Penguins at Islanders
The Pittsburgh Penguins have rocketed up the standings at the expense of their fellow Metropolitan Division representatives. The Penguins will vie for their 10th win in 13 outings versus a division foe on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Barclays Center to face the New York Islanders.
Defenseman Kris Letang scored and set up a goal in Thursday's 5-2 win over Nashville as Pittsburgh posted its fourth straight victory and 10th in 11 outings to leapfrog the New York Rangers into second place . Letang, who netted the decisive tally in the shootout of Tuesday's 5-4 win over Buffalo, also scored in the bonus format as the Penguins skated to a 2-1 victory over the Islanders on March 15. Coach Jack Capuano's club has also enjoyed a surge of its own, notching its third straight win and fourth in five outings with a 4-3 victory over Columbus on Thursday. Anders Lee snapped a 10-game goalless drought by scoring on the power play in back-to-back contests for the Islanders, who reside two points behind the Rangers while sitting in the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG-Plus (New York), SN, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (44-25-8): Captain Sidney Crosby was named the NHL's First Star of the Month for March - and for good reason with seven goals and a league-best 14 assists while notching at least one point in 15 of 16 contests. The two-time Hart Trophy recipient scored twice in Pittsburgh's 5-2 win over New York on Jan. 2 and set up a tally in the team's 2-1 loss to the Islanders on March 8 and again the following week. Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino are also riding hot streaks over their last four games, as the former tallied twice versus the Predators for his ninth point (four goals, five assists) while the latter scored and set up a goal on Thursday for his eighth point (three goals, five assists) in that same stretch.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (42-25-9): Defenseman Travis Hamonic will miss the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, coach Jack Capuano told reporters on Friday. "Guys are going to get more minutes and put into situations they're not used to," Capuano told the team's website. "(Fellow blue-liners Marek) Zidlicky and (Ryan) Pulock are there for us now that we can use it. But losing (Hamonic) is a big loss for our hockey team, no doubt about it." Hamonic collected five goals and 16 assists this season while averaging a team-high 23 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time.
OVERTIME
1. New York, which is 9-1-1 in its last 11 home games, plays four of its final six contests at the Barclays Center.
2. Pittsburgh D Brian Dumoulin returned to practice on Friday after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
3. The Islanders have scored a power-play goal in back-to-back contests after going 0-for-12 in their previous six.