The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to New York to take on the Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island Tuesday night in NHL action at 7:30 PM ET.
The Penguins have been one of the impressive teams early in the season, leading the Atlantic division with 12 points after going 6-3-0 to start the year. Sidney Crosby has looked sharp since returning from his concussion problems and is leading the team with 13 assists. The Penguins have dominated the Islanders in recent years, but lost to the team last week 4-1 victory at home.
"The Islanders are maybe not (a team) that people focus on but they have talented players and they've been working hard and playing well. ... If we needed to learn that lesson, we definitely could have learned it with last game," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.
"We know what happened last time they played us, and it wasn't a good game -- they mopped us up. We'll be going into their building in an Atlantic Division game knowing that it's an important game."
Evgeni Nabokov had 37 saves for the Islanders in the win, while Tavares and Matt Moulson added scores for New York. The Penguins have been one of the most consistent teams on offense this season, outscoring opponents 21-12 while opening 5-1-0 on the road, the best start for the team away from home since 2009.
The Penguins are coming off of its third straight victory after a 6-3 win at Washington on Sunday and the team has gotten some strong play from Chris Kunitz, who had his third career hat trick and is leading the team in scoring. Crosby added a season-high three assists in the game.
"I'm just trying to put the puck on net," Kunitz told the team's official website. "We're worried about the two points and getting our team headed in the right direction. No one cares about that other stuff."
The Islanders have started the season slowly, but are now 4-3-1 with nine points, just ahead of the Rangers, who are one point behind after opening 4-4-0. Jonathan Tavares has been excellent so far this year, leading the team with 11 points and four goals.
Tomas Vokun had 21 saves against the Capitals, while Marc-Andre Fleury likely will be in the net on Tuesday night against the Islanders. Andre Fleury has been excellent in net this season, posting a 0.96 goals-against average in winning both his road starts. He has been strong against the Islanders in the past, going 17-7-3 against New York since 2005-06.
The Islanders lost 3-0 against the Devils on Sunday despite Nabokov making 24 of 26 saves. The team went 0 for 7 on the power play, but is ranked in the top three in both power play and penalty kill percentage in the league this season.
"We were just uncharacteristic on things we were doing," Capuano said. "We had zone time, we had entry, but we got in there and it was -- we slowed it down, we didn't make it tough on them, we didn't get shots to the net, we didn't have any net presence like we've had in the past.
According to the Associated Press: Nabokov is 10-2-0 with a 1.70 GAA and two shutouts against Pittsburgh, allowing two or fewer goals in nine straight matchups.
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