Islanders at Penguins
The New York Islanders attempt to move past a bitter enemy in the standings as they continue to rack up frequent flyer miles Tuesday by visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins. New York rallied for three goals in a 5 1/2-minute span of the third period Monday to post a 3-2 victory over Florida in what was its second and final home game in a span of 14 contests.
The triumph pulled the Islanders within one point of the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 15 games remaining and two in hand on their crosstown rivals. Pittsburgh is in a battle of its own as it sits just one point ahead of Detroit for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and four in front of Philadelphia, which is on the outside looking in. The Penguins, who sit four points behind the Islanders, return home with their sights set on avenging the only loss of their four-game road trip. The division rivals split the first two contests of their four-game season series, with each winning at home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, TVAS, MSG Plus (New York), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (38-21-8): Calvin de Haan returned to the lineup Monday and added to his team-leading total of blocked shots (150) by registering a game-high five in 22 minutes, 48 seconds of ice time. The 24-year-old defenseman had missed nine of the previous 11 games, including each of the last four, with a lower-body injury. Mikhail Grabovski (upper body) was activated from injured reserve Monday but sat out his 10th consecutive contest: "Want to get him a few more days, but he's coming along," coach Jack Capuano told the team's website.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (36-24-8): Captain Sidney Crosby is riding an eight-game point streak during which he has collected four goals and nine assists. The 28-year-old, who leads the team in goals (29), assists (40) and points (69), needs one tally to reach 30 for the seventh time in 11 seasons. Fresh off the first two-point performance of his NHL career, Tom Kuhnhackl signed a two-year contract extension on Monday.
OVERTIME
1. The Penguins also inked LW Scott Wilson and RW Bryan Rust to two-year extensions.
2. Islanders RW Kyle Okposo is two tallies shy of reaching the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his career.
3. Pittsburgh D Kris Letang's next point will be his 54th of the campaign, matching the career high he set last season.