Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins skate into the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum seemingly much more awake than the last time the Islanders ran into them. The Penguins will look to continue their hot streak and put the 4-1 domination by the Islanders behind him.

In case you haven’t followed where Pittsburgh has been since they were outplayed at home, they have strung off 3 straight wins in dominating fashion outscoring their opponents 14-4 over 3 games. Sitting at 6-3-0, they look to add to their slight Atlantic Division lead.

Meanwhile the Isles battled tooth and nail with a gritty Devils team. The Islanders feel victimized by a call that quickly turned a 0-0 draw late into the third period into a 3-0 Devils win.

Whether or not Brian Strait should have been sitting in the penalty box when the Devils rallied for the win is irrelevant. The score on Sunday was misleading and they continued their strong play all day.

Looking to rebound from two consecutive road losses to the Bruins and the Jets, the Islanders came into Pittsburgh on Tuesday night to break the streak. The Isles, who haven't had much luck in the Steel City, had been defeated in 13 of their last 14 games in Pittsburgh. (Photo Credit: AxsDeny/Flickr)

Early in the first period, the Penguins went to the power play twice where they were incredibly ineffective. The Islanders penalty killers held the Pens out of their zone and off the scoreboard.

With under five minutes left in the opening period, the Isles put up their first of the night.

On the same sheet of ice their season ended last April, the Penguins beat the Flyers 3-1 in the opening game of the NHL’s 2012-2013 season.

Fans tuning in to see the same post-whistle fireworks were in for a surprise, though – both teams shied away from the scrums and all out brawls that filled their first round playoff series 9 months ago.

And all the offense?  Also almost non-existent.

Though, at the beginning, the Pens looked like they were about to pick up right where that playoff series left off.  On their first powerplay opportunity of the season, the 2nd unit cashed in when a Paul Martin slapper found its way past a helpless Ilya...

The 2013 NHL season is no longer an 82 game marathon, but instead is a 48 game dash to the finish line.

Will teams that had multiple players skating in Europe fair better? Will veteran squads win because they will have fresh legs all season long? Only the next few months will tell.

Here are my Eastern Conference power rankings.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins – A healthyEvgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will lead Pittsburgh deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The addition of veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun gives Coach Dan Bylsma a solid option if Marc-Andre Fleury falters.

2. New York Rangers – With the ...