Sorokin starts in Ottawa, as Romanov may or may not be in. Also, Matthew Schaefer slots into the Islanders' top power-play unit.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders practiced on Friday morning before heading to Ottawa:
After David Rittich turned aside 31 of 33 in a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, Ilya Sorokin (0-3-0, 4.18 GAA, .854 SV%) will get the nod against the Senators in hopes of snapping his personal three-game skid to begin the season.
Defenseman Alexander Romanov, who played 19:47 in the win, did not practice due to maintenance.
As for his availability against Ottawa, they'll see how he feels in the morning. If he isn't good to go, it appears that Adam Boqvist will skate alongside Tony DeAngelo.
When it comes to who quarterbacks the top power-play unit, it's fluctuated from shift to shift. But at Friday's practice, for the first time this season, No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer was manning the point on the first unit.
Head coach Patrick Roy said following Thursday's win that "it was just a matter of time before he's on the top unit on a regular basis" and it seems that day is upon us.
Casey Cizikas, who stayed in the game against Edmonton after blocking a shot off what appeared to be the back of the right calf, was the first on the ice Friday morning and seems all good to go.
Maxim Tsyplakov, who served as a healthy scratch Thursday, will remain out of the lineup as Kyle MacLean did a stellar job in his 7:43 minutes on the fourth line in the win.
Here's the lines:
Puck drop between the Islanders and Senators comes your way on MSGN at 3 PM ET. Alan Fuehring will have the call alongside Thomas Hickey, with Cal Clutterbuck and Shannon Hogan.