Game Preview: Islanders vs. Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (10-6-3) VS. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (10-7-1)
7 PM | NASSAU COLISEUM
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The New York Islanders continue their four-game homestand as they open a back-to-back set against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. This weekend will mark the fifth and sixth meetings between the club this month. Through four matchups this season, the Islanders are 1-2-1 against the Penguins.

The Islanders enter the fifth meeting against the Pens coming off of a 7-2 rout on Thursday night over the top-ranked team in the East Division, the Boston Bruins. The Islanders triumphant victory featured first-period goals from Adam Pelech and Mathew Barzal and an onslaught of third-period goals by Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, Jean-Gabriel Pageau (shorthanded), Anders Lee and Oliver Wahlstrom. Semyon Varlamov posted 34 saves in the win and recorded his first assist as an Islander.
"It wasn't a 7-2 game," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of the win over Boston. "Both teams were hard on the puck. I think it was a little bit of a product of us getting back to playing the way we needed to...We kept doing the right things. We kept playing the game the right way. It ended up being a product of playing the right way over and over shift-to-shift."
Pittsburgh enters the back-to-back set after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. The Pens didn't get on the board until the third period where they received goals from Brandon Tanev (shorthanded) and Jake Guentzel. Tristan Jarry made 30 saves in the loss.

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ISLANDERS NOTES:

\Update: Trotz confirmed that Clutterbuck is a game-time decision and that there's 'a good chance' that Dal Colle will be in the lineup.
"Clutterbuck] will be a game-time decision," Trotz said following morning skate. "There is a good chance [Dal Colle will be in the lineup
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• Pelech and Beauvillier each scored their first goal of the season. Eberle and Pageau earned their eighth goal of the season while Pageau posted his second shorthanded goal of the year and his seventh tally in the last eight games. Wahlstrom registered his second goal of the season and the second goal of his young NHL career.
• Barzal's two-point (1G, 1A) performance extended his team-high scoring lead to 17 points (7G, 10A). Lee leads the Islanders in goals as he potted his ninth goal of the season (13 points).
• Casey Cizikas' secondary assist on Pelech's goal notched his 100th career assist, all of which have been produced as an Islander. Leddy's two assists increased his team lead to 11 assists this season (12 points). Varlamov's secondary assist on Barzal's goal marked his first assist as an Islander and the eighth assist the netminder has posted in his NHL career.
• With the win, Varlamov made his fourth-straight start and improved his record to 9-4-2. The Russian goaltender has a 2.06 GAA and a .928 SV%.
• Leo Komarov rejoined the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Monday against Buffalo. The winger took the place of Austin Czarnik and skated alongside Pageau and Wahlstrom to start.
• Cal Clutterbuck left the game after the first period and after only playing 3:07 TOI. The winger did not return for the start of the second period or for the remainder of the game. Trotz did not have an immediate update on Clutterbuck following the game. Clutterbuck also took a maintenance day on Friday and is considered day-to-day.
• Michael Dal Colle practiced with the Islanders on Friday and is a "possibility" to play over the weekend, per Trotz, though he did not specify which day, if either. Dal Colle has been sidelined since Jan. 16 with a lower-body injury.
• The Islanders have earned points in 10 of their last 12 games (7-2-3) and have posted a record of 6-0-2 against every team except Pittsburgh throughout that stretch.
• The Islanders have earned points through the first seven home games of the season, going 6-0-1 at Nassau Coliseum. Their 13 points at home are the most in the first seven games since the 1982-83 season, when they opened 7-0-0. The Islanders are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home and can match the best eight-game start in franchise history with a win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
• The Islanders are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 3-5-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• This season, the Islanders are 1-0-1 in the front-half of back-to-back sets and are 1-0-1 in the second leg.

PENGUINS NOTES:

• The loss to the Caps snapped a three-game winning streak for the Penguins, including two regulation wins over the Islanders on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20.
• Tanev scored his fifth goal of the season and his first shorthanded goal. The winger has totaled seven points (5G, 2A) through 18 games this season.
• With his seventh goal of the season, Guentzel overtook the Penguins goal-scoring lead and posted his team-high - tied with Sidney Crosby - 16th point through 18 games.
• Crosby's primary assist on Guentzel's goal marked his 16th point (6G, 10A) through 18 games of the season. The Penguins' captain is tied with his linemate Guentzel for the most points among the Pens.
• Kris Letang's secondary assist registered as his ninth assist of the season and extended his point streak to three games with four points (2G, 2A) during that span. The defenseman has posted 11 points (2G, 9A) through 17 games this season.
• Jarry made his sixth-straight start and his 13th start of the season in the loss. The 25-year-old has posted a record of 6-6-1 and has a 3.17 GAA and a .895 SV%.
• The Penguins were without Jason Zucker in their loss to Washington on Thursday. Zucker sustained a lower-body injury on Tuesday night against the Caps and was sent back to Pittsburgh for further evaluation. Following Thursday's loss, Sullivan did not have an update on Zucker's projected timeline for a return.
• On Tuesday, the Penguins claimed defenseman Mark Friedman off of waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers as announced by the team's newly appointed General Manager Ron Hextall. Friedman has not made his debut for the Penguins yet, but joined the team in Washington on Thursday.