Game Preview: Islanders at Penguins
The Islanders look to extend their point streak to nine games as they play the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third time this season
By
Sasha Kandrach
The New York Islanders look to extend their point streak to nine games as they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pens twice in three days in the second leg of their four-game road trip. Thursday's meeting at PPG Paints Arena will be the second time in the span of the week and their third meeting of the season between the two East Division rivals. The Islanders are 5-0-3 on their eight-game point streak.
In the first two previous meetings, the Islanders edged the Penguins with a 4-3 win on Feb. 6 and fell to the Pens 4-3 in a shootout on Feb. 11.
The Islanders enter the matchup after defeating the Buffalo Sabres in a back-to-back set on Monday and Tuesday night at KeyBank Center. On Tuesday, the Islanders shut out the Sabres 3-0, as Anders Lee scored twice and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his fifth goal in four games while rookie netminder Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves en route to his first NHL win and shutout. Lee and Pageau's first period goals marked the Islanders 18th and 19th first-period goals this season.
"When we have our best success we play the same way when we're down a goal or up a goal, that's when I know we're on top of our game," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "To me, it's just playing the right way; being on top of people, being on the right side, making bad decisions. If the play is there make the play. If it's not, make a good decision."
Pittsburgh is coming off of a 3-1 loss to Washington on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh's sole goal, which was scored in the second period, came from Zach-Aston Reese while Tristian Jarry faced 42 shots, making 39 saves.
ISLANDERS NOTES
• The Islanders eight-game point streak is the longest they've had since the 17-game run (15-0-2) the team went on from October-November of 2019.
• With his two-goal effort, including an opening first-period goal and an empty-net goal with 0.3 seconds on the clock, Lee overtook the Islanders goal-scoring lead as his season total reached seven goals and 10 points through 15 games. The Islanders captain now has three goals in his last two games and is riding a three-game point streak with four points (3G, 1A) during that span.
ISLANDERS AT PENGUINS
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• Pageau's hot hand continued as the centerman scored for the fourth-straight game, netting five goals over that span. With Pageau's first-period goal, he became the eighth player in Isles history to score in the first period in four-consecutive games and first since Matt Moulson (7G, 1A) in four straight games from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, 2011. Pageau's season total of 10 points (6G, 4A) are tied with Lee for the second-most on the Islanders leaderboard. Pageau's six goals are tied with Mat Barzal and Jordan Eberle for second on the team.
• With assists on both of Lee's goals, Josh Bailey recorded his fourth point, all helpers, in the last two games. Bailey is tied with Nick Leddy for the second-most assists on the Islanders' leaderboard with seven. Through 15 games this season, the winger has eight points (1G, 7A).
• Leddy picked up his second assist in as many games with a secondary helper on Pageau's goal. The defenseman now has eight points (1G, 7A) through 15 games this season.
• Mathew Barzal saw his career-high, nine-game point streak come to an end as the 23-year-old center went without a point on Tuesday. During that nine-game span, Barzal registered 11 points (4G, 7A). Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring and assists with his 15 points and nine helpers.
• It was a memorable win for Sorokin, who earned the first of his career and with 20 saves, also picked up his first NHL shutout. The Russian rookie showcased his athleticism and even had a highlight-worthy glove save on Buffalo's Victor Olofsson to keep the Sabres off the board. With the win, Sorokin improved his record to 1-2-1 and has a 2.74 GAA and a .895 SV%.
• Anthony Beauvillier drew back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 24, after missing nine-games with a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old winger logged 16:31 TOI and fired off one shot and threw one hit. Beauvillier skated 1:24 shorthanded, but did not receive any time on the power play. Beauvillier's linemates fluctuated between Pageau and Wahlstrom and even Barzal and Wahlstrom for a stretch.
• For the first time in franchise history, the Islanders held the Sabres without a shot on goal for an entire period as they did in the third period during their first meeting of the season on Monday night. On Tuesday, the Islanders prevented Buffalo from getting a shot off in the final 13:14 of the second period.
• When it comes to scoring, the Islanders are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. The Islanders are also 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.
• The Islanders bested the Sabres at the faceoff circle winning 52% of draws on Tuesday, which was an impressive feat as Buffalo is ranked as the second-best faceoff team in the NHL with a FOW% of 54.7 whereas the Islanders are ranked fifth in the circle at 52.5%. The Islanders were led by successes from Pageau. Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson. Pageau finished the night going 10-for-17 (59%), while Cizikas went 7-for-12 (58%) and Nelson was 5-for-9 (56%).
Update: Semyon Varlamov will start in goal tonight for the Islanders, as confirmed by coach Trotz.
"[Varlamov] was getting this game all along," Trotz said. "There's no reason not to, he's played exceptionally well."
NYI 3 vs BUF 0: Barry Trotz
PENGUINS NOTES:
• Aston-Reese's goal was his third in as many games. The Pens forward made his season debut against the Islanders on Feb. 11 after being sidelined with an offseason upper-body injury.
• Jarry made his ninth start of the season and second-consecutive start, while his record fell to 3-5-1. The 25-year-old netminder has a 3.74 GAA and a .875 SV%.
• Pittsburgh's penalty kill was strong against the Capitals as it finished the night with a perfect 5-for-5 execution. The Penguins power-play went 0-for-3.
• The Penguins received a boost as defenseman Marcus Pettersson returned to the lineup for the first time after missing nine games with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Jan. 19. Pettersson skated alongside Cody Ceci in his first game back.
• Jared McCann continues to be sidelined after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Islanders in their first meeting of the season on Feb. 6. The forward had compiled five points (2G, 3A) through 11 games prior to his injury.
• Bryan Rust leads the Penguins across the board in scoring with his 13 points (5G, 8A) through 14 games this season. Rust's linemates Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel are not far behind the winger in the Pens leaderboard as both Crosby and Guentzel have 12 points and five goals each this season through 14 games.
• In the NHL, Pittsburgh is tied for third-highest for goals against per game with a nightly average of 3.57.
• Crosby will be skating in his 999th-career game on Thursday night and will be one game away from reaching the impressive 1,000 game milestone.
Update: Tristian Jarry will start tonight in net for the Penguins, per Head Coach Mike Sullivan.
