Game Preview: Round 1, Game 1 vs. NYI

RD 1 GM 1 | MAY 16 | 12:00 PM ET | PPG PAINTS ARENA
WATCH: NBC | LISTEN: 105.9 The X, Penguins Radio Network
PIT: 37 - 16 - 3 (77 pts)
NYI: 32 - 17 - 7 (71 pts)

GAME PREVIEW

The Penguins and New York Islanders play Game 1 of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. This is the first meeting between the clubs since Mar. 29, when Pittsburgh took down New York 2-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Jared McCann had the game-winning goal. The Penguins went 6-2-0 against the Islanders in 2020-21. This year marks the first time in franchise history the Penguins won six games against the Islanders in a single season. Pittsburgh is 31-27 all-time at PPG Paints Arena in playoff contests.
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QUICK HITS

Pittsburgh is 9-3 all-time in playoff series under head coach Mike Sullivan. His nine playoff series victories are the most in franchise history, and his 39 playoff wins are four shy of tying Dan Bylsma's team record (43).
The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs marks the 15th consecutive playoff appearance for the Penguins, which is an active franchise record. It is also the longest active playoff appearance streak among major North-American professional sports leagues.
Heading into this series, the Penguins have advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs eight times in the 13 playoff runs they've had with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the lineup. In five of the 13 runs, Pittsburgh has gone to at least the Conference Final.
The Penguins have eight players on their postseason roster looking to make their NHL playoff debut - forwards Evan Rodrigues and Radim Zohorna, defensemen Mark Friedman and Juuso Riikola, and goaltenders Casey DeSmith, Alex D'Orio, Maxime Lagace and Emil Larmi.
Assistant coach Todd Reirden has coached a division-winning club as either head or assistant coach for six-consecutive seasons (PIT - 2020-21; WSH - 2015-20).

Brandon Tanev off of injured reserve: https://t.co/a4ooWDNGyx pic.twitter.com/hdoxKJBpHU](https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1393937132335554563)

PENS VS. ISLES FAST FACTS

The Penguins are facing the New York Islanders for the sixth time ever in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and for the first time since Round 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Mike Sullivan will be facing a Barry Trotz-led club for the fifth time in his six playoff appearances as head coach of Pittsburgh. Sullivan and the Penguins are 2-2 with wins against the 2016 and '17 Washington Capitals and losses against the '18 Capitals and '19 Islanders.
Sidney Crosby (3G-6A in 8GP) and Kris Letang (4G-5A in 8GP) shared the scoring lead for the Penguins versus the Islanders in 2020-21. No NHL players had more points against the Islanders this season than Crosby and Letang.
Pittsburgh has picked up points in 12 of its last 14 regular-season games (9-2-3) against New York and is 12-4-3 over its last 19 games against the Islanders.
In regular-season home games, the Penguins have points in six-straight games versus the Islanders (5-0-1) and have picked up points in 12 of their last 13 games against them at PPG Paints Arena (10-1-2).

CROSBY ENTERS 14TH PLAYOFFS

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby enters the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs looking to build on already one of the most decorated playoff careers in NHL history. Crosby, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Conn Smythe winner, has amassed 189 points (68G-121A) in 168 games which is good for the eighth-most playoff points in NHL history. He enters the postseason just one point shy of tying hall-of-famer Brett Hull (190) for seventh place on the NHL's all-time postseason scoring list.
When Crosby scores in the playoffs it tends to come in bunches, as 63 of his 168 career playoff games have been multi-point efforts (37.5%). Only Wayne Gretzky (108) and Mark Messier (77) have had more multi-point games in NHL history.

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