NEW YORK -- Anders Lee was credited with the game-winning goal with 11:05 remaining in the third period Tuesday night as the surging New York Islanders edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 at Barclays Center.

The Islanders, fresh off the most successful seven-game road trip in franchise history (6-1-0), won four straight and 11 of 14 overall to improve to 37-20-7. With Tuesday's victory, they remained three points behind the second-place New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division and moved five points ahead of the fourth-place Penguins.

Kris Letang scored for the Penguins (34-24-8), who lost for the third time in five games, but remained the first wild card in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and three points ahead of the ninth-place Philadelphia Flyers.

Lee, who served as a screen when John Tavares scored the Islanders' first goal in the first period, was jostling for position with Letang in front of the net during a New York power play. Lee won the battle as teammate Nick Leddy wound up for a slap shot and the puck ticked off his stick as Letang tried to scramble back to his feet.

Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 31 saves before leaving with an injury with 4:17 left in the game. Backup Thomas Griess made two saves in relief.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury racked up 25 saves.

The crowd of 14,724 was whipped into a frenzy following a sequence of events that ended with Tavares' power play goal 8:04 into the first. During the stoppage necessitated by a hooking call on the Penguins' Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby exited to a chorus of boos due to an equipment issue.

The public address announcer was in the midst of explaining Hornqvist's penalty when Tavares' slap shot sailed under the right arm of Fleury, who was screened by Lee and the Penguins' Brian Dumoulin.

The Penguins tied the score at 13:13, when Letang took a pass from Crosby, skated up to the edge of the goalmouth to Halak's right and fired a shot over the goalie's head that bounced off crossbar and into the net.

NOTES: The Islanders scratched D Calvin De Haan (lower body), D Marek Zidlicky (undisclosed) as well as the healthy trio of RW Steve Bernier, G Jean-Francois Berube and LW Eric Boulton. ... The only other winning seven-game road trip for the Islanders took place last season, when they went 5-2-0 from Dec. 31, 2014 through Jan. 13, 2015. ... The Penguins scratched LW Carl Hagelin, who missed his second straight game following an on-ice collision Saturday against Calgary, as well as C Kevin Porter and D Derrick Pouliot. ... A pair of injured Penguins, RW Beau Bennett (upper body) and LW Eric Fehr (lower body) participated in morning skate. Head coach Mike Sullivan said both players could return Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.