After falling 4-1 to the Washington Capitals on Monday night, the New York Islanders welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to town, the team holding down the second-place spot in the incredibly tight Metropolitan Division.
The Islanders trail them by two points with two games in hand.
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Like the Islanders, the Penguins are also on the second leg of their back-to-back, falling 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
Both backups went against their Monday foes, which means the goaltending matchup at UBS Arena is Ilya Sorokin (18-13-2, 2.44 GAA, .916 SV%, 6 SO) vs. Stuart Skinner (19-12-4, 2.72 GAA, .903 SV%, 2 SO).
Sorokin, who is in the midst of a Vezina-caliber season after a really shaky start, went 6-3-0 in the month of January, with a 2.13 GAA and a .931 SV% with three shutouts.
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Skinner, who was dealt to the Penguins on Dec. 12 after falling out of favor in Edmonton, lost his first three games for Pittsburgh. But since then, he’s found a groove, going 8-1-0 over his last nine games with a 2.01 GAA and a .917 SV%.
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He’s been tremendous.
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Now, he and Sorokin are tasked with helping their team rebound when the puck drops at 7:30 PM ET. The game can be found on TNT, HBO MAX, and TVAS.
Skinner is 2-2-0 in his career against the Islanders with a 2.53 GAA and a .900 SV%.
Sorokin is 11-6-0 in his career against the Penguins with a 3.15 GAA and a .905 SV% with one shutout.
