Game 4 Preview: Islanders at Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
GAME 4 | NYI LEADS SERIES 3-0
7:30 PM | PPG PAINTS ARENA
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ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Isles look to complete a 3-0 series sweep on Tuesday night at Pittsburgh. The last time the Isles swept was in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. Teams with a 3-0 series lead are 186-4 all time, but the Islanders are not expecting the Penguins to go quietly.
  "We've put ourselves in a great position and we want to continue to move forward," captain Anders Lee said. "This next one is going to be the toughest, we're going to see their best game and we're really going to have to step up, everyone in this room, top to bottom."
  - Jordan Eberle has been red hot since the start of playoffs. Eberle has a team-leading five points (3G, 2A) in the series. Eberle's only previous playoff experience was with Edmonton during the 2016-17 season where the winger posted two assists through 13 games. The 28-year-old is the first Islander to open a playoff run by scoring in three straight games since Ray Ferraro (1993 vs. Washington) and also joins Ferraro as the only players in Isles history to score in their first three playoff games with the team.
  - Brock Nelson scored his second goal of the series. In 21 career playoff games, the 27-year-old has nine points (5G, 4A).
  - Leo Komarov scored his first-career playoff goal in the win. Komarov has played in a total of 18 playoff games, 15 of which were with Toronto.

• Anders Lee also scored his first-career playoff goal on Saturday in his eighth playoff game. The 28-year-old captain has three points in the series (1G, 2A). Lee missed the Islanders 2015-16 playoff run after suffering a broken leg in game 80 of the regular season.
  - Robin Lehner made 25 saves and has made 98 saves on 103 shots in the series.
  - Mathew Barzal has four points through his first three career playoff games, all assists. The 21-year-old center has had an assist on two of Eberle's three goals in the series. Barzal is still looking for his first-career playoff goal and put up a team-high five shots on net on Sunday.
  - The Isles went 0-for-2 on the power play and are 2-for-10 in the series. Among the 16 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Isles are ranked 10th on the power play and have a conversion of 20%
  - Matt Martin had a team-high of 10 hits on Sunday and leads the Islanders with 22 hits in the series.
  - The Isles are 6-8 in all-time playoff games in Pittsburgh. New York has won three of the last five playoff games in Pittsburgh dating back to Game 7 of the 1993 Patrick Division Finals.
  - Scott Mayfield was the only Islander that missed practice on Monday. Mayfield was given a maintenance day.
  "Just a maintenance day," Trotz said. "He's fine. It was really my decision. He was going to come out for practice, and I said we'll just give him the day."

Video: 3 Down 1 to Go

PENGUINS NOTES:

• Pittsburgh faces a first-round exit for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The last time the Penguins lost the first three games of a series was in 2013 Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins.
  - Garrett Wilson scored his first-ever playoff goal off a redirect from a point-shot from Marcus Pettersson. The winger has two points through nine-career playoff games.
  - After hitting 100 points for the sixth time in his 14-year NHL career, Sidney Crosby has zero points in the series and is minus-four. Only twice in the regular season did Crosby hit a stretch of three games without a point (Nov. 1-Nov. 5 and Dec. 8 - Dec. 12). In Game 3, Crosby was minus-three, had three shots on goal, two hits and logged 22:05 time on ice and 3:53 on the power play.
  - Dating back to the regular season, Crosby has been held pointless against the Islanders for four straight games, the longest stretch of his career vs the Isles.
  - Matt Murray had 32 saves on 35 shots. Murray has played in 47 career playoff games. Through this series Murray has a goals against average of 3.33 and a save percentage of .902.
  - The Penguins threw 58 hits on Sunday. Bryan Rust had a team-high of seven hits.
  - Pens leading goal scorer Jake Guentzel (40G, 36A) doesn't have a point and is minus-three in this series. Guentzel was tied with Patric Hornqvist for a team-high four shots on net in Game 3. Guentzel has 23 goals (42 points) through 40-career playoff games.
  - Jared McCann returned to the Pens lineup after missing Game 2 with an upper-body injury. He had two shots and five hits and logged 14:23 of total ice time.
  - The Pens practice was cancelled on Tuesday as the coaches opted to have a video session instead.
  RELATED LINKS:
  
  
  Read: Isles staying even keel with 3-0 lead
  Read: Lehner looking sharp in playoffs
  Read: Islanders Prospect Report - April 15, 2019
  Game Notes