Follow me on twitter Follow @GunnerStaal
PENGUINS (14-8-0) vs. ISLANDERS (8-11-3) 7PM at CONSOL Energy Center
The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders will face off against one another for their 2nd matchup of the season tonight. The New York Islanders were able to best the Penguins in the 1st matchup with a score of 4-3.
At the time it was thought to be a statement win for the Islanders who were then set to face the struggling Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers in back to back games. Instead the Islanders dropped both decisions in regulation and have gone 4-8 since beating the Penguins on October 25th.
The Penguins have had their stretch of poor play as well. Since the Islanders game they have gone 7-5-0 and mixed in a 3 game losing streak against the Rangers, Blues, and Flyers. Lately the Penguins have been playing solid hockey with good wins over the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals. The Capitals game was the best game that the Penguins have played from top to bottom.
To nobody’s surprise superstar John Tavares is the straw that stirs the Islanders drink. In the month of November Tavares has played in 10 games and has 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points. Tavares is one of the best players in hockey and continues to show why on a nightly basis.
The Islanders did receive a scare the other night as John Tavares collided with Leafs player Nikolai Kulemin who drove Tavares into the linesman. The collision left Tavares crumpled up in an awkward heap. Things appear to be OK moving forward as Tavares returned to action in that game.
Somebody who has not been in game action for the Islanders has been the newly acquired Thomas Vanek. So far Vanek has only been able to play in 6 games for the Islanders and has registered 1 goal and 2 assists.
Vanek has missed the past 5 games for the Islanders. This is certainly not what Garth Snow drew up when he traded Tavares’ preferred linemate Matt Moulson to the Buffalo Sabres. Obviously there is still plenty of time left in the season but the Islanders cannot afford to slip further away from playoff contention. On the surface the Vanek trade has the optics of being a rental. This will be an incredibly expensive rental if the Islanders do not find their way into the postseason.
Thomas Vanek will be making his return to the Islanders lineup tonight.
The Islanders are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division with 19 points but they are only 4 behind the Devils for third place and an automatic playoff berth.
Line Combos
Projected line combos for the Penguins:
Kunitz-Crosby-Bennett Dupuis-Malkin-Neal Jokinen-Sutter-Gibbons Glass-Vitale-Adams
Orpik-Martin Maatta-Letang Niskanen-Engelland
Kris Letang was not practicing with the Penguins #1 power play unit today. Paul Martin was the lone defenseman on the unit which included Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, and Neal. For now Martin's calming presence is a welcomed change on the #1 PP unit.
2nd PP unit included Niskanen and Letang on the point with Jokinen, Sutter and Bennett down low.
Jeff Zatkoff will be getting the start for the Penguins tonight. Marc Andre Fleury will be given the start in his home province of Quebec against the Canadiens.
Projected lines for the Islanders:
Vanek-Tavares-Okposo Bailey-Nielsen-Grabner Marc Bouchard-Regin-Clutterbuck McDonald-Cizikas-Martin
MacDonald-Hamonic Donovan-Hickey Ness-Carkner
Injuries
The Islanders have a good amount injuries that they are currently dealing with.
As previously mentioned Thomas Vanek missed the last five games with his injury. It is officially an upper-body injury and he is questionable to play Friday against the Penguins.
Strait is dealing with an upper body injury and is out indefinitely.
Nabokov has been placed on the injured reserve after suffering a groin injury during the November 16th game against the Red Wings. He is expected to be out the next four weeks.
Visnovsky was placed on the injured reserve with a concussion and there is no timetable for his return.
On the Penguins front there is actually an update for both Rob Scuderi and Chuck Kobasew.
Rob Scuderi is right on pace for a return near Christmas time. That places him exactly in the previous time frame that was reported at the time of the injury. Scuderi will be looking to add some physical activity to his rehab coming up in the near future.
Kobasew has practiced on his own the past 3 days and he is looking to progress further in the next couple of days.
Power Play
Penguins power play is 12th overall at 20.5%. Penguins rank 14th overall with 78 PP opportunities.
Islanders are 19th at 18.4%. Islanders rank 15th overall with 76 PP opportunities.
Penalty Kill
After a rough start to the season the Penguins have shot up the charts and are now ranked 6th overall on the PK at 85.0%.
The Islanders are ranked dead last in the NHL at 71.6%.
The Penguins should be able to win the battle of special teams this evening, especially since they were able to do so against the impressive Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Penguins rank 1st overall in the amount of times they have been shorthanded with 60. The Islanders rank 6th overall with 67 in that department.
Fenclose%
After going 100% against the Washington Capitals the Penguins have bumped up a spot to 4th overall at 55.4%
The New York Islanders are currently 14th overall at 50.1%
Even Strength Save %
The Penguins are 22nd overall at .919%. Marc Andre Fleury is at .923%
The Islanders are 26th overall at .909%. Kevin Poulin is at .914%
New York entered the season with Evgeni Nabokov in net and did not seek out a legit improvement in that area. I believe that was a mistake by Garth Snow. The only thing that stopped the Islanders from beating the Penguins in their round 1 series last year was the fact that their goaltending was actually worse than what Marc Andre Fleury provided.
Trends
Islanders are 4-1 in their last 5 Friday games.
Islanders are 2-6 in their last 8 overall.
Islanders are 6-23 in the last 29 meetings in Pittsburgh
Penguins are 1-5 in their last 6 when their opponent allows 5 goals or more in their previous game
Stats courtesy of Covers.com
****
Last night Jaromir Jagr scored the game winning goal for the New Jersey Devils in overtime. The goal tied him with Gordie Howe with most career game winning goals at 121.
Also notable was the fact it was Jagr’s 690th career goal. He is now tied with Mario Lemieux for 9th on the all-time list.
Jagr had this to say about Mario:
"I didn't really have a chance to see Wayne [Gretzky] when he was doing the 200-point season when he was in Edmonton.When I came in the League I was playing with Mario. He was the guy I was looking up to. I know Wayne got all the records, but to me, I got a better chance to look for Mario. I could see him every day in practice, the way he plays. He was a huge influence on the game I play.
I was pretty lucky to see him at his best. I tied him, but he probably played 600 less games than me. This is just a number, but he didn't play many games. If he would have played as many games as me, he would probably have 2,500 points and 900 goals."
Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr are one of the best duos of all-time. It has been so incredibly fortunate that the Penguins were able to call both of them their own during the prime years of both players.
Congratulations Jaromir on accolades well deserved.
Thanks for reading!
Follow me on twitter Follow @GunnerStaal