Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders Live

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Albeit the Penguins slowed down a bit over the last two weeks, they are still in the race for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind the Washington Capitals. Thus, Evgeni Malkin and company will travel to New York to face the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Friday at 7 p.m. GMT.

In contrast, the New York Islanders would be more than happy if they managed to make it to the post-season after finishing 2008-09 at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Although the Isles started the season with 9 losses in 10 games, they subsequently bounced back and suddenly find themselves in the playoff race holding on to an 8-8-7 record. One bright spot has been number one overall pick John Tavares who leads the Islanders’ stats sheet as he scored 9 goals and added 10 assists for a total of 19 points in 23 games. Nonetheless, the franchise from Long Island had significant problems closing out games and lost more games in overtime than any other team in the league.

The Pittsburgh Penguins on the other hand are highly motivated to defend their Stanley Cup title and are currently second in the Eastern Conference, posting a 15-8-0 record. Much like in previous years, the Penguins won most of their games by outscoring their opponents rather than performing particularly well at the defensive end of the floor. Most importantly, Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin carried Pittsburgh’s offensive lines as they combined for 41 points so far. Considering said circumstances, Pittsburgh appears to be everyone’s favorites to steal one on the road when the game between the Islanders and Penguins gets underway on Friday night. While the Isles might have a young team with a lot of potential they have not reached the level of the team around Sydney Crosby yet. Even if the Islanders manage to keep the game close, they might lack the experience to make clutch plays late in the third period.

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