UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (33-29-9) VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (42-22-10)7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETSWATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
The New York Islanders return home after five straight games on the road, seeking a win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
The Islanders fell to the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Saturday, ending their road trip with a record of 3-2-0. Grant Hutton scored his first NHL goal and prevented the Islanders from getting shut out by Jordan Binnington.

The Penguins are fresh off a 3-2 OT win over the Nashville Predators, snapping their four-game losing streak. Jason Zucker scored in the third period to tie the game 2-2 to force overtime and Sidney Crosby (2G, 1A) netted the game winner in overtime. Casey DeSmith stopped 33 of 35 shots in the win, and David Rittich made 27 saves while salvaging a point for the Predators.
With two points on Sunday, the Penguins (94 points) sit in third in the Metropolitan Division, right behind the Carolina Hurricanes (102 points) and New York Rangers (100 points). Having played the most games in the Metro (74) only eight games left in the regular season remain for Pittsburgh.
The last time these Metropolitan Division rivals clashed, the Islanders fell to the Penguins 1-0 on November 26 at UBS Arena. Kasperi Kapanen scored the lone goal in the game, with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel tallying assists. Tristan Jarry made all 25 saves in the shutout. Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves on 30 shots, and earned the second star of the game.
Last season, the Islanders went 2-4-2 against Pittsburgh, but went 4-2 in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders have an edge on the Penguins in the history books, with an all-time record of 113-109-22-20 (W-L-T-OT). They perform even better against the Penguins on home ice, holding an all-time record of 67-43-8-13. The Islanders pose a healthy home record this season, with a record of 18-13-4 at UBS Arena.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Tuesday's matchup against the Penguins is the first home game at UBS Arena for the Islanders in the month of April. The Islanders' penalty kill on home ice is 94.3% since Feb. 1, and they killed 33 of the last 35 at home in that time frame. The Islanders have killed 21 straight penalties in their previous seven games overall.
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• Head Coach Barry Trotz has not revealed who will be in between the pipes against the Penguins on Tuesday. The last time the Islanders played at home (March 31), Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves on 32 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ilya Sorokin is also a strong performer at home, with a 12-4-3 record at UBS Arena. Per Eric Hornick, his 1.86 GAA is the lowest of any netminder who has played at least 10 games on home ice.
• Brock Nelson is on a three-game point streak and leads the Islanders in goals (33) and points (52). In the postseason last year, he scored two goals and tallied an assist in the Game 6 victory over the Penguins to advance to round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• Casey Cizikas is expected to be back in the lineup for New York after serving a one-game suspension and missing Sunday's matchup as a result. Andy Andreoff was sent back to Bridgeport after filling in for Cizikas on Saturday.
• The Islanders hold a record of 12-6-2 against opponents in the Metropolitan Division. Of the remaining 11 games of the regular season, the Islanders will face divisional opponents in six matchups.

PENGUINS NOTES:

• Evgeni Malkin was suspended four games by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Monday for cross-checking against Mark Borowiecki on Sunday. Malkin received a double minor penalty in the second period following the incident.
• Sidney Crosby reached 1400 career points in his 1,100th game on Sunday, becoming the seventh-fastest player to reach this milestone in NHL history. Crosby is now the 22nd player to accomplish this feat. Crosby leads the Penguins with 75 points (28G, 47A) in 61 games this season.
• Tristan Jarry has a record of 33-18-6 this season with a 2.41 GAA, a .919 SV% and four shutouts, but the Penguins netminder has lost five-straight starts. The 26-year-old goaltender has not beaten a team in a playoff spot since March 17.
• Rickard Rakell, who was acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, tallied three assists in Sunday's win over the Predators, the fourth time in his career recording three assists.
• Kris Letang leads the team in assists (55) has recorded nine points in his last eight games.
• Pittsburgh has not scored a power play goal in their last five games, going 0-for-10. On the other hand, Penguins killed 12 of their last 13 penalties in that time span, and they rank second in the NHL on the penalty kill (86.0%).