Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (28-15-11, 67 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division) @ New York Islanders (30-21-5, 65 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
How to Watch: National broadcast on TNT, streaming on HBO Max
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Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins have just one game left after tonight, a Thursday road matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, before the Olympic break. The team will hope to give everyone, especially Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, some time to rest up before NHL play resumes on Feb. 26 with a home game against the New Jersey Devils.
Opponent Track: Like the Penguins, the Isles are coming into this game on the second part of a back-to-back. While the Penguins were losing to the Ottawa Senators, the Islanders were also looking flat in a Monday night 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Season Series: The Penguins won the season opener thanks to a third-period goal from Justin Brazeau back during the second game of the season in Pittsburgh on October. 9. The Pens will meet up with the Isles one more time in Elmont on March 30.
Getting to know the Islanders
Projected lines
FORWARDS
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Ondrej Palat – Bo Horvat – Mathew Barzal
Emil Heineman – Jonathan Drouin – Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Anthony Duclair
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb
DEFENSEMEN
Mathew Schaefer / Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech / Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy / Scott Mayfield
Goalies: Ilya Sorokin (starter), David Rittich
Potential scratches: Adam Boqvist, Max Shabanov, Calum Ritchie
Injured Reserve: Kyle Palmieri
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Jonathan Drouin has spent most of his career as a winger, although the Islanders are currently running him as a center. He has just three goals in 49 games since he signed with the Islanders last summer, and he’s been struggling on the face-off dot as of late (he had a 36.4 percent success rate on the draw last night against the Washington Capitals).
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The Islanders suffered a second-period collapse last night against the Capitals, blowing a 1-0 lead by allowing two goals in 32 seconds and never recovering.
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David Rittich started last night (he made 20 saves on 23 shots in the 4-1 loss), putting Ilya Sorokin on track to start against the Pens.
Season stats
via hockeydb
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The Islanders’ power play is running at 16 percent this season, ranking them down at for 26th in the NHL.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
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Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak / Ryan Shea
Ilya Solovyov / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner
Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Rutger McGroarty
IR: Kris Letang (broken foot, out at least four weeks), Ryan Graves, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones, Jack St. Ivany
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Bryan Rust should be back in the lineup tonight after serving out the final game of his three-game suspension on Monday. That could bump Rutger McGroarty back out of the lineup.
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The Pens are looking to bounce back from a flat loss to the Senators on Monday night. Head coach Dan Muse called the Penguins’ performance last night “far off the mark” from where the team has been lately:
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Especially notable last night was continued struggles by Evgeni Malkin, who is seemingly playing hurt and who committed three official giveaways, and the Penguins’ top line. The Justin Brazeau/Sidney Crosby/Rickard Rakell trio earned the fewest expected goals for of any line the Penguins iced last night, per MoneyPuck. The Pens will hope the return of Bryan Rust can spark something there by re-shuffling the lines.
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Arturs Silovs played in the defeat, so Stuart Skinner will likely be expected to get the nod against the Isles.
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Last night was the first time the Pens have finished a game without a point since a Jan. 11 shutout loss to the Boston Bruins.
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The Penguins currently have two points and two games in hand on the Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division, so a win tonight could be key down the stretch of the playoff race.
