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PITTSBURGH – Peter Laviolette held meetings with those Islanders he feels are “core players” Friday, players on his team that lead by example and had not done so through the first 17 games of the season.

“I’m counting on those same players that played hard last year and played hard in different games this year to grab hold of a rope and pull us out of it,” Laviolette said of the slump the Isles have been drowning in.

Last night it was some of those players – Chris Osgood, Adrian Aucoin, Alexei Yashin – that got the Islanders a much-needed 3-2 win over the Penguins.

There was no sluggish start, there was no blown lead and the Islanders didn’t spot the Penguins a multiple-goal advantage early on as they came out hard and kept on working, a refreshing change for Laviolette’s team.

The goaltending was also there to compliment the workers, as Osgood played his best game of the year, making 33 saves. He robbed Mario Lemieux twice from point-blank range, ex-teammate Dick Tarnstrom, and Jan Hrdina all alone in front to keep the Isles in it, even as they struggled to get the puck out of their own end at times.

“We were just asked to pick up our game to another level,” Osgood said of the meetings.

Oleg Kvasha, who should have worn a blue collar under his jersey the way he churned his legs, drew first blood on a mini-break Mattias Timander started with some grunt work on the wall. Yashin – double-shifted and logging 25:58 of ice – found Kvasha alone for the early lead at 7:24 of the opening period.

The 15,723 in attendance at the Igloo all got a free gallon of windshield wiper fluid when Alexei Kovalev stung the near, high corner on a 5-on-3 power play to tie it, 1-1, midway through the first.

As for the Isles, their power play wasn’t as effective as Pittsburgh’s, scoring on only their first of eight chances with the extra man.

Steve Webb did what he does best in blighting Michal Rozsival behind the Pittsburgh net on a wicked blind-side hit that dispatched enforcer Steve McKenna (unsportsmanlike conduct) after him, putting the Isles on their first power play of the night. Rozsival did not return, while Adrian Aucoin beat Johan Hedberg from the right point for a 2-1 lead with 2:57 left in the first.

“That’s why we all love Steve Webb,” Laviolette said.

Jason Wiemer made it 3-1 on a nasty snapshot over Hedberg’s glove at 6:00 of the third on some hard work from Jason Blake, who was all over Lemieux all night like a rash.

“I guess that’s what we asked for yesterday,” Laviolette said.