Drive to the Net: Greiss' backhand swipe

NEW YORK --  Sidney Crosby has scored some truly remarkable goals on his backhand over the past week or two, including one for the ages in Edmonton.

None, however, would have been bigger than the one he didn't score Thursday night in overtime against the Metro Division rival Islanders at Barclays Center.

Who was that masked man who pokechecked the puck away from Crosby, with the game on his stick, on a clean breakaway with a little under two minutes remaining in overtime?

It looked a lot like Marc-Andre Fleury, rather than his backup in Pittsburgh during the 2014-15 season.

But, in fact, it was Thomas Greiss, who made the play of the night in the Islanders' 3-2 shootout win:

The play developed when Phil Kessel intercepted a Mathew Barzal pass in the Penguins' end and knocked an area pass out to center ice that Crosby chased down. With more than 110 feet to ponder the possibilities, Crosby opted for the backhand. Given his success with it over the years with it, why not?

But Greiss, clearly not content to wait and find out, elected late in the process -- just as Crosby was bursting across the left hash -- to make a daring dive forward and poke it away with a backhand maneuver of his own. Not only did Crosby not get a shot, but the puck was whacked all the way out of the New York zone.

"I don't remember him pokechecking too often, but it was a good read by him," Crosby said, referring back to Greiss' time in Pittsburgh. "I came down the side ... settled the puck down and picked my head up ... he was pretty quick with it."

Crosby might not remember it, but Greiss said he does work on his pokecheck in practice.

Did he have a book on his former teammate?

Not really, from the sound of it.

"You just read the play and go for it if you feel like it," Greiss said. "I don't think too many guys do it, so you have to mix it up every once in a while."

That save was one of two remarkable stops he made in overtime. Moments after stoning Crosby, he gloved a wrister from Phil Kessel in the high slot that was marked high glove. It was the second time in the game that Greiss robbed Kessel from that spot.

"We like our chances when two of those guys get open looks like they did," Mike Sullivan said of Crosby and Kessel. "They're elite players that have great finishing ability. Those were two big saves there."

But Greiss wasn't done there. In addition to the 29 saves he made in regulation and OT, he then thwarted all three of the Penguins' participants -- Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang -- in the shootout. The Islanders' Josh Bailey scored the lone goal.

If it wasn't for Robin Lehner going down with a strain after the second period Tuesday in Pittsburgh, a game Lehner and the Islanders won, 6-3, Greiss likely wouldn't have even played on Thursday.

Following the Islanders' fourth straight win, Barry Trotz said that Greiss "might have to carry the load here for a game or two."

"He played with a lot of confidence. I think we feed off that," Bailey said. "You could really tell he was in the zone tonight and probably the biggest reason we were able to win."

Five of the Penguins' first 11 games this season have gone beyond regulation. Thursday marked their second loss in a shootout, following a 4-3 loss at Montreal on Oct. 13.

Thursday, they had Greiss to blame.

"He played well," Crosby allowed. "But still, want to score that one."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY