Penguins at Islanders
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins have hit a bump in the road. A two-game losing skid isn't cause to sound the alarm, but the fact that they admittedly took the first two periods off during Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers was disconcerting. "We (threw) away two periods there," Pittsburgh's Pascal Dupuis said on Friday. "Played for 20 (minutes), and almost got it back. It shows that we need a better effort for 60." The visiting Penguins will look for exactly that on Saturday when they face the New York Islanders. Pittsburgh has dominated the series of late, winning four in a row and posting an 18-2-2 mark in its last 22 contests. In the teams' last encounter, captain Sidney Crosby returned from a 10 1/2-month absence due to a concussion and collected two goals and two assists in a 5-0 victory. Crosby has been ruled out of Saturday's contest after colliding with teammate Chris Kunitz in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday. For its part, New York has played some inspired hockey as of late by collecting 10 of a possible 12 points in its last six games (4-0-2).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT, MSG+
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (16-9-4): Pittsburgh isn't just taking a beating on the scoreboard. The Penguins are getting thin on the back line as defensemen Kris Letang (concussion), Zbynek Michalek (concussion) and Ben Lovejoy (broken wrist) will be sidelined for quite some time. They may get a boost on Saturday as fellow blue-liner Derek Engelland (lower body) is close to making a return. Engelland was injured last week against the Carolina Hurricanes.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (9-11-6): LW Matt Moulson saw his six-game goal-scoring streak come to an end in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, but he did notch an assist to extend his point streak. All told, Moulson has 12 goals in his last 15 contests. He will now set his sights against the franchise that selected him in the ninth round of the 2003 draft. Last year, Moulson had two goals and an assist in a game best remembered for its fights, not goals. The teams combined for 346 penalty minutes.
OVERTIME:
1. Pittsburgh G Marc-Andre Fleury has dropped three of his last four starts overall, but has been sizzling versus the Islanders in his career. He boasts a 16-4-3 overall mark and turned aside all 29 shots he faced in the 5-0 triumph on Nov. 21.
2. New York G Al Montoya has only faced Pittsburgh on one occasion. He turned aside 35 of 38 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss on April 8 of last season.