Are past Penguins-Islanders series a portent, or just history? taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

PENGUINS

Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins at practice Saturday.

There are plenty of reasons to believe the Penguins will beat the New York Islanders in their first-round playoff series.

They finished first in the East Division, three spot ahead of the Islanders. They won the season series, 6-2. They played well down the stretch, while New York sputtered.

Of course, there also are reasons to think the Islanders will be the ones to advance.

Barry Trotz.

Mathew Barzal.

Jordan Eberle.

And, especially, History.

The Penguins and Islanders have collided in the postseason five times; the Penguins have made it to the following round once.

Three of their four eliminations -- in 1975, 1982 and 1993 -- were absolutely soul-crushing, for various reasons, and New York's Round 1 sweep in 2019 was flat-out embarrassing for the Penguins.

Whether the Islanders can scald the Penguins again remains to be seen, of course, but precedent suggests it's a little early for the Penguins to think about, say, printing tickets for the next round. (If tickets ever get printed anymore, that is.)

Here's a look at some things that might give an indication of how the series will play out, along with a few that will have no impact whatsoever on it.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD

Penguins -- 37-16-3 (1st in East Division).
Islanders -- 32-17-7 (4th in East Division).

LEADING POINT-PRODUCER

Penguins -- Sidney Crosby (62 points).
Islanders -- Mathew Barzal (45 points).

TOP GOAL-SCORER

Penguins -- Sidney Crosby (24).
Islanders -- Brock Nelson (18).

PENALTY-MINUTES LEADER

Penguins -- Kris Letang (32).
Islanders -- Mathew Barzal (48).

POWER PLAY

Penguins -- 23.7 percent (4th in NHL).
Islanders -- 18.8 percent (21st in NHL).

PENALTY KILL

Penguins -- 77.4 percent (27th in NHL).
Islanders -- 83.7 percent (tied for 6th in NHL).

HIDDEN STRENGTH

Penguins -- Were 16-4-3 in games decided by one goal.
Islanders -- Allowed a league-low 36 goals in the third period.

HIDDEN WEAKNESS

Penguins -- Frederick Gaudreau was the only penalty-killer to take more than three shorthanded faceoffs and have a winning record.
Islanders -- Had a shot-attempts differential of minus-137.

NOTABLE NUMBER

Penguins -- Won 22 games when leading at the first intermission, tying Vegas for the NHL lead.
Islanders -- Defenseman Adam Pelech was on the ice for 17 of the 22 power-play goals New York allowed.

DARK HORSE DIFFERENCE-MAKER

Penguins -- Teddy Blueger. Killing penalties well will be critical, and he's capable of scoring a shorthanded goal or two.
Islanders -- Travis Zajac. He's been a disappointment -- even a healthy scratch -- since being acquired from New Jersey, but Zajac always has done some of his best work against the Penguins.

PLAYOFF TALISMAN

Penguins -- Brooks Orpik. The only Penguins player to score a series-clinching goal against the Islanders.
Islanders -- John Tonelli. Saved defending champs from being upset by Penguins in 1982. (Honorable mention: Chico Resch, Ed Westfall, David Volek.)

TRAFFIC-FLOW IMPEDIMENT

Pittsburgh -- Tunnels.
Long Island -- Pavement.

UNFORTUNATE ACCENT

Picksburgh -- We can discuss it dahntahn or in Warshington.
Lawn Guyland -- Let's tawk about it over a cup of cawfee.

WILL WIN IF ...

Penguins -- They can remain offensively patient and defensively responsible.
Islanders -- They can get leads and don't have to stray from their defense-oriented system to play catch-up.

PREDICTION

Penguins in six games. Because those who forget History are doomed to ... attend summer school.

OTHER SERIES

Boston over Washington in six.
Carolina over Nashville in five.
Tampa Bay over Florida in six.
Toronto over Montreal in six.
Edmonton over Winnipeg in five.
Colorado over St. Louis in six.
Vegas over Minnesota in six.

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