Game Preview: Islanders Continue Opening Homestand Against Coyotes

EAST MEADOW, NY -- After defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in their season opener on Saturday, the New York Islanders (1-0-0) continue their first homestand of the season against the Arizona Coyotes (1-1-0).

Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM ET at UBS Arena.

Saturday’s victory marks the first time the Islanders opened a season at home with a win since 1995. After waiting over a week to get the season started, the team enjoyed getting into regular season play.

The Islanders held an optional morning skate with 15 skaters and two goaltenders. 

Players who took their option were Casey Cizikas, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Pierre Engvall. 

Scott Mayfield did not practice on Monday after blocking a Rasmus Dahlin shot on Saturday. Mayfield hasn't skated, per Lambert, and is still considered day-to-day. 

Samuel Bolduc took Mayfield’s