First place will be on the line when the Penguins travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders tonight at 7:00 p.m.
The Islanders come into the game with a one-point lead in the Metropolitan Division, with 59 points to the Penguins 58. The Penguins have a game in hand on the Isles.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Islanders are winners of three straight games and are coming off a 3-0 victory over their cross-town rivals in Manhattan on Tuesday. This will be their first home game since December 29. On their ensuing seven-game road trip, they went 5-2.
This is the fourth of five meetings between the teams this season. The Penguins are 1-1-1 in the first three games against the Isles. With the teams so close in the standings, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker could be crucial down the stretch.
“We’ve had some good battles with the Islanders so far this year,” said Penguins head coach Mike Johnston. “They have good depth up front, their defense, they’ve had them intact for a while and I like the balance to their team.
“All three games against them have been hard games, they’ve been well played, and I expect tonight, with both teams looking at the standings, and looking at the situation, that we’re not playing each other (until April), that this is a real key game.”
ALL-STARS IN GOAL: Both of the likely starting goaltenders for tonight’s game were added to the all-star game roster as injury replacements on Thursday, and both of them are playing at the top of their game.
In 34 games, Fleury has a 22-7-4 record with a .926 save percentage and a 2.16 goals-against average. In his career against the Islanders, he is 20-7-5 with a .916 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.
Halak, meanwhile, is 23-8 on the season with a .917 save percentage and a 2.22 goal-against average. In his career against Pittsburgh, he is 4-4 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average.
I LOVE THIS BARN: This will be the final regular season game that the Penguins will play in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Islanders will be moving to the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn next season.
The Coliseum was built in 1972, with the Islanders joining the NHL shortly thereafter. Tonight will mark the 101st regular season game between the Penguins and the Islanders at the venue. The Penguins record on Long Island is 48-42-8-3, and the Pens have won four straight games there.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has fond memories of the arena. “I remember playing with Mario here my first year, that was pretty special, being able to play on the same line” he said. “I remember how loud it was in the playoffs when we played here a couple years ago.”
The teams have also met 12 times on the Coliseum ice in the postseason. The Islanders have the advantage there, with an 8-4 record against the Penguins. It’s very possible that the teams will meet in the playoffs again this season. They would be second-round opponents if the current seeds held true.
“It might not necessarily be our last trip here,” said Crosby. “We’ll see what happens.”
THE 4077: Penguins right-winger Steve Downie left Tuesday night’s 7-2 victory over Minnesota in the second period after being elbowed by Wild defenseman Ryan Suter.
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On Wednesday evening, Suter was suspended two games by the NHL’s department of player safety.
It appears that Downie will be ready to play in tonight’s game.
UP AND DOWN: The Penguins recalled defenseman Scott Harrington from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League today. In several stints in Pittsburgh, Harrington has played in six games and recorded two penalty minutes and a minus-8 rating. In 23 games in Wilkes-Barre, he had six assists, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-4 rating. Harrington is expected to play on the second pairing with Christian Ehrhoff tonight.
Center Andrew Ebbett cleared waivers today but remains with the team for now. Ebbett has played 17 games in Pittsburgh, with one goal, four assists, and a plus-2 rating, but hasn’t played in nine days. He can remain with the team for 10 games or 30 days before having to clear waivers again.
Rookie right-winger Scott Wilson, who has been out since Dec 2, was activated from the injured reserve and re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was injured during his NHL debut. In 21 AHL games this season, he has three goals, nine assists, 14 penalty minutes, and is a plus-10.
On Wedenseday, the team assigned forward Bryan Rust and defenseman Taylor Chorney to the AHL. Chorney had just been recalled on Tuesday and did not dress in that night’s game.
Rust, meanwhile, had played in 14 consecutive games for the Pens. In that span, he made his NHL debut along with a goal, an assist, and a minus-3 rating. The 22-year old rookie from Notre Dame averaged 12:02 of ice time and was skating on the third line. He was made expendable by the Penguins claiming forward Mark Arcobello on waivers on Wednesday.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (20-15-4, 1st AHL East) are on a New England road trip this weekend. They face the Worcester Sharks on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and the Providence Bruins on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.
The Penguins released forward Sahir Gill from his PTO this morning. Gill will return to the Wheeling Nailers. In 12 AHL games, he had a goal, two assists, and was a plus-1.
Wheeling (16-17, 4th ECHL North) is making their first-ever trip to Canada this weekend for a three-game series against the Brampton Beast. The Beast came over from the now-defunct Central Hockey League at the beginning of the season and is in last place in the Central Division.
Goaltender Franky Palazzese was recalled by the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs today. The Nailers will also be without veteran forward Chaz Johnson, who did not make the trip to Brampton, and forward Francis Drolet was released on Thursday. Forward Max MacKay, who was placed on injured reserve on Jan. 3, is likely out for the season with an undisclosed injury.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: The Robert Morris Colonials (13-5-4, 1st AHC) host the American International Yellow Jackets this weekend at 84 Lumber Arena on Neville Island. The Yellow Jackets are 3-14-5 and have struggled to score all season, with only 39 goals on the year. The Colonials went 1-0-1 during a November trip to AIC. The games will be played at 7:05 p.m. tonight and Saturday.
Penn State (12-7, 1st Big Ten) hosts the Michigan State Spartans this weekend at Pegula Ice Arena. The Spartans are 7-10-1 and in fourth place in the conference. This is the first of two series between the teams. The Nittany Lions will travel to East Lansing, Michigan in February. Tonight’s game is at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday’s is at 5:00 p.m. The Lions will be unveiling new third jerseys, a first for the program, on Saturday. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPNU.
YOUNGSTOWN’S TOP PROSPECTS: At the USHL Top Prospects game in Dubuque, Iowa on Wednesday, Youngstown Phantoms forwards Chase Pearson and Kevin Conley each found the scoresheet. Conley had two goals and an assist and was the game’s first star. Pearson had a goal and an assist. Phantoms goaltender Chris Birdsall played 27:11 of shutout hockey, making nine saves. Conley is committed to the University of Denver and Birdsall is committed to Boston College. The boxscore and a full recap are available here.
Photo credit: Newsday
