PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
Dec. 22: Carolina 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Crosby (PP), McGinn (SH), Rust
Multiple Points: None
Goalie: Jarry (32 saves/36 shots)
Key Stats: The Penguins picked up a point for the 10th time in the last 11 games (8-1-2) heading into the holiday break.
PP: 1-3
PK: 5-5

Dec. 20: Pittsburgh 3, NY Rangers 2 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Malkin (PP), Rust (PP), Crosby
Multiple Points: Crosby (1G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (26 saves/28 shots)
Key Stats: Sidney Crosby recorded his team-leading 12th multi-point game of the season as the Penguins took down New York.
PP: 2-3
PK: 3-3

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Jeff Petry Upper-Body 5 5
F Josh Archibald Lower-Body 2 3
F Ryan Poehling Upper-Body 1 3
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 47

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Dec. 27 D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Dec. 23 D Mark Friedman re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Islanders: 130-102-34
In Pittsburgh: 74-41-19
In New York: 56-61-15
OT Record vs. Islanders: 22-5-20
Shootout Record vs. Islanders: 7-10

2021-22 Results: Pittsburgh went 2-0-1.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. ISLANDERS:
Mario Lemieux: 72 GP, 131 PTS (50G-81A)
Sidney Crosby: 78 GP, 128 PTS (40G-88A)
Evgeni Malkin: 70 GP, 84 PTS (32G-52A)

TONIGHT’S GAME

• The Pittsburgh Penguins take on New York Islanders for the first of four matchups this season at UBS Arena (TV: AT&T SportsNet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
• Last season, the Penguins went 2-0-1 against the Islanders. Jake Guentzel led the team with eight points (4G-4A) in three games played.
• The Penguins are 4-0-1 in the last five games versus New York. Going back further, the Penguins are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games against the Islanders.
• Pittsburgh has just two regulation losses in its last 17 matchups versus New York dating back to Nov. 1, 2018 (11-2-4).
• Tonight, the Penguins conclude a four-game stretch versus divisional opponents. Pittsburgh is 5-1-2 against Metropolitan Division foes this year, outscoring their opponents by a combined 28-18 margin.

QUICK HITS
1) Since the beginning of 2018-19, Jake Guentzel has the most points in the NHL versus the Islanders with 23 points (6G-17A) in 18 games played. He has an active three-game point streak (4G-4A) versus them.

2) Jeff Carter has 50 points (23G-27A) in 54 career games versus the Islanders, which is his highest point total against any one team (Edmonton – 38 PTS). His 23 goals, nine power-play goals and seven game-winners are the most he has versus any one team.

3) Danton Heinen currently sits one assist shy of 100 in his career. Heinen, who was drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, is looking to become the 21st member of his draft class to register 100 assists. Of the 20 players with 100 assists, only six players (Christian Dvorak and Brandon Montour, 2nd Round; Brayden Point, 3rd Round; Viktor Arvidsson and Devon Toews, 4th Round; Kevin Lebanc, 6th Round) were selected outside of the first round.

4) Jeff Carter enters tonight’s game one assist away from 400 in his career. He’s set to become the sixth player from the 2003 draft class to collect 400 goals and 400 assists along with Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry and Zach Parise. He would become the 100th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat.

5) Kris Letang leads all active defensemen in goals (13), assists (28) and points (41) against the Islanders.

TEAM NOTES
‘TIS THE SEASON
Pittsburgh comes out of the holiday break as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Dating back to November 9, Pittsburgh has points in 18 of its last 21 games overall (15-3-3). Since this 21-game stretch began, only Boston (34) has picked up more points than the Penguins (33), and they have vaulted from 27th in the league standings to eighth. Excluding a stretch where the Penguins were winless for seven games (0-6-1) from Oct. 24-Nov. 5, Pittsburgh has gone 19-3-4 on the year and have points in 10 of its last 11 games (8-1-2). Head Coach Mike Sullivan and the team are looking to extend their record-setting playoff streak to 17 seasons, and have put themselves in prime position to do so coming out of the break. Over the last five full seasons dating back to 2015-16 (excluding 2019-20 and 20-20 campaigns), nearly 79% of teams that held a playoff spot on December 25 qualified for the postseason (63-80).

