PHN Extra: Penguins Are Different Team Since Last Islanders Meeting

CRANBERRY TWP. — The New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins split their 2018-19 season series, with each team taking one game in regulation and one game in a shootout in the four-game slate.

Those results ought to portend a tight first-round Stanley Cup playoff meeting between the two teams, which is scheduled to start Wednesday at Nassau Coliseum in New York.

But those results also need to be tempered by the dates those games were played. The two wins for the Islanders came in consecutive games on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. The Penguins earned victories on Dec. 6 and 10.

A lot has changed for the two teams since that point. The last Penguins roster that faced the Islanders featured the likes of Derek Brassard, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Derek Grant, Tanner Pearson and Riley Sheahan.