3 Keys: Islanders at Penguins, Game 1 of first round

No. 4 Islanders at No. 1 Penguins
Noon ET; NBC, SN, TVAS

Evgeni Malkin will be a game-time decision for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they play the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
The center practiced Saturday but did not take line rushes or participate in power-play drills. Jeff Carter took Malkin's spot on the second line and Jared McCann replaced him on the top power-play unit.
Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov practiced Saturday but did not dress for Game 1. lya Sorokin will start for the Islanders.
Varlamov missed practice Wednesday and Thursday after sustaining "a little strain" in New York's regular-season finale, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday. He skated with the taxi squad Friday.
The Islanders and Penguins are meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons. New York swept Pittsburgh in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round.
The Penguins, who were 6-2-0 against the Islanders this season, won nine of their final 11 regular-season games (9-2-0) to clinch the No. 1 seed in the MassMutual East Division.
The Islanders lost four of their final five regular-season games (1-2-2).
Teams that win Game 1 are 490-222 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 7-1 in the first round last season.
Here are 3 keys for Game 1:

1. Malkin's health

Malkin has four assists in four games since returning from a lower-body injury that caused him to miss 23 games. He did not play in the final 8:48 of Pittsburgh's regular-season finale against the Buffalo Sabres on May 8 after thinking he tweaked something.
"I think he's working through the process," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's trying to capture his very best game. He's working through it every game."
If Malkin is unable to play, Carter likely would center the second line with McCann at left wing and Kasperi Kapanen at right wing. Carter has scored nine goals in 14 games, including five in his last two, since being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on April 12.

2. Varlamov vs. Jarry

If there is a noticeable advantage for the Islanders, it could be in net. Among goalies to play at least 25 games this season, Varlamov led the NHL with a .929 save percentage, was tied with Philipp Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche for the most shutouts with seven, and was third with a 2.04 goals-against average.
But one team that was able to solve Varlamov was the Penguins. In seven games against Pittsburgh, Varlamov was 1-3-2 with a 2.86 GAA and an .897 save percentage.
Tristan Jarry, who did not play against the Sabres because of an upper-body injury, is expected to make his second NHL postseason start for Pittsburgh. He allowed one goal on 21 shots in his debut, a 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens that eliminated the Penguins in Game 4 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
In 39 games (38 starts) this season, Jarry was 25-9-3 with a 2.75 GAA, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts.

3. Islanders defense

The Islanders allowed 2.23 goals per game this season, which was second in the NHL behind the Vegas Golden Knights (2.18), but they gave up at least three goals in six of their eight games against the Penguins.
New York will be looking to get back to the success it had against Pittsburgh in the 2019 playoffs, when it allowed six goals in four games.
"We've played them a bunch," Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield said. "We know what to expect, whether it's playing them in the playoffs a couple years ago or just the eight times we've seen them this season. They have a lot of offensive power we're going to have to control."

Islanders projected lineup

Leo Komarov -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Kyle Palmieri -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy -- Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene -- Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Cory Schneider
Scratched:Semyon Varlamov;Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Travis Zajac, Braydon Coburn
Injured:Anders Lee (knee)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Kasperi Kapanen
Jared McCann -- Jeff Carter -- Frederick Gaudreau
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Mike Matheson -- Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
Tristan Jarry
Maxime Lagace
Scratched:Evan Rodrigues, Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Friedman, Juuso Riikola, Colton Sceviour, Sam Lafferty, Mark Jankowski, Radim Zohorna
Injured:Casey DeSmith (lower body)

Status report

DeSmith, Pittsburgh's backup goalie, will not be available after aggravating a lower-body injury in practice Friday.