PGP (Finally!) Game 31, Pens @ Isles 12/15/07 7:00 PM

The Isles will take on the Penguins for the 3rd time this season as they look to go 3games over .500%

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BIG MATCHUP:

Youth Vs. Experience

(from islanders.nhl.com)

"Many of the Penguins' best players are under the age of 25, including forwards Sidney Crosby (20), Evgeni Malkin (21), Jordan Staal (19), defensemen Ryan Whitney (24) and Kris Letang (20).

Their youthful energy brought them to the 2006-07 playoffs, but they ran into a more experienced Ottawa Senators squad that easily dismantled them in the first round.

The Islanders, with a much more experienced team, have been able to handle the Penguins well over the past two seasons. With a record of 5-4-1 against Pittsburgh in their past ten meetings, the Islanders will try to out-smart the speedy and talented Penguins team led by Crosby."

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15-13-2

The Islanders have been up and down this entire season. With 30 games behind them, they have won half of them, and recieved points in 17 of them. A great start, and offensive breakdown, and now, we hope, there will be a winning boost.

Tonight will be a great chance to do it. The Penguins have been struggling quite a bit, losing their #1 goaltender, and being pushed into below .500% winning percentage.

If it weren't for their goalie Rick DiPietro, the Isles would be no where near a playoff spot at this point. Out of the 15 wins, I would credit The Rick on 12 of them with the blink of an eye. And that, if you do the math, would mean 12 out of 14 wins would be all his.

Coming off of a tough, but hard-working road trip, the Isles defeated the Coyotes at the Coliseum Thursday night. Even on the trip, they showed signs of grit and confidence, which is the key to Islanders wins.

The bad offense is starting to wear away, luckily, as things have been starting to go in. They have scored 3 or more goals in the past 3 games, and that is a huge sign of offense, no matter how low that may seem.

Continuing their game-packed December, the Isles will play for the 4th spot in the Atlantic division.

My Projected Lines:

Goaltenders
39 Rick DiPietro
34 Wade Dubielewicz

Defensemen
32 Brendan Witt - 24 Radek Martinek
25 Andy Sutton - 47 Marc-Andre Bergeron
14 Chris Campoli - 8 Bruno Gervais


Forwards
26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 89 Mike Comrie - 13 Bill Guerin
11 Andy Hilbert - 18 Mike Sillinger - 7 Trent Hunter
20 Sean Bergenheim - 63 Josef Vasicek - 81 Miroslav Satan
12 Chris Simon – 10 Richard Park - 28 Tim Jackman

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15-16-2

The Penguins can't be upset when they look at their roster. But when it comes to winning games, things just haven't been the greatest.

With guys like Crosby and Malkin, the Pens have no shortage in offense. But their goaltending can be an issue at times. Right now, they have G Dany Sabourin in the pipes for the game tonight. He has been playing average for a backup, and will be playing in Nassau Coliseum tonight, for the first time ever.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury played the previous games against the Isles, going 1-1. Now, a sprained ankle will have him out for 2 months. Not good to see a #1 go down like this, and the Pens will have to find a way to deal with it tonight.

The past 2 games have not been their best. A 8-2 loss to the Flyers Wednesday and a 4-1 loss to the Senators have them searching for problems.

A blowout may occur tonight, not because of the matchup in net, but more for my pre-game feelings. The last thing either of these teams will want is to be blown out, so that can trigger anything.

Battling for the 4th place division spot, the Isles and Penguins are set to give the fans a great game tonight.

My Projected Lines:

Goaltenders
30 Dany Sabourin
35 Ty Conklin


Defensemen
4 Rob Scuderi – 19 Ryan Whitney
3 Mark Eaton - 55 Sergei Gonchar
5 Darryl Sydor – 58 Kris Letang

Forwards
12 Ryan Malone - 87 Sidney Crosby – 20 Colby Armstrong
25 Maxime Talbot - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 17 Petr Sykora
37 Jarkko Ruutu - 16 Erik Christensen - 27 Georges Laraque
10 Gary Roberts - 11 Jordan Staal - 48 Tyler Kennedy

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Official Preview:

The Islanders try to post back-to-back victories for the first time since Nov. 16-19 on Saturday when it hosts a Pittsburgh Penguins team that is having trouble stopping opponents from scoring.

The Islanders (15-13-2) opened this season with 11 wins in their first 17 games, averaging 2.6 goals during that span. But since their last set of consecutive wins in mid-November, they've lost nine of 13, posting 1.8 goals per game.

New York is last in the league with 69 goals and hasn't scored more than three in a game since a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 1.

The Islanders scored three goals for the third straight game Thursday, and it was enough to beat Phoenix 3-2 at home. The Coyotes are the second-lowest scoring team in the NHL with 70 goals.

Captain Bill Guerin scored a pair of rebound goals and his linemates combined for three assists to lead New York to its second win in three games following a season-high five-game losing streak.

"Nobody likes to play poorly," said Guerin, who has three goals in the past three games after he went 13 without one. "I haven't had the best first 30 games. Sometimes you get frustrated, but we have to keep pushing along and whatever gets you going gets you going."

Before the game, Islanders coach Ted Nolan spoke to top-line forward Mike Comrie and made it clear the effort being given wasn't good enough. Comrie responded by assisting on both of Guerin's goals.

"Sometimes we have to realize that we're in here together and we don't want to let the next guy down," Comrie said. "When you go through a funk, sometimes it's hard because you never think you're going to get out."

Pittsburgh (15-14-2) is trying to get out of its own funk.

The Penguins won seven of eight from Nov. 22-Dec. 8, but have lost their last two games by a combined 12-3. Pittsburgh's 92 goals allowed are among the most in the Eastern Conference, and it is without No. 1 goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for at least the next two months because of a badly sprained ankle.

Dany Sabourin has taken over as the starter for the Penguins, allowing eight goals on the last 50 shots he's faced. Sabourin, who has made just 21 career starts, is 6-6-1 with a 2.54 goals-against average in 15 appearances this season.

Pittsburgh followed an 8-2 defeat in Philadelphia on Tuesday with a 4-1 home loss Thursday to Ottawa, which has the most points in the East.

The Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the second period on rookie center Tyler Kennedy's fifth goal of the season, but Senators goalie Martin Gerber didn't allow another score, even stopping Sidney Crosby on a breakaway.

"When you get that many opportunities, it would be nice to find a way to get one," said Crosby, who hurt his left foot during the second period but returned.

These Atlantic Division rivals have split two meetings this season, with each team winning 3-2 on its home ice. Pittsburgh has lost its last four visits to Nassau Coliseum.

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It has been 10 days since my last PGP. Oof. I will start things up again, no need to worry.