Islanders at Penguins
Expect plenty of offensive fireworks Friday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the New York Islanders in a Metropolitan Division encounter. The Penguins come into the game with the highest-scoring offense in the NHL, and that was on full display last time out as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders have been a bit of a juggernaut in their own right, ranking third in goals per game and coming off a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay.
While both teams have been filling the opposition's nets, the Penguins have a decided edge in defensive play over the first month-and-a-half of the season. Pittsburgh ranks in the top-five in goals allowed per game, with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury leading the league with four shutouts. The Penguins also enjoy a large advantage on special teams, with the top-ranked power-play and a penalty-killing unit that comes into Friday ranked fourth in the NHL.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New York), ROOT (Pittsburgh), SN1, TVA
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (12-6-0): A team knows things are going well when all four lines find a way to contribute. That's precisely what happened in Tuesday's triumph over the Lightning, as the Islanders' fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin combined to score twice on a night when Islanders coach Jack Capuano wasn't all that thrilled with the effort of his other three lines in the early going. "We did the smart things," said Cizikas, who scored in the third period.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (13-3-1): Pittsburgh was leveled with yet another bombshell this week, learning that forward Pascal Dupuis will miss several months - and maybe longer - with recurring blood clots in his lungs. The Penguins have already dealt with their share of adversity this season after discovering that young defensive star Olli Maatta had to have a cancerous tumor from his thyroid removed. And that came on the heels of defenseman Kris Letang suffering a stroke in February.
OVERTIME
1. The Penguins have won four straight meetings, including a 3-1 decision Oct. 18.
2. The Islanders come into the night with a 75-percent penalty-killing rate, well behind the Penguins' 88.4-percent mark.
3. New York has won just five of its last 27 games in Pittsburgh.