Game Preview: Islanders vs Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (30-21-5) VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (28-15-11)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: TNT | HBO MAX

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

Another day, another Metropolitan Division matchup for the New York Islanders.

Fresh off a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night, the Islanders look to make amends – and make up some ground – on the Penguins in the airtight Metro standings.

The Isles (65 points) enter the game third in the Metro, two points back of the second-place Pens (67 points), though Pittsburgh holds two games in hand. After Monday’s loss, the Islanders are only two points ahead of the Capitals (63 points) and four points clear of the Columbus Blue Jackets (61 points) with Columbus holding two games in hand.

Mathew Barzal scored the lone goal in Monday’s loss to Washington, scoring his fourth goal in the past five games.

The Penguins have been red hot of late, but had their six-game winning streak – and nine-game point streak – snapped in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

PROJECTED LINES

The Islanders did not hold a morning skate on Tuesday. See below for how the team lined up on Monday night in Washington.

Ondrej Palat - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Emil Heineman - Jonathan Drouin - Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee - JG Pageau - Anthony Duclair
Kyle MacLean - Casey Cizikas - Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer - Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech - Tony DeAngelo

Carson Soucy - Scott Mayfield

SOROKIN TO START

Ilya Sorokin is expected to start on Tuesday night. The Islanders netminder is 18-13-2 this season with a 2.44 GAA, a .916 SV% and a league-leading six shutouts.

Sorokin is 11-6-0 lifetime against the Penguins with a 3.15 GAA, a .905 SV% and one shutout. Sorokin had his personal five-game winning streak against the Penguins ended in the Islanders season opener.

SEASON SERIES

The Isles trail the season series 0-1-0, falling 4-3 in Pittsburgh in the season opener on Oct. 9.

Jonathan Dourin, Kyle Palmieri and Max Shabanov scored in the loss, while Matthew Schaefer recorded his first NHL point in the loss.

Sidney Crosby (1G, 1A) and Rickard Rakell (1G, 1A) each had two points, while Evgeni Malkin dished out three assists.

PENGUINS NOTES

- The Penguins have been on a tear since the NHL’s Holiday break, going 13-3-2 since Christmas and their 28 points rank third over that span. The Penguins are averaging 4.08 goals per game over that span, which ranks second in the NHL, as does the Pens penalty kill, which is humming at 90%. Pittsburgh was seventh in the Metropolitan Division on Dec. 25, five points behind the Islanders, but now sit in second, two points up on New York.

- Sidney Crosby has been especially hot over the Penguins resurgence, with 20 points (7G, 13A) in 18 games. Evgeni Malkin is also over a point-per-game during the run, with 14 points (5G, 9A) in 13 games. Anthony Mantha leads the team with eight goals since Dec. 25 and is second only to Crosby with 17 points in the last 18 games.

- Crosby leads the Penguins with 58 points (27G, 31A) in 54 games this season, while Malkin is second with 43 points (13G, 30A) in 39 games. Malkin is currently riding a six-game point streak with eight points (3G, 5A) over that span.

- Kris Letang will miss Tuesday's game, as the defenseman fractured his foot on Thursday and is expected to miss four weeks. The 38-year-old defenseman has 25 points (3G, 22A) in 50 games this season.

- Bryan Rust is eligible to return to the Penguins lineup after serving a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Vancouver’s Brock Boeser. Rust has 39 points (18G, 21A) in 47 games this season. Rust is a key piece of the Penguins offense, having scored 20-or-more goals in six straight seasons.

- Stuart Skinner is the likely goaltender for the Penguins as Arturs Silovs got the nod on Monday night against Ottawa. Skinner has caught fire of late, going 8-1-0 since Dec. 30 with a 2.01 GAA and a .917 SV%. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade for Tristan Jarry on Dec. 12.