After a 2-1-0 road trip, the New York Islanders (10-7-6) begin a season-long, six-game homestand. Their first guests are the San Jose Sharks (6-17-2).
EAST MEADOW, NY -- After a 2-1-0 road trip, the New York Islanders (10-7-6) begin a season-long, six-game homestand.
Their first guests are the San Jose Sharks (6-17-2), with a 7:30 puck drop at UBS Arena.
The Islanders wrapped up their road trip against the Florida Panthers Saturday night.
Despite missing Mathew Barzal due to illness, the Islanders got timely goals throughout. Anders Lee opened the scoring on the power play in the first period, but Sam Reinhart had the answer just over a minute later.
In the second, Pierre Engvall and Simon Holmstrom each lit the lamp to give the Islanders a 3-1 edge; Matthew Tkachuk got Florida back within one before the period’s end. After Julien Gauthier and Carter Verhaeghe traded goals in the final period, Ilya Sorokin shut the Panthers down, making 42 saves in the game to finish a 4-3 win.
Morning Skate Updates
The Islanders held an optional morning skate this morning.
Brock Nelson and Noah Dobson missed practice for the Islanders on Monday due to maintenance. Head coach Lane Lambert said both are game-time decisions tonight,
Ilya Sorokin left the ice first for the Islanders, he will make his 16th start of the season tonight (6-4-5, 3.09 GAA, .914 SV%).
San Jose skated at UBS Arena on Tuesday morning.
Kaapo Kähkönen took the starter’s crease for the Sharks, he will make his 10th start and 11th appearance of the season (3-6-0, .896 SV%, 3.99 GAA).
New York Islanders Lines (Projected)
Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Alex Romanov - Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc- Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly - Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
San Jose Sharks Lines (Projected):
Fabian Zetterlund -- Mikael Granlund -- Anthony Duclair
William Eklund -- Tomas Hertl -- Alexander Barabanov
Justin Bailey -- Ryan Carpenter -- Kevin Labanc
Givani Smith -- Jacob MacDonald -- Mike Hoffman
Mario Ferraro -- Kyle Burroughs
Calen Addison -- Matt Benning
Mikita Okhotyuk -- Jan Rutta
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Islanders Notes
Mathew Barzal was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week on Monday.
The Islanders’ forward scored seven points, two goals, and five assists, in his two games last week and has points in seven of his last 10 games. He has five goals and 14 assists, 19 points, in that span.
The Islanders swept the Sharks aside last season, winning 5-2 at UBS Arena on October 18 and 4-1 at SAP Center on March 18. In their last meeting, Kevin Labanc opened the scoring in the first period, but that was the only time San Jose found the net. Jean-Gabriel Pageau responded shorthanded later in the frame, followed by goals from Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, and Zach Parise.
Barzal’s center, Bo Horvat, enters tonight’s game on a three-game point streak. Horvat scored twice on the Islanders’ recent road trip and added a pair of assists.
After a slow start, Anders Lee has begun to look like his old self again. The team’s captain has points in six of his last eight games, including four goals and two assists. He also leads the team in scoring against San Jose lifetime, boasting 11 goals in 16 lifetime matchups. Horvat, a former Vancouver Canuck, has the most assists and points, with 15 and 25, respectively.
Ilya Sorokin will make his fourth career start against the Sharks tonight. Sorokin got the Islanders points in all three matchups against San Jose lifetime, holding a 1-0-2 record, 1.94 GAA and .935 SV%. He won his last meeting with the Sharks on the road on March 18, making 30 saves in the 4-1 win.
Sharks Notes
San Jose enters tonight on the fourth game of a six-game road trip, most recently dropping a barnburner to the New York Rangers. The two teams traded goals throughout the first half of the game, but the Rangers rallied for three straight to break a 3-3 tie. The Sharks tried their best to rally back, getting late goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Alexander Barabanov, but it was too late to finish the comeback.
After going scoreless in the Sharks’ first game of the road trip against the Boston Bruins, Jacob MacDonald and Anthony Duclair have three goals in their last two games. Mikael Granlund also enters tonight’s game hot, boasting two goals and five assists in his last five games.
Mike Hoffman leads active Sharks in goals against the Islanders with six. His 10 points against New York sit in a tie with Anthony Duclair and Tomas Hertl, who both have seven assists to lead the team.
Kähkönen will make his fourth career start against the Islanders tonight. In his previous three starts, he has a 2-1-0 record, 3.01 GAA, and .907 SV%, yielding four goals on 33 shots on March 18.
Betting Corner
Do you think the Islanders will beat the Sharks? New York enters as a lengthy favorite for tonight’s game, sitting at -275 on the money line with San Jose at +220. The over/under comes in at six goals, both enter at -110.
All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.
How to Watch:
Tonight’s game can be found on MSGSN. On the radio, tonight’s game is available on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.
Matthew Page contributed to this report.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.