SERIES 1: GAME 1: Pens vs. Islanders

Consol Energy Center. 7:30. ROOT

After a crazy season of 48 games that included a 15-game winning streak and ending up on top of the East, we've finally made it here. PLAYOFFS. The 1st seeded Pens are taking on the 8th seed Islanders for this first round matchup. In the regular season, Pittsburgh won 4 out of the 5 against the Isles but like any typical playoff series, this will be a battle and hopefully our guys are ready to go.

LINES:

Kunitz - Malkin - Neal

Iginla - Jokinen - Dupuis

Morrow - Sutter - Cooke

Glass - Adams - Bennett

Eaton - Letang

Martin - Engelland

Murray - Niskanen

Fleury

Moulson - Tavares - Boyes

Bailey - Nielsen - Okposo

Grabner - Aucoin - McDonald

Reasoner - Cizikas - Martin

Streit - Strait

Hamonic - MacDonald

Hickey - Visnovsky

Nabokov

Stuff:

• There is still no official timetable for return for Orpik or Crosby. We expect that they will be back fairly soon.
• Expect a pretty decent special teams battle in this series since both power play units ranked strong (Pens #2, Isles #11) and both penalty killing units were in the bottom 10 of the league.
• The big screen, or "Mario's TV", will be returning for the 2013 playoffs. It's free for everyone! The big screen area and fan zone will be open four hours before home games and two hours before away games.
• The outdoor game between the Penguins and the Blackhawks is now official. It will be played on March 1st, 2014 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
• Again, RIP whiteout.

Buckle up, baby.
GO PENS!