Penguins vs. Islanders: Long Island Battle
The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Long Island for a matchup with the New York Islanders.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to continue their improved run of play of late. Coming off of a shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Pens have picked up points in five of their last six contests. Despite the improvement, Pittsburgh still finds themselves meandering in the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. Up next, they take on the New York Islanders. Here's what to watch for as the Pens and Islanders battle on Long Island.
1. Letang Awakened?
In the Penguins' most recent game, Kris Letang put up a three point outing, notching his 103rd multi-assist game of his career. The offensive output was a huge sign for the Pens' top defender, as he's taken a back seat to newcomer Erik Karlsson in the scoring department. Hopefully the past game was the start of an offensive run for Letang, who only has 17 points in 32 games. In a huge divisional matchup, the Penguins need Letang to keep this progress going.
2. New York's Big Four
At 16-8-9, the Islanders have been one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division. A huge reason for their success is having four 30+ point scorers through the team's first 33 games this season. Two of the names on the list, Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat, are expected names. The two forwards are big-time offensive players with scoring histories.
The third member of the list is standout defender Noah Dobson, who has elevated his game yet again this season to become a point-per-game player. The final and most surprising player is forward Brock Nelson. Coming off of two straight 35 goal seasons, Nelson is maintaining his same scoring pace for a third straight year. Put it all together, and the Islanders are a deep team with scoring coming from multiple directions.
3. Penguins Turning A Corner?
Don't look now, but the Penguins are 4-1-1 in their last six games. After the team fumbled the start of the season, the Pens are finally starting to put a full effort together. They are far from a polished product, but stringing together points trumps it all. Their wins have come over decent, but not overly impressive opponents. The Penguins can quickly change that with another win over a difficult New York Islanders squad.
The Penguins and Islanders face-off at 7:30 p.m. at UBS Arena.
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