The Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders meet in NHL action from the UBS Arena on Wednesday night. A Metro division rivalry gets renewed on Wednesday, who comes out on top? Let’s dive in and find out with our Penguins vs. Islanders Prediction.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this one looking to rebound from a 5-4 OT loss to Ottawa last time out. Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in scoring with 35 points including 14 goals and a team-high 21 assists while Sidney Crosby has 35 points with a team-high 19 goals. Evgeni Malkin has 27 points with 11 goals and 16 assists while Erik Karlsson’s added 22 points with 16 assists and Bryan Rust has 20 points with 10 goals this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 9-11-2 with a 2.61 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Alex Nedeljkovic has a 5-2-2 record with a 2.64 GAA and a .917 save percentage this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts

The home team has won eight of the Penguins’ last nine games.
The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
The Penguins have lost the first period in each of their last six games as underdogs after coming off overtime.
The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in four of the Penguins’ last six games.

New York Islanders Team Preview

The New York Islanders come into this one looking to build on their 5-4 OT win over Carolina last time out. Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring with 35 points including 10 goals and 25 assists while Noah Dobson has 34 points with a team-high 29 assists of his own and Brock Nelson’s added 30 points with a team-high 16 goals this season. Bo Horvat’s also chipped in 33 points with 14 goals and 19 assists and Kyle Palmieri has 21 points with 9 goals and 12 assists. Ilya Sorokin has posted a 10-4-7 record in goal for the Islanders this season with a 3.09 GAA and a .914 save percentage while Semyon Varlamov is 6-4-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .919 save percentage this season.

New York Islanders Team Facts

The Islanders have lost five of their last six games as home favorites following a road win.
The underdogs have covered the puck line in 18 of the Islanders’ last 19 games.
The Islanders have won the third period in each of their last four games against the Penguins.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Islanders’ last nine games.

Matchup/League Facts

The New York Islanders rank 32nd in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (71.00%).
The New York Islanders rank 6th in the league in power play percentage this season (24.73%).
The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 27th in the league in power play percentage this season (13.73%).
The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 26th in the league for goals per game this season (2.84).

Penguins vs. Islanders Prediction

I’m backing the Islanders here. The Isles have gotten back to playing their best hockey at home this season, and the Penguins just continue to have goaltending issues that are hard to look past. The Isles have adapted to a new play style that’s higher-scoring and I think that will work well for them against this questionable Penguins defense. Give me the Islanders at home here.