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Penguins Not Seeking Revenge At Islanders

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — It's going to take some time for the Penguins and Islanders to get together in a hockey game and not have people reference Feb. 11, 2001.

That day will be remembered for line brawls that turned a hockey game into a wrestling match on ice, as the Penguins went to Long Island and engaged with the Islanders in one of the most penalized games in NHL history.

After more than eight months, the 346 combined penalty minutes still seem fresh in the minds of fans and the media. By just logging on to the Islanders official website you witness a greeting page that declares the Pens and Isles "one of the sports newest & most heated rivalries."

The taste of last year lingers, but players and coaches on both sides say it's not what they're concerned with.

"A game like that probably won't ever happen (again)," center Jordan Staal said to the Post-Gazette's Shelly Anderson. "Obviously it was a little over the top.

"There's still the rivalry. Things can happen. But I can't see anything like that happen again."

It's pretty clear both teams have much more to worry about than settling old scores. The Islanders have lost their last two games by a combined score of 8-3 and, at 3-3-0, sit in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Islanders captain Mark Streit said the two straight losses have the team concentrated on playing good hockey, not last season's brawl.

"We have to concentrate and play our game," Streit said, according to the Islanders official website. "We can't have any frustrations in us or bad feelings whatsoever. The most important thing is to win tomorrow. Everything else is not important right now."

The Penguins, meanwhile, are concerned with continuing their hot start (6-2-2, first place in Atlantic Division) and weathering yet another season of injury problems. Defenseman Zbynek Michalek was announced out for 4-6 weeks with a broken finger Monday. He'll join names like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Tyler Kennedy on the injury report.

All told, both teams have a lot riding on what's expected to be a physical, Atlantic Division game. Nothing, though, like last February.

"In terms of what happened last year, we're certainly not going into this game with any kind of thought of repaid debts from last year," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said. "It's about this game and right now for us and where we are at in our 11th game and we have our sights set on different goals and where we want to be in the Atlantic Division.

"This is our second one, we just played New Jersey. We're going back-to-back with the Islanders and as far as we are concerned it's a chance to put some distance and win some games against a team that is in our division. "

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