The Penguins had a winning record against the Islanders in the regular season, going 6-2 with one of those wins coming in overtime and another in a shootout.
Let's look more into the Penguins' regular-season series against the Islanders, and break down some of the stats and other trends from those eight games, bullet by bullet:
• The Penguins averaged 3.25 goals per game in the regular-season series, their lowest average against any of the playoff teams. Not surprising, given the Islanders' defense-oriented style. Those 3.25 goals per game, though, were the most any of the teams in the division scored against the Islanders this year.
• The Penguins allowed an average of 2.38 goals against per game against the Islanders this season, their second-best average against any team in the division. Only the Sabres scored fewer goals against the Penguins this season. For the Islanders, those 2.38 goals per game were the second-fewest they scored on any team all season. Only the Capitals shut the Islanders' offense down better.
• The Penguins' power play record went 25 percent against the Islanders overall.
• The Penguins' penalty kill struggled against the Islanders and only had a 65 percent success rate.
• In three of the eight games against the Islanders this season, the Penguins led at first intermission. They won all three of those games in which they had an early lead.
• The Penguins trailed at first intermission in four of the games. They came back to win in two of them.
• Four of the Penguins' six wins were one-goal games, something Sidney Crosby spoke on after Wednesday's practice: "Looking back, they were some pretty close games there. I think we were patient, some of the games there were pretty tight all the way through. We found a way to get some timely goals."
• The Islanders outshot the Penguins through eight games. The Penguins averaged 26.9 shots per game against the Islanders, but allowed 29.5 per game. The Penguins were 3-1 in games in which they outshot the Islanders and also 3-1 in games that they were outshot by the Islanders.
• Crosby, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust were all at least a point-per-game against the Islanders this season. Crosby and Letang both recorded nine points in eight games, Rust recorded eight in eight.
• Rust scored the most goals against the Islanders, with five. Two of them were empty-net goals. Three of his goals came in one game, a hat trick on March 27:
• The only other Penguin with a multi-goal game against the Islanders this season was Letang, and he did it twice, recording two goals on both Feb. 20 and Feb. 27. The Feb. 20 game was Crosby's 1000th game:
• That Feb. 27 game was the only game that ended in three-on-three overtime, and one of Letang's two goals that night was the overtime-winner:
• Of the Penguins' three regular centers who played against the Islanders this season (Jeff Carter never did, because the Penguins didn't play the Islanders after the trade deadline), only Crosby won more faceoffs than he lost. Crosby won 57.8 percent of faceoffs against the Islanders. Teddy Blueger won 40.7 percent, and Evgeni Malkin won 35.3 percent.
• The Penguins averaged 25 hits per 60 minutes against the Islanders, the second-most hits by any team against the Islanders this season. Only the Bruins hit the Islanders more.
• The most hits by any Penguin in a game against the Islanders this season was six. Brandon Tanev recorded six hits in two games -- Feb. 11 and Feb. 20. Sam Lafferty had the other six-hit game on Feb. 6.
• Tristan Jarry started in six of the eight games, and recorded wins in five of them. One of those games was on March 29 when he left the game at first intermission due to injury. He was credited with the win in that game.
• Jarry had a .917 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average against the Islanders this season.
• Casey DeSmith started in two of the games, though appeared in three after coming in in relief of an injured Jarry on March 29. He recorded one win and one loss.
• DeSmith had a.924 save percentage and a 2,21 goals-against average against the Islanders.
• Four Islanders -- Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, and Nick Leddy -- were tied for the most points against the Penguins this season, each recording six in eight games.
• Jordan Eberle scored more goals against the Penguins than any other Islander, with four.
• Semyon Varlamov started in six of the eight games and appeared in another in a relief appearance. His record was 1-3-2 against the Penguins.
• Varlamov had an .897 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average against the Penguins.
• Ilya Sorokin started in two games against the Penguins. He won one game with a shutout, and earned the loss in the other, when he was yanked in the second period in favor of Varlamov.
• Sorokin had a .862 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average against the Penguins.