CHASING HISTORY
Tristan Jarry enters tonight’s game having picked up points in each of his last 14 games (11-0-3), which is the longest point streak of his career. He is currently one game shy of tying Tom Barrasso, who holds the team record of points in 15-consecutive starts from Mar. 9-Apr. 14, 1993 (14-0-0-1).

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
In the month of December, the Penguins are 8-1-1 and are tied for fourth in the NHL in wins. Over the last five years (2018-22), Pittsburgh has gone 36-7-2 in games during the month of December. Pittsburgh’s .850 points percentage this month is on pace to be one of the highest in the calendar month of December in team history

20 SOMETHING
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game one goal shy of 20 on the year. When he accomplishes this feat, he would become the 29th player in NHL history to reach the 20-goal plateau in 15 or more seasons. His 14 seasons with 20 or more goals is already a franchise record (Evgeni Malkin, 13), and only Alex Ovechkin (18) has more such seasons among active players.

PENALTY KILLIN’ IT
The Penguins’ penalty kill was perfect for a sixth-straight game last Thursday against Carolina (5-for-5) and chipped in with a shorthanded goal from Brock McGinn. Pittsburgh’s four shorthanded goals this season are tied for fourth in the NHL and trail only Vegas (6), Minnesota (6) and Philadelphia (6). The team’s penalty killing unit has made massive strides over the last 18 games, which has coincided with Teddy Blueger’s return from an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined for the first 15 games of the season. With Blueger, Pittsburgh has allowed a power-play goal in only two of 18 games, and have climbed from the league’s 24th-ranked penalty kill to a tie with San Jose for first in the NHL.

POWERED-UP POWER PLAY
Pittsburgh’s power play converted for the 10th-consecutive game last Thursday, going 1-for-3 on the night. The Penguins power play has gone 14-for-38 (36.8%) in the past 10 games, a figure that is fourth in the NHL in that span. The Penguins’ stretch of 10-consecutive games with a power-play goal is the longest active, and total, such streak in the league. Since coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, there have only been 30 instances in the NHL where a team tallied on the power play in 10-straight games, and only 14 of those 30 streaks went 11 games or longer. This stretch marks the first time the Penguins have scored on the power play in 10-consecutive games since Pittsburgh scored on the man advantage in 12-consecutive games from Feb. 3-26, 2013 (16 PPG).

CROSBY VERSUS NYI
Throughout his career, Sidney Crosby has played dominant hockey against the New York Islanders. In 78 career games, Crosby has recorded 128 points (40G-88A) against the Islanders, helping Pittsburgh to a 49-19-10 record in those games. He has more than double the amount of multi-point games against them (38) as opposed to games with no points (18). Only Jaromir Jagr (155) and Mario Lemieux (131) have more points against the Islanders in NHL history than Crosby’s 128. Crosby’s 128 points versus the Islanders are also the most that any active player has against one single team.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS NOTES:

LAST GAME
DATE NYI RESULT SCORE NYI SCORERS IN GOAL
Fri., Dec. 23, 2022 Win NYI 5 vs. FLA 1 Beauvillier (2),
Pulock, Raty, Parise
Sorokin (22/23)
Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk opened the score, then Anthony Beauvillier scored the first of five unanswered Islander goals as the New York Islanders defeated the Panthers, 5-1, Friday night at UBS Arena. Anders Lee tallied two assists, while Aatu Raty scored his first career NHL goal. Ryan Pulock found the back of the net for the second time this season, and netminder Ilya Sorokin turned away 22 of 23 shots he faced, earning his 11th win of the 2022-23 campaign.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight, the New York Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of four matchups between the two teams this season. The Penguins last visited UBS Arena on April 12, 2022, when Josh Bailey and Zach Parise each scored twice to help the Islanders earn a 5-4 win in a shootout. The Islanders earned their tenth home ice victory of the season on Friday, and look to improve upon their 7-4-0 record against Metropolitan opponents tonight. They enter tonight’s matchup with points in five of their last six home matchups against Pittsburgh.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 23 Kyle Palmieri (Dec. 16) and Semyon Varlamov (Dec. 17) have both been placed on IR, retroactive to their dates. Aatu Raty and Parker Wotherspoon have been recalled from loan (Bridgeport).
Dec. 21 Cal Clutterbuck has been placed on IR (retroactive to Dec. 16).
Dec. 18 Cory Schneider has been emergency recalled from loan (Bridgeport).
Dec. 17 Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri are both day to day with upper body injuries.
Dec. 16 Kyle Palmieri has been activated off the team’s IR list.
Dec. 15 Adam Pelech has been placed on IR (retroactive Dec. 6).

INJURIES GAMES MISSED

3 Adam Pelech Dec. 9 –

12 Josh Bailey Nov. 29

15 Cal Clutterbuck Oct. 13, Nov. 8, Dec. 2- Dec. 6, Dec. 17 –

18 Anthony Beauvillier Dec. 10 – Dec. 13

21 Kyle Palmieri Nov. 23 – Dec. 13, Dec. 17 –

25 Sebastian Aho Oct. 13 – Oct. 20

26 Oliver Wahlstrom Oct. 13

40 Semyon Varlamov Dec. 19 –

Man Games Lost: 42

RECENT RESULTS
Friday, Dec. 23 vs. Florida W (5-1)
Thursday, Dec. 22 at NY Rangers L (5-3)
Monday. Dec. 19 at Colorado L/SO (1-0)
Saturday, Dec. 17 at Vegas W (5-2)
Friday, Dec. 16 at Arizona L (5-4)

UPCOMING GAMES
Dec. 29 vs. Columbus UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:30pm
Jan. 1 at Seattle Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle, WA) 8:00pm
Jan. 3 at Vancouver Rogers Arena (Vancouver, BC) 10:00pm
Jan. 5 at Edmonton Rogers Place (Edmonton, AB) 9:00pm
Jan. 6 at Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome (Calgary, AB) 9:00pm

SEASON SERIES
DATE LOCATION TIME
Dec. 27, 2022 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:30pm
Feb. 17, 2023 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:00pm
Feb. 20, 2023 PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA) 7:00pm
Mar. 9, 2023 PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA) 7:00pm

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST PITTSBURGH:
Apr. 14, 2022 PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA) Loss (6-3)
Apr. 12, 2022 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) Win (SO) (5-4)
Nov. 26, 2021 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) Loss (1-0)
Mar. 29, 2021 PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA) Loss (2-1)
Mar. 27, 2021 PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA) Loss (6-3)

vs. THE PENGUINS:
2021-22 1-2-0
Last 5 meetings 1-4-0
Franchise History 114-110-22-20
NYI Home 68-43-8-13
NYI Away 46-67-14-7

TEAM NOTES
HOSTING THE PENGUINS
Tonight, the Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins for in the first of four meetings between the two clubs this season. The Islanders will host the Penguins twice this season. The last time these teams met was April 14 in Pittsburgh, a 6-3 decision in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Islanders have collected points five of the last six times they have hosted the Penguins at home. The last time was April 12 of last season, a 5-4 shootout win for the Islanders. Josh Bailey and Zach Parise each found the back of the net twice. Forward Zach Parise enters tonight’s game with 45 career points against the Penguins, sixth -most of any active NHLer. He has 22 career goals against them (including three in his last two matchup with Pittsburgh), good for fourth amongst all active skaters. Islanders forward Josh Bailey leads the Islanders in assists against the Penguins, with 28. It is the most Bailey has registered against a single opponent in his career. His 28 career assists against Pittsburgh are tied with Steven Stamkos and Patrice Bergeron for sixth-most amongst all active skaters.

OPENING THE SCORE
Friday night’s victory against the Panthers was the seventh time this season that the Islanders have won when allowing the first goal (7-10-2). The Islanders have opened the score in seven of their last nine victories, dating back to November 14 in Ottawa. This season, they are 12-4-0 when scoring the first goal.

FIRSTS
Islanders forward Aatu Raty made his NHL debut on Friday, December 23 when the Islanders hosted the Florida Panthers. Raty recorded his first career NHL goal to help the Islanders earn a 5-1 win over Florida. He becomes the first Islander since Alan Quine (2016) to score his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut. Current Islander captain Anders Lee also scored his first NHL in his first career NHL game. Islanders defenseman Parker Wotherspoon made his NHL Debut on December 23 as well. Wotherspoon logged 14:47 TOI and recorded two shots on goal in the 5-1 victory before the three-day holiday break.

100
Friday night against Florida, Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier tallied his 100th and 101st career NHL goals, in his first two goal game since May 1, 2021. Beauvillier is the 11th member of his 2015 NHL Draft class and the 11th active Quebec native to reach the milestone. Beauvillier finished the game with two goals and an assist, his first three-point outing of the season (last: Mar. 10, 2022 vs. Columbus). Beauvillier is the fourth Islander to record a three-point game this season and the first since November 26 (Ryan Pulock, four assists).

50
Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves on Friday night to earn his 50th career win in his 96th career start. It was his 11th win this season and first since November 25 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sorokin is the 13th netminder in club history to record 50 wins with the Islanders, and he is currently the only active netminder with 50 wins and less than 100 games played. Sorokin enters tonight’s game with a. 925 save percentage in 25 games played so far this season, second-highest amongst Metropolitan Division netminders. He is also one of four NHL goaltenders to record three shutouts this season, joining Pyotr Kochetkov (CAR), Ville Husso (DET) and Connor Hellebuyck (WPG).

AGAINST THE METRO
The Islanders enter tonight’s matchup with a 7-4-0 record against Metropolitan Division opponents this season. They are second only to Carolina (9) in intra-division victories. Tonight’s game is the Islanders’ fourth division matchup of the month, and their last Metropolitan win was on December 9, when they collected a 6-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

HOME ICE
Friday night against the Panthers’ was the Islanders’ tenth home win of the 2022-23 campaign. Last season, the Islanders did not collect their tenth home win of the season until February 17. The Islanders’ penalty kill has been particularly successful on UBS Arena ice so far this season. Entering tonight’s game, the Islanders lead the league with 88.4% penalty kill on home ice. They have allowed just five power play goals in 43 times shorthanded on home ice so far this season.

DEFENSEMEN
Islanders defensemen have scored a league-high 25 goals so far this season. Noah Dobson, who leads Islanders defensemen in goals (10), assists (13) points (23) has recorded five points in his last six games. Dobson scored his tenth goal of the season on December 16, tying Rasmus Dahlin for second-most amongst all NHL defensemen. Dobson enters tonight’s game five points shy of his career 100th. The Summerside, PEI native is fourth on the Islanders in goals, behind Brock Nelson’s 15 tallies and Anders Lee and Zach Parise’s 11. Dobson is also one of just two Islander defensemen in franchise history to record 27 goals before their 23rd birthday (joining Denis Potvin). He enters tonight’s matchup three goals shy of his career-best, 13, set last season.

ASSISTS LEADER
Like Parise, Mathew Barzal has also found the scoresheet each of the last two times these teams have met. Barzal recorded his team-high ninth multi-point game of the season Thurdsday night against the Rangers, including his fifth goal of the season and 28th assist. The Coquitlam, BC native leads the Islanders in assists. His 28 assists are seventh-most in the league (tied with Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox). Amongst Metropolitan Division skaters, only Artemi Panarin (32) and Adam Fox have as many assists as Barzal so far this season.

POINTS LEADER
Brock Nelson leads the Islanders in goals (15) and points (34), and is second on the team in assists (19). Nelson also leads the Islanders in game-winners (5) and is one of just seven NHLers to tally five GWGs so far this season. Only Sidney Crosby (6) and Leon Draisaitl (8) have tallied more. Five GWGs also matches Nelson’s single-season career-high, which he first recorded during the 2019-20 season, and again in 2021-22. Nelson tallied an assist the last time these teams met on October 23.