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Islanders-Penguins Preview

Jan 1, 2016 - 6:16 PM For anyone making a list of the best free agent signings of the offseason, it would be very difficult not to put Thomas Greiss near the top.

Greiss could face his former team Saturday night when the New York Islanders take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time this season.

The Islanders struggled to find a capable backup for Jaroslav Halak last season, using both Chad Johnson and Michal Neuvirth with disappointing results. After trading Johnson and choosing not to bring back Neuvirth, New York signed Greiss to a two-year contact on the first day of free agency.

That decision looks like a brilliant one so far.

While Halak has played very well with a 2.09 goals-against average, he has been prone to injury and is currently sidelined by an upper-body injury - the same ailment that forced him to miss the season's first four games.

Greiss has been more than just a fill-in, however. He's 11-4-2 with a .936 save percentage that ranks just behind Philadelphia's Neuvirth (.937) for the league lead. Greiss has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts and is coming off perhaps the best performance of his career.

He made 17 of his 42 saves in a scoreless first period and allowed only a power-play goal in the third of Thursday's 2-1 victory at Buffalo. Frans Nielsen and Nikolay Kulemin scored for the Islanders (21-12-5), who have won three of four following a three-game skid.

''Just battle, try your best and try everything you can to keep the puck out there,'' Greiss said. ''I just go in the net and see what happens.''

Greiss helped his teammates kill three power plays in the first period, including a 5-on-3 for 54 seconds.

''Our goalies give us a chance to win every night and that's all you can ask for,'' Nielsen said. ''And tonight he gave us a little more than that. It's good to see.''

New York had killed of 43 consecutive power plays spanning 16 games before the Sabres ended that run.

Unless Halak returns, Greiss will likely oppose the team he went 9-6-3 with a .908 save percentage for last season.

His former team also appears to be on the upswing with a 3-1-1 mark after a five-game losing streak. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored goals 34 seconds apart in the third period to lift the Penguins (18-15-4) to a 5-2 win at Detroit on Thursday.

''We've been on the other side of these a couple of times,'' Crosby said. ''So to bounce back and get some points to end the year is great.''

Kris Letang had two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh, which has scored two goals or fewer six times during a 1-3-3 slide at home.

On pace for his least productive season, Crosby has shown signs of breaking out with three goals and five assists in his last six games. He has seven goals and 23 points during a 14-game stretch against the Islanders.

Slowing Crosby will be tougher for New York if defenseman Johnny Boychuk can't play. He injured his left shoulder after crashing hard into the end boards in the third period Thursday and is day to day.

"Fortunate that it wasn't his head or his neck, and that's the most important thing," coach Jack Capuano said.

The Islanders won the final four meetings with the Penguins last season after losing eight of the previous nine matchups.