Penguins at Islanders
THE STORY: With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still out of the
lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been relying on Jordan Staal and
James Neal for their scoring punch. So far, Staal and Neal have stepped
up with little drop off. The Penguins have won three straight,
outscoring teams 11-4 during the streak. Malkin has been skating in
practice and should play this week, possibly beginning Tuesday when
Pittsburgh visits the New York Islanders. The Islanders are coming off
consecutive losses in which they allowed eight goals. Top goaltender
Rick DiPietro is getting ready to return from the injured list and will
join a rotation of three netminders as he works his way back into shape
following a concussion. The defense has to be strong for New York, which
is struggling to find consistent scoring.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG+ (New York)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (6-2-2):
Neal is tied for the NHL lead with eight goals, on pace to obliterate
his career high of 27 tallies set in 2010 when he was with Dallas. He
has benefited from being on the top line in the absence of Crosby, who
is waiting for more full-contact practices before he can be declared
game-ready. Malkin has surrendered the top-line center spot to Staal,
who scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over New Jersey.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (3-3-0):
DiPietro has fought numerous injuries since being awarded a historic
15-year contract and has yet to start this season after taking a puck
off the mask in practice and suffering the concussion. Al Montoya and
Evgeni Nabakov have been splitting time, though each is coming off a
loss. Center John Tavares has points on 10 of New York’s 14 goals.
OVERTIME:
1. Malkin has 40 points - 17 goals - in 32 career games against the Islanders.
2. DiPietro is 10-9-2 with a 3.21 goals against average against Pittsburgh in 22 career starts.
3. The Penguins took four of six meetings last season, though the Islanders did manage a 9-3 home victory Feb. 11.