Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the New York Islanders (46-28-6, 98 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (42-26-12, 96 points) face-off for the fifth and final time this season live from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
New York has dropped two of its last three games and five of seven overall while Pittsburgh has dropped four consecutive contests. This is the penultimate game of the season for both of these teams.
The Islanders were idle on Thursday night, but clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the Boston Bruins losing to the Florida Panthers. The team sits in the third and final automatic playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the Washington Capitals (101) and two points ahead of their opponents.
The Penguins recent skid has them scratching and clawing for a playoff spot as they sit in the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a one-point lead over the Boston Bruins (95) while they trail the Ottawa Senators (97) by one point.
New York has taken three of four meetings in the regular season, notching a 6-3 victory last time these teams clashed on Jan. 16.
This game can be live streamed by clicking here.
This contest features two players that are neck-and-neck for the Art Ross Trophy, given to the player with the most amount of points at the end of the season. Islanders captain John Tavares and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby each enter play with 83 points. Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is tied with the duo.
The Islanders come in on the heels of a crippling 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday that saw them miss a chance to clinch a playoff berth sooner than they eventually did.
The team is prepared for a desperate Penguins team looking for two huge points.
"They're going to play their game," Isles coach Jack Capuano said per NHL.com. "They play the way they've played the last few nights, they can easily get the results they want ... They can score goals. They're a highly-powered team, there's no doubt about it. Their goaltending is solid."
While Tavares has shouldered most of the scoring load, young forward Ryan Strome has also had a big year, notching 50 points off of 17 tallies and 33 helpers.
The Penguins enter the contest after a tough 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators and will look to avoid their fifth straight loss while playing with just five defenseman.
"We come into a game with a plan of how we're going to play," Penguins coach Mike Johnston told NHL.com. "We've had experience in the last three or four weeks with these kinds of situations. Really when you're managing, a lot of it is managing minutes and situations."
Aside from Crosby, Evgeni Malkin has had a big year for the Penguins, notching 70 points off of 28 goals and 42 assists.
In the crease, Pittsburgh turns to Marc-Andre Fleury and he is 33-19-9 this season with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
New York counters with Jaroslav Halak in between the pipes and he is 37-17-3 with a 2.44 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
The Islanders look to gain momentum heading toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs while the Penguins hope to get into the tournament when the puck drops live tonight from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
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