3 Keys: Penguins at Islanders, Game 4 of first round

No. 1 Penguins at No. 4 Islanders
3 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVAS
Pittsburgh leads best-of-7 series, 2-1

The New York Islanders likely will make a change in net against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.
Rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin is expected to start after leading the New York Islanders on to the ice for warmups
Semyon Varlamov allowed five goals on 27 shots during a 5-4 loss in Game 3 on Thursday, a performance Islanders coach Barry Trotz said would make up a "big portion" of his decision on a starter for Saturday.
Sorokin made 39 saves on 42 shots in the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win in Game 1.
The Penguins will look for a third straight victory after blowing a 2-1 third-period lead in that Game 1 loss. They won 2-1 in Game 2 on Tuesday and also won Game 3 after surrendering leads of 3-1 and 4-3 in the third period.
The Islanders gave up the first goal in each of their two losses and scored first when they won Game 1. They were 23-2-2 when scoring first during the regular season and 9-15-5 when allowing the first goal.
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:

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1. Islanders' goalie decision

Varlamov's Game 3 start was his second back after missing Game 1 because of an undisclosed reason. Shortly into his return in Game 2, Varlamov gave up a goal on a simple shot from forward Bryan Rust past his glove at 3:22 of the first.
But after that goal, and one by forward Jeff Carter at 13:07 of the first, Varlamov was perfect, totaling 43 saves in a 2-1 loss.
Varlamov's outing in Game 3 put his status into question, though. It doesn't help his cause that Sorokin impressed in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 1, when he outperformed Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry for his first NHL postseason win.
After indicating he could turn to Sorokin for Saturday, Trotz said Varlamov was better than he remembered in Game 3. So which way New York will go remains unknown.
"One thing about [Varlamov] is he's as good a pro as you're going to find," Trotz said. "He responds really well in terms of getting back into his zone, if you will."

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2. Carter providing center depth

A center has been Pittsburgh's most productive player, but it hasn't been Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. It has been Carter, who leads the Penguins with four points (three goals, one assist) in this series.
After scoring the deciding goal in the first period of Game 2, the 36-year-old scored twice in Game 3, including once on the power play that gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead at 7:00 of the third.
Crosby has been held without a point the past two games after scoring in Game 1. Malkin had two assists Thursday in his return after he missed the first two games with an undisclosed injury.
Carter scored nine goals in 14 regular-season games with Pittsburgh after being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on April 12; he won the Stanley Cup twice with the Kings, in 2012 and 2014.
"We thought [adding Carter] would make us that much deeper at the center position," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's a natural center. He's played it most of his career. … It helps us with our size, our strength down the middle. It helps us with our depth."

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3. Heightened emotions

There were 10 players in the two penalty boxes at one point in the third period of Game 3. The five players in Pittsburgh's box at 5:35 of the third made up its top line (Crosby, Rust and Jake Guentzel) and top defense pair (Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin).
In total, the teams were called for a combined 15 penalties in the third. That led to forward Anthony Beauvillier scoring a power-play goal to tie it 3-3 at 5:54 before Carter put the Penguins in front on the power play 1:06 later.
Pittsburgh would like to avoid a repeat in Game 4, but Islanders forward Jordan Eberle said they wouldn't mind if their aggressive play brings more of the same.
"We'll continue to go to the net hard," Eberle said. "If that stuff arises, so be it."

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, Yannick Weber, Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Drew O'Connor, Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Injured: Casey DeSmith (lower body)

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
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Travis Zajac, Braydon Coburn, Cory Schneider, Austin Czarnik, Andrew Ladd, Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Thomas Hickey
Injured: None
Status report
The Penguins and Islanders likely will dress the same lineups they used in Game 3.