The Pittsburgh Penguins opened the 2025-26 regular season on Oct. 7 against the New York Rangers and pulled off a 3-0 victory against their former head coach, Mike Sullivan. They face the New York Islanders tonight with Matthew Schaefer, the first overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft, in the lineup as the Islanders look to bounce back from a down season in 2024-25.
Projected Lineups
Penguins
Ville Koivunen- Sidney Crosby- Rickard Rakell
Anthony Mantha- Evgeni Malkin- Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak- Benjamin Kindel- Filip Hallander
Connor Dewar- Blake Lizotte- Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon- Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea- Kris Letang
Caleb Jones- Harrison Brunicke
Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs
Islanders
Jonathan Drouin- Bo Horvat- Emil Heineman
Anders Lee- Matthew Barzal- Kyle Palmeri
Max Shabanov- JG Pageau- Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair- Casey Cizikas- Maxim Tsyplakov
Alexander Romanov- Tony DeAngelo
Adam Pelech- Ryan Pulock
Matthew Schaefer- Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich
Last Season’s Matchups
- Nov.5, 2024- 4-3 Islanders shootout victory
- Dec. 28, 2024- 6-3 Islanders victory
- Dec. 29, 2024- 3-2 Penguins victory
- March 18, 2025- 4-2 Islanders victory
The Penguins struggled against the Islanders last season, going 1-2-1 in four matchups. The offense was held in check for most of these matchups, with only three points coming from outside of the projected top six from tonight’s lineup. Tristan Jarry was in the net for two contests and struggled in both, allowing a combined eight goals.
Penguins Lineup
Can the Penguins Carry Over Solid Play From the Season-Opening Win?
In their victory over the Rangers, the Penguins played a sound game overall. They will need to carry that into their home opener against the Islanders to build some early momentum. Defensively, the team looked more fundamentally solid, and the goaltending from Arturs Silovs was rock solid.
Silovs, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason, showed plenty of promise and looked more confident in the crease in the season opener against the Rangers than he did at times last season with the Canucks. On top of that, Erik Karlsson played a good game as well, looking more like the player everyone hoped he would be for the Penguins when he was acquired in 2023.
Related: 3 Keys to a Penguins Win Over the Islanders
Offensively, the Penguins kept Igor Shesterkin busy, tallying 29 shots on the Rangers’ netminder and kept New York’s defense on their toes.
Can the Top Line Get More Involved?
In the victory over the Rangers, the Penguins’ second line did most of the damage, with offseason acquisition Justin Brazeau scoring twice to lead the way. The top line of Ville Koivunen, Sidney Crosby, and Rickard Rakell was busy, tallying seven shots on Shesterkin, but they did not factor into the scoring.
It was only the first game, but getting their top line going will be the key to any long-term success. Koivunen did not play his strongest game, and he will likely try to get back to playing his style of game and making an impact.
We know Crosby and Rakell will eventually produce, but doing it early alongside the youngster Koivunen will be important for a successful start to the season. Having the rest of the lineup take some of the load off them was a breath of fresh air for Penguins fans as well, though.
What Does Kindel Do As an Encore?
One of the Penguins’ three first-round picks from the 2025 Draft, Benjamin Kindel, was named to the initial 23-man roster after a strong showing this summer at developmental camp, the prospects tournament, training camp, and preseason. The 18-year-old winger did not look out of place in his first NHL game and proved exactly why he earned his spot on the roster. He may not have hit the scoresheet, but he made his presence felt in many other facets of the game.
With the first-game jitters out of the way for himself and Harrison Brunicke, we will see if they look more comfortable against the Islanders. If Kindel can build off his strong performance against the Rangers, he could end up sticking on the roster beyond a nine-game stint.
Penguins vs Islanders
While neither the Penguins nor the Islanders is among the league’s top teams, whenever they play each other, it is always entertaining and competitive. With the added excitement of seeing players like Kindel and Brunicke for the Penguins, and Schaefer for the Islanders, tonight’s matchup has plenty to keep an eye on when these two division foes square off.
