Calgary facing an Islanders squad sitting in the same scenario — just outside a playoff spot and perfect since the all-star break
Calgary Flames (24-22-5, 53 points) at New York Islanders (22-17-12, 56 points)
The Flames go into the day’s action one point out of a wild-card playoff position and on a three-game winning streak.
The Islanders go into the day’s action two points out of a wild-card playoff position and riding a two-game winning streak.
The afternoon clash (if you’re in Elmont, N.Y., late morning if you’re in Calgary — 11 a.m. Mountain Time) is of utmost importance to both clubs.
The Flames have claimed a couple of impressive victories to kick off their four-game road trip: a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins followed by a 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Jacob Markstrom is expected to start, but with Dan Vladar suffering an injury in the warmup in Newark, N.J., Dustin Wolf has been summoned from the AHL Calgary Wranglers.
The Islanders came out of the break and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 before handing the Tampa Bay Lightning a 6-2 drubbing on Thursday.
New York has a 3-2-1 record since Patrick Roy took over the head coaching duties, and a huge improvement has been the defensive play. The Islanders have surrendered 16 goals in those six outings, and allowed only 20 shots against versus the Lightning.
In the other meeting this season, the Islanders snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 5-4 shootout victory in Calgary in mid-November, a clash in which the Flames twice erased a one-goal deficit in the third period.
Here’s a look at Calgary’s expected lineup:
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Yegor Sharangovich-Andrei Kuzmenko
Connor Zary-Nazem Kadri-Martin Pospisil
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Jakob Pelletier -Kevin Rooney-Walker Duehr
Extra: Cole Schwindt
Defence:
MacKenzie Weegar-Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin-Chris Tanev
Oliver Kylington-Brayden Pachal
Extras: Dennis Gilbert, Jordan Oesterle
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dustin Wolf
Markstrom has a 6-5-2 career record against the Islanders with a 3.04 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. Wolf has never faced the Islanders.
Here is the potential roster for the Islanders:
Forwards:
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Defence:
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly-Scott Mayfield
Goal:
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin
Varlamov, who is playing his 600th career game, has a 7-11-2 mark with a 3.31 GAA and .881 SvPct. against Calgary. Sorokin boasts an 2-1-0 record (both wins in extra time), 3.81 GAA and .895 SvPct. versus the Flames.
ICE CHIPS: Since joining the Flames, G Jacob Markstrom has posted a 3-0-2 record against the Islanders ... The Islanders lead the league with 12 overtime/shootout losses. They also have six overtime/shootout wins ... This game pits Calgary's 28th power play against the 32nd-rated penalty kill. New York has surrendered at least one power-play goal against in five consecutive outings ... Calgary has collected 10 shorthanded goals, and he Islanders have netted nine, five by LW Simon Holmstrom ... Flames C Nazem Kadri has collected 28 points (8-20-28) in 27 career games against the Islanders ... New York D Noah Dobson is second on the team with 53 points and by far leads the Isles with a plus-22 rating. He second in the league in average ice time (25:51).