Happy Friday Penguins fans!
Welcome to the latest edition of Big Daves Pens Pregame.
Tonight, our Penguins head to The Island and hope to reclaim the top spot in the Metropolitan Division from the Islanders. Puck drop is 7pm for Pens/Isles, but the Pregame starts now...
The State of the Penguins
The Pens opened up the second half of the season by absolutely dismantling the Minnesota Wild. Pittsburgh took that matchup by a score of 7-2 at Consol Tuesday night.
The game saw 12 of 18 Penguin skaters score at least one point. Newly acquired David Perron had 2 goals and three points in the contest, while Captain Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin each added multiple points. Marc-Andre Fleury continued his stellar play by getting his first career win v. Minnesota. The Flower now has a win against every NHL team but the Pens.
The Pens have not played since Tuesday, but hit the ice for practice Wednesday and this morning. Thursday was an off day to get the boys set for the huge matchup against the Isles tonight.
The roster also saw several changes since Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Penguins claimed forward Mark Arcobello off waivers from ththe Nashville Predators. Arcobello has split the current campaign between Nashville and Edmonton. He has put up 13pts on the year and even played with David Perron while in Edmonton earlier in the season. The move provides mor depth to the Pens bottom six. The roster also saw Rust and Chorney return to Wilkes-Barre.
The Pens hit th ice at Nassau Collisium for the last time tonight, as th Isles will move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center next season. The winner tonight reclaims the Metropolitan.
The New York Islanders' Magical Year
There is no doubt at this point of the season that the Islanders are for real. A team that pushed us to our brink just two years ago in April is now miles better. The offseason acquisitions of Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Jaroslav Halak have made a major difference for this team. Halak has had an all-star season, which he was recognized for on Thursday when he was named to the all-star roster, and cornerstone center John Tavares has led the Isles offensively again after returning from a torn up knee in 2013-14.
The Isles currently sit atop the Meteopolitan Division thanks to the solid team play. They currently have a one-point lead over the Penguins. The Isles took a home-and-home series back in November, but the Pens hope to change those results tonight. The winner tonight will take the top spot in th division.
Here is everything you need to know about the Islanders:
- The Isles are 29-13-1 on the season. Good for 59 points and tops in the Metro.
- Over their last 10 games, the Isles have gone 6-3-1 overall and have been winners of 3 straight games coming into tonight.
- The Island has been good for New York this year, as they have gone 14-4-0 at Nassau Collisium.
Islanders Points Leaders:
- C John Tavares - 39pts
- RW Kyle Okposo - 37pts
- RW Ryan Strome - 30pts
- C Brock Nelson - 28pts
- C Fran's Nielsen - 22pts
Islander Injuey Report:
- C Mikhail Grabovski is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He did not practice yesteday and likely won't play tonight after missing Tuesday's matchup with the Rangers.
- D Lubomir Visnovsky is OUT tonight with an upper body injury. He was place on IR on Tuesday.
Islander Line Combos:
- Josh Bailey - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo
- Anders Lee - Frans Nielsen - Ryan Strome
- Michael Grabner - Brock Nelson - Nikolai Kulemin
- Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Defensive Pairs:
- Calvin de Haan - Travis Harmonic
- Nick Leddy - Johnny Boychuk
- Thomas Hickey - Brian Strait
Jaroslav Halak is expected in net for the Isles tonight.
News and Notes from the Pens.
The Pens made several roster moves since last playing. Here is what they did:
- Claim Mark Arcobello off waivers from Nashville. He has 13pts on the season in over 30 games.
- Re-assign winger Bryan Rust and defenseman Taylor Chorney to WBS.
- Place center Andrew Ebbett on waivers. He cleared waivers this morning but for now will remain with the big club.
- Recalled defenseman Scott Harrington from WBS this morning. He will likely serve as #PressBoxHero tonight.
Last Saturday, the NHL released the All-Star rosters announced and one name was a glarin ommission: Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens goaltender has had a career year thus far and on Thursday was named to the all-star rosters, replacing Nashville's Pekka Rinne. He joins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the Penguins' representatives.
Defenseman Olli Maatta is officially shut down for the remainder of the season. He underwent shoulder surgery on Wednesday to fix the problem. It was the same shoulder he had surgery on last May, but doctors don't believe he will have further problems. Maatta has already struggled through cancerous tumor removal and mumps this season.
There has been no updates on Patric Hornqvist or Blake Comeau.
Also note, newly acquired forward Mark Arcobello will wear number 26 for the Pens.
Pens Line Combos and D-Pairs
There were some changes to both at morning skate this morning. Here are the projected Pens pairs:
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - David Perron
- Nick Spaling - Evgeni Malkin - Beau Bennett
- Marcel Goc - Brandon Sutter - Steve Downie
- Zach Sill - Mark Arcobello - Craig Adams
The defensive pairs will see a change with the recall of Scott Harrington. Here are the projected pairs:
- Kris Letang - Paul Martin
- Christian Ehrhoff - Scott Harrington
- Rob Scuderi - Simon Despres
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net.
My Keys to the Game for tonight v. the Isles.
1. Rebound: the Pens dropped both games of the home-and-home in their last meeting but it's time to rebound. Tonight's win would be big and even the season series between these two teams. It would also give the Pens a good building block for the second half of the season. This game is big for many reasons, so start with a rebound here.
2. Star Power: the Pens stars need to continue to shine against the Isles tonight. Malkin has great career numbers against the Isladers, as does Sidney Crosby. Kris Letang and Paul Martin will need to be big in shutting down John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and the Flower will need to be on as well. If those five play well, Pens should win.
3. Bottom Six: some changes to the bottom six with Arcobello going in and Rust/Ebbett coming out. I'll be interested to see how Goc plays on the Sutter line and that could very well be the difference tonight. Can the Pens third line of Goc, Sutter and Downie out play the Isles 3rd line? I think the winner gets big play out of their third line
My key players tonight:
1. Evgeni Malkin: his career numbers agains the Isles are "redonkulous!" That's how he will have to play tonight too. He has been a Hart Trophy candidate in my eyes so far and it would go a long way if he had a big game against one of the leagues best tonight.
2. Paul Martin: I think he and Kris Letang will have the job of shutting down Tavares and Okposo. If they can keep them off the board, the Pens should win. Martin is key to that, as his defensive numbers this year have been his best yet in my opinion.
3. Mark Arcobello: the former Oiler and Predator will make his Penguin debut tonight and center Zach Sill and Craig Adams. I think he will see limited minutes, but we should be able to get a glimpse of what he can do, even between two jabronis like Sill and Adams.
Final Notes and Comments:
The game can be caught on ROOT Sports or MSG+ tonight. No national coverage (surprisingly).
I likey won't see the game, so don't expect much tweeting from me during the game.
I will NOT have a Pregame on Sunday for the 1230 matchup against the Rangers at MSG. I likely won't be up until game time, but I do plan to tweet while I watch.
Everyone enjoy the weekend! LETS GO PENS!!!!