the 11th straight game in which they scored a power-play goal, and the first time in five games Tampa Bay allowed a goal with the man advantage.

Kris Letang rushed to keep the puck in the zone at the blue line, sending a spinning pass to Crosby, who set up Bennett’s first NHL goal, a one-timer past Garon.

“Beau was in a good spot there,” Crosby said. “He’s a pretty gifted player, he has a lot of talent and he found the open lane.”

Conacher scored 3:15 into the third period, one-touching Hedman’s pass past Fleury to make it 4-3. But the Lightning, whose 32 third-period goals rank No. 1 in the NHL, couldn’t forge a tie despite Hedman’s near miss in the final minute.

“They’re a good team that has great offense and it’s going to bite you if you give them the puck, and that’s what happened tonight,” Boucher said.

Game notes

Crosby moved into third all-time in team history with 637 points, behind Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. … Cooke got his 200th career assist on Martin’s goal. … Both teams play again Tuesday. Tampa Bay returns home to host Buffalo, while Pittsburgh opens a three-game road trip at Florida. In an odd scheduling quirk, the Penguins’ next home game is March 4 against Tampa Bay.

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