Game Preview: Islanders vs Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to take on the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena tonight at 7 PM. The Pens are currently 27-19-9, while the Islanders are 28-24-7. The game will be viewed on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh, MSG Sports Network, ESPN+, and Sportsnet Now.

Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury in the first period of the Isles’ 6-2 loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Forward Arnaud Durandeau will make his NHL debut in response to Barzal’s injury. On the Pens’ side, goaltender Tristan Jarry will return to the crease after missing the last nine games due to an upper-body injury.

Islanders Projected Lineups

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom 

Zach Parise – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri 

Hudson Fasching – Casey Cizikas – Arnaud Durandeau

Ross Johnson – Andy Andreoff – Matt Martin

Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock

Alexander Romanov – Scott Mayfield

Sebastian Aho – Noah Dobson 

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Scratched: D Parker Wotherspoon 

Injured: F Mathew Barzal (lower body), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body), F Cal Clutterbuck (upper body), F Oliver Wahlstrom (leg), F Josh Bailey (upper body)

Penguins Projected Lines

Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust

Brock McGinn – Jeff Carter – Kasperi Kapanen

Drew O’Connor – Teddy Blueger – Josh Archibald

Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson – Jeff Petry 

Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Chad Ruhwedel

Tristan Jarry

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: F Danton Heinen, G Dustin Tokarski 

Injured: D Jan Rutta (upper body), F Ryan Poehling (upper body), D Mark Friedman (upper body) 

Players To Watch

NYI: D Noah Dobson: 6A, 7P in his last 5GP

PIT: F Jake Guentzel: 3G in last 5GP

Starting Goalies

NYI: Ilya Sorokin: 18-17-5, 2.44 GAA, .923 SV%, 5 SO

PIT: Tristan Jarry: 16-5-5, 2.65 GAA, .921 SV%, 1 SO

Team Stats

PP%

NYI: 17.4 (26th)

PIT: 21.5 (15th)

PK%

NYI: 82.2 (5th)

PIT: 80.2 (14th)

FO%

NYI: 50.3 (15th)

PIT: 52.1 (9th)

GF/GP

NYI: 2.90 (24th)

PIT: 3.22 (14th)

GA/GP

NYI: 2.78 (9th)

PIT: 3.14 (17th)

Season Series

The New York Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on December 27th, and 5-4 on February 17th. 

Stanley Cup Aspirations – Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.

1. Stanley Cup Aspirations 44:49
2. The Final Countdown 36:54
3. Here Come the Playoffs 32:42
4. Home Stretch 38:16
5. Kevy Cooks 45:22