The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to ride momentum gained from two straight victories when they take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday at UBS Arena.
And for Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier – who spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Islanders before being dealt to the Vancouver Canucks at the 2023 trade deadline – it will be the fourth time he faces his former team while donning another uniform.
“It definitely still feels a little bit weird to be on the other side, but it’s always great,” Beauvillier said. “So many good memories here in the city, in this building, just opening night here, and everything that surrounds here. I have so many good memories with these people over there, and it feels weird to be on the other side, but it’s fun to come back.”
Beauvillier will likely slot in on the fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Kevin Hayes, which has been his spot over the past two Penguins’ wins. Beauvillier looks forward to facing his former team on the ice, and head coach Mike Sullivan is aware that should give him “extra motivation” to perform in Tuesday’s game.
Nonetheless, he will stick to what’s been working for the team over the last several days and knows the Islanders aren’t an easy matchup for the Penguins. Although they went 2-1-1 against New York last season and outscored them 18-11 – and the Islanders have racked up a lot of injuries in the earlygoing – Sullivan knows that the league’s parity still makes them a dangerous opponent.
“The players are good players, and regardless of what their circumstances are, whether they’re banged up or not, if you don’t bring your best game, you’re going to run the risk of getting beat,” Sullivan said. “They have good players, they have very capable players in their lineup… and it’s going to be our challenge to bring our best game. So, that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
The Penguins, who are currently 2-7-1 and sit just one point above the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division standings, know that each game matters. They are riding hot goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic – who has surrendered just two goals on 49 shots over the last two games – for a third straight game, and they know they have to stay committed on both sides of the puck.
“I feel like we’re just playing a lot harder defensively,” Glass said. “And we’re just trying to make it easy on ourselves and be more predictable. So, if we can just continue that, good things will happen, and we’ll start scoring some more goals after that.”
Beauvillier also stressed the importance of sticking to what has worked for them during three big divisional games this week against the Islanders, Carolinam Hurricanes, and Washington Capitals.
“Obviously, three big games for us. Big road trip playing against your same division,” he said. “It’s always going to be big points and big games, so definitely going to focus on what we did well the last couple games and try to correct what we didn’t do so well. We defended well the last two games, and we want to stay consistent with that, and I think that’s going to be the key for us on this road trip.”
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