Islanders Playoff Gameday News: Game 4 with the series on the line

Game 4 between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins begins at 3:00 p.m. ET today on NBC. Today’s game is not necessarily a must-win for the Islanders—they would not be eliminated if they lost—but it is a must-win if they want to stand a chance to win this series.

Going down 3-1 in the series would not bode well for the Islanders. They play better with a lead: in-game and in-series.

Let’s get at it, shall we?

Islanders Playoffs News

• A Game 4 preview from the Isles site.
• A free No Sleep Til Belmont! Well, not free, but extra. Some Game 3 reaction from Arthur Staple and A.J. Mleczko.
• Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle are trending upwards, and they will need to have a big game today. [Newsday]
• It would also be helpful if they got the first goal today and did not give up a backbreaker in the first three minutes of the game. [Newsday]
• To that end, it should be Ilya Sorokin’s net today. [Best @ Newsday]
• The Pittsburgh media got histrionic about the physical play on Thursday night. But Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that it was just “playoff hockey.” [Newsday]
• Game 5 on Monday night will be at 7:00 p.m. ET. [Islanders]

Islanders Regular News

• The folks over at Winging It In Motown took a deep dive on the Islanders’ expansion concerns as part of an expansion series. Dan helped! [WIIM]
• Stan Fischler tells us about the time that the Islanders swept the New York Rangers on the way to the Stanley Cup. [Maven’s Memories]
• This (Yester)Day in Isles History: The Islanders win their second Stanley Cup over the Minnesota North Stars (1981).

Beyond the East Division’s 1v4 Matchup

Last night’s playoff scores include the Nashville Predators pulling back into the series with a double-overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche pulling away in their series with the St. Louis Blues. Also, the Boston Bruins put the Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination, and the Winnipeg Jets will take a 2-0 series lead back to Manitoba, holding the Edmonton Oilers to only one goal through two games.

• Avs center Nazem Kadri has been suspended for eight games for his headshot on Justin Faulk. Very, very dumb. [NHL]
• Kevan Miller had to go to the hospital after a hit by Dmitry Orlov. [NHL]
• Rod Brind’Amour was upset about the officiating—his team has gotten like six or seven penalties in each of the last two games. [Sportsnet]