Game Preview: Islanders vs Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (38-27-16) VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (38-31-12)

7PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

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The New York Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 82 of the regular season on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. 

Although the regular season is ending, the real fun is just beginning for the Islanders, who clinched third in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday. The berth marks the fifth time in six years they punched their ticket into the playoffs. 

JG Pageau, Kyle Palmieri (PPG, 1A), Brock Nelson and Kyle MacLean scored on Monday to power the offense in the playoff-clinching victory, while Semyon Varlamov turned aside 23 of 24 shots faced. Obtaining the “x” didn’t come easy, but the Islanders put together a point streak of 7-0-1 to qualify for the playoffs in Game 81 of the regular season. 

"What matters is that we're in and we gave ourselves a chance," Cal Clutterbuck said. "I think what does matter, is we've proven to ourselves that we can beat anybody when we need to. The biggest takeaway is that we're very capable."

The Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night, as the Washington Capitals locked up the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Both teams have been hot in their last 10 games, as the Islanders are 8-1-1 in their last 10 outings, while the Penguins are 7-1-2.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

- Noah Dobson (day to day, upper-body) did not join the group for morning skate. Mathew Barzal, Hudson Fasching, Pierre Engvall and Sebastian Aho also did not skate on Wednesday morning (maintenance). Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom and Samuel Bolduc are expected to draw into the lineup against the Penguins.  

- Ilya Sorokin will get the nod to start against the Penguins. Sorokin is 24-19-12 on the season, and the goaltender posted a record of 2-0-1 in his last three starts, allowing five goals over that span with a .944 SV%. 

- Alex Nedeljkovic will start for the Penguins on Wednesday. The 28-year-old is 18-6-7 in his first season with the Penguins, along with a .906 SV% and a 2.94 GAA.

ISLES NOTES 

- The Islanders are riding a season-long, eight-game point streak (7-0-1) into Game 82. They qualified for the postseason in one fewer game than last year, as they needed all 82 to clinch a berth with a win over the Montreal Canadiens in the final game of the 2022-23 season. 

- Noah Dobson (upper-body, day to day) missed his second straight game on Monday night and his status for Wednesday’s contest is unknown. He leads the team in assists (60) and ranks second in points (70). 

- Kyle Palmieri scored his 29th goal of the season on Monday night, one shy of his career-high of 30 goals, set in the 2015-16 season. The winger is riding a six-game point streak with nine points (5G, 4A) over that span. He also has 14 goals in his last 22 games, which is tied for seventh in the NHL dating back to Mar. 2. 

- Brock Nelson has three goals in his last two games, tying Bo Horvat for the team lead of 33 goals on the season. 

- The Islanders have a four-game winning streak on home ice, outscoring opponents 11-5 in their last four games at UBS Arena. 

- The Isles trail the season series 1-2-0 this season. They won their most recent meeting 5-4 on Feb. 20 in overtime in the Steel City, where Adam Pelech netted his first career overtime-winning goal. 

- Pelech is expected to play in his 500th NHL game on Wednesday. The defenseman racked up 140 points (26G, 114) and has a 74-rating in his NHL career. 

- Mike Reilly is also on the brink of a career milestone, as the veteran defenseman is expected to skate in his 400th NHL on Wednesday. Reilly, who was claimed off waivers in November, has 23 points (6G, 17A) through 58 games as an Islander.

PENGUINS NOTES

- The Penguins made a late playoff push – earning an NHL-best 19 points in their last 12 games spanning from Mar. 24 to now – but will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year following a historic 16-year streak where they made the postseason. 

- Sidney Crosby towers the Penguins leaderboard with 92 assists in his 19th NHL season, also recording this third career 40-goal season this year with 42 goals this season. On Thursday, Crosby became the 14th player in NHL history to record 1,000th career assist and seventh fastest to reach that mark with 1,269 games on his resume. 

- Crosby’s 132 career points against the Islanders are the most he’s recorded against any opponent in the NHL, but the Penguins captain hasn’t recorded a point against the Isles since Mar. 9, 2023. The Islanders held Crosby off the scoresheet through three games of the season series.  

- Erik Karlsson is riding a three-game point streak with two goals and two assists. The veteran defenseman skated in his 1000th NHL game on Saturday vs Boston.

- The Penguins parted ways with Jake Guentzel ahead of the NHL trade deadline and acquired Michael Bunting from the Carolina Hurricanes. Bunting has been productive for Pittsburgh, with 17 points (6G, 11A) in his first 20 games with the Penguins. 

- The Penguins lead the league in faceoff wins this season (54.6%).