New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/9/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to watch: MSGSN, ATTSN-PT

DraftKings: Penguins -152, Islanders +126

BetMGM: Penguins -152, Islanders +126

Caesars: Penguins -152, Islanders +126

Islanders: 33-25-8

Penguins: 32-22-9

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The New York Islanders will be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, March 9 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The New York Islanders won against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, March 7 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York with a score of 3-2. The New York Islanders currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division.

Hudson Fasching, Josh Bailey and Casey Cizikas each had a goal and an assist, and Alexander Romanov had two assists for the Islanders (33-25-8), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.

New York, which holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, moved six points ahead of Buffalo, which has played three fewer games. The Islanders remained one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who rallied for a 5-4 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

"It was a much-needed win," Cizikas said. "We know what we have to do to win, and we have a group in here that has been through a lot together. We're playing the right way."

Dylan Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the second period. Cizikas tied it 1-1 at 12:38 with a one-timer of Fasching's feed from behind the net. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).

New York outshot Buffalo 17-7 in the second.

Bailey gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 1:51 of the third period when he scored on rebound. He has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak.

"You just can't say enough about him," New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert said of Bailey. "He's a quality, character individual who comes to work no matter what. Sometimes maybe it's not exactly what he's looking for [or] what he wants, but at the end of the day, he just comes out and does his job. Full respect for him, and I'm glad he was rewarded."

Kyle Okposo tied it 2-2 at 4:59 on a redirection of a shot from Owen Power. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).

Fasching broke a tie in the third period for the New York Islanders in a 3-2 win.

Fasching gave New York the lead at 7:37 on a redirection off his left knee from Josh Bailey. The goal was initially waved off for a kicking motion but was awarded following a video review.

"I'll take it," Fasching said. "I'm always thinking it's a goal, right? Obviously, I'm always rooting for it to be a goal. I didn't think I kicked it, but it's the officials call. So, [I'm] glad they got it right."

The New York Islanders have won six of their last 10 games.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, March 7 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a score of 5-4 in overtime. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 5th in the Metropolitan Division.

Jason Zucker scored twice, and Malkin had three assists for the Penguins (32-22-9), who have won five of six. Casey DeSmith made 15 saves after replacing Tristan Jarry, who allowed four goals on 12 shots in the first 22:37.

Pittsburgh holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Florida Panthers. The Penguins remained one point behind the New York Islanders, who won 3-2 against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Columbus scored four goals before Zucker cut it to 4-1 on a backhand near the right post at 10:23 of the second period.

The Penguins scored three goals in 3:38 to tie it early in the third period.

Jake Guentzel pulled the Penguins to 4-2 on a wrist shot five-hole from the right face-off circle 21 seconds into the third.

Zucker scored again by finishing a pass from Malkin with a wrist shot to make it 4-3 at 3:16 for his sixth goal in five games.

"We'll take those two points," Zucker said. "But obviously, we know it wasn't the most ideal game for us."

Danton Heinen tied it 4-4 at 3:59, tapping in a pass from Rickard Rakell at the top of the crease.

Pittsburgh outshot Columbus 40-17 after the first period.

"Tons of time left, we know we have the firepower to score," DeSmith said. "The crowd backed us the whole way. It was really loud there, maybe the loudest of the season."

Sidney Crosby scored with 2:15 remaining in overtime, and the Pittsburgh Penguins came back from down four to win 5-4.

Crosby, who also had two assists, scored on a one-timer from the right face-off circle set up by Evgeni Malkin on a power play.

"These guys have built an impressive legacy," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "So, to draw on those experiences, both the good and the bad, I think can only help us in these situations."

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five of their last 10 games.

Prediction

I can't imagine the Penguins needing to do the whole comeback thing again. Penguins 4, Islanders 2

Islanders:

Anders Lee - - Bo Horvat - - Pierre Engvall

Zach Parise - - Brock Nelson - - Kyle Palmieri

Matt Martin - - Casey Cizikas - - Hudson Fasching

Simon Holmstrom - - Otto Koivula - - Josh Bailey

Adam Pelech - - Scott Mayfield

Alexander Romanov - - Ryan Pulock

Sebastian Aho - - Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin

Penguins:

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust

Drew O'Connor -- Mikael Granlund -- Jeff Carter

Danton Heinen -- Nick Bonino -- Josh Archibald

Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry

Dmitry Kulikov -- Jan Rutta

Tristan Jarry