With the Islanders and Penguins rapidly approaching Sunday’s Game 1, here are some keys to their first-round matchup:
Key players
Islanders
Kyle Palmieri: Nobody can fully replace what injured captain Anders Lee does for the Islanders but Palmieri was acquired from the Devils to replace some of the offensive production. Instead, he had two goals in 17 games, continuing a seasonlong decline after notching at least 24 goals in each of his five full seasons with the Devils. His 10 goals in 51 games this season project to just 16.