Game Preview: Islanders Face Upstart Coyotes in Final Meeting of Season

Tempe, AZ -- After dropping a back-and-forth contest to the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Islanders continue their Western Conference Road Trip against the Arizona Coyotes.

Puck drop from Mullett Arena is scheduled for 9:00 p.m.

Their matchup with Colorado was a back-and-forth affair. New York opened the scoring on a goal by Pierre Engvall on a breakaway, but former Islanders’ defenseman Devon Toews responded shortly thereafter. Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead after the first, but it came at the cost of goaltender Semyon Varlamov; Ilya Sorokin completed the game in net.

Simon Holmstrom expanded the Islanders’ lead just over a minute into the period, but Colorado got it even seven minutes later on goals from Valeri Nichuskin and Jonathan Drouin. 

Alex Romanov got the Islanders ahead just beyond the halfway mark of the game, a lead they held through two periods. However, after short-circuiting their power play halfway through the third, Nichuskin’s second goal of the game on the man advantage tied things up again. After a late turnover led to a Colorado power play, the Avalanche finished a 5-4 win in overtime, with Nathan MacKinnon wiring a shot from the left dot past Ilya Sorokin.

The Islanders skated at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was placed on IR after suffering an injury in Tuesday’s game, and goaltender Ken Appleby was recalled from AHL Bridgeport. Sebastian Aho, who was a healthy scratch in Denver, will return to the lineup.

Adam Pelech skated for a third straight practice but is not ready just yet. 

With Varlamov on the shelf, Sorokin will make his 25th start following his first relief appearance of the season Tuesday (11-6-8, 3.19 GAA, .910 SV%). He is 3-2-0 in five starts against Arizona with a .947 SV% and 1.22 GAA, along with three shutouts. He last earned a 14-save clean sheet in their Oct. 17 matchup.

The Coyotes skated at Ice Den in Scottsdale this morning.

Jason Zucker will miss the next three games for the Coyotes after being suspended following his hit on Florida Panthers Nick Cousins back on Tuesday. With forwards Barrett Hayton and Travis Boyd out due to injury, Daily Faceoff projects Arizona will play 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Travis Dermott slotting in.

Coyotes’ THN reporter Remy Mastey confirmed that Connor Ingram will take the crease for his 22nd start and 23rd appearance of the season (13-7-0, 2.49 GAA, .919 SV%). It will be his first career start against the Islanders.

Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Bo Horvat

Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri

Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Julien Gauthier

Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Alex Romanov - Noah Dobson

Samuel Bolduc - Scot Mayfield

Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Ken Appleby

Clayton Keller - Alex Kerfoot - Nick Schmaltz

Matias Maccelli - Nick Bjugstad - Lawson Crouse

Michael Carcone- Logan Cooley - Liam O’Brien

Jack McBain - Zach Sanford

Sean Durzi - Michael Kesselring

J.J. Moser - Matt Dumba

Juuso Välimäki - Troy Stecher

Connor Ingram

Karel Vejmelka

The Islanders defeated the Coyotes 1-0 in their second game of the season on Oct. 17. The Islanders’ lone goal came from Mathew Barzal on the power play in the second period, despite outshooting Arizona 34-14 in the game. While Vejmelka kept Arizona in the game, Sorokin was perfect, earning a shutout and the win.

Barzal got one step closer to a career milestone on Tuesday, earning career point 399 with an assist on Romanov’s goal. His next point will make him the 17th man in Islanders history to record 400 with the club, joining teammates Nelson and Anders Lee.

Noah Dobson got the primary assist on Nelson’s goal in the first period against the Avalanche, marking his 30th helper of the campaign. This season marks his third straight season of 30 assists, reaching the mark in 37 games. Per NHL PR, he tied Dennis Potvin’s 1974-75 season and Jeff Norton’s 1989-90 start as the fifth-fastest defenseman to reach 30 helpers.

Bo Horvat is the Islanders’ leading goal and point scorer against the Coyotes. The former Vancouver Canuck has 10 red lights and 17 points, while Nelson leads in assists with eight.

Arizona enters tonight's game off a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring in the first period, a score that held up through two periods. Alex Kerfoot got Arizona even on a shorthanded mark in the third, but Florida netted the final three goals of the game. Sam Reinhart’s power play goal put Florida ahead for good, with Matthew Tkachuk adding on through an own goal by Michael Kesselring. Gustav Forsling scored an empty netter to cap off the victory.

Arizona swept the Islanders aside last season, winning the Islanders’ last visit to Tempe 5-4. Sebastian Aho and Barzal put the Islanders ahead by two in the first, but three-straight tallies by Shayne Gostisbehere, Clayton Keller, and Nick Bjugstad put Arizona ahead in the second. Dobson got the Islanders even, but goals by Travis Boyd and Keller put Arizona up 5-3 late in the third. Anthony Beauvillier attempted to start an Islander comeback, but the Coyotes held them off for the victory.

Kerfoot’s goal continued a strong stretch for the Arizona forward. The former first-round pick has points in six of seven games, totaling three goals and five assists in that span. Lawson Crouse, the team’s leading goal-scorer, has a three-game point streak entering Thursday’s game, totaling two goals and two assists.

Jason Zucker and Nick Bjugstad tie for the team lead in scoring against the Islanders on all fronts. The forwards both own seven goals and four assists, good for 11 points, in their careers. Zucker had a three-game goal streak snapped in October’s matchup.

In this out-of-conference matchup, the visitors enter tonight’s game as the favorite. The Islanders start at -120 on the moneyline, while Arizona comes in at +100. The over/under starts at six goals, the under slightly favored at -115, with the over at -105.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.

The Islanders-Coyotes game is available on MSGSN. On the radio, the contest will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio and 1050 AM ESPN.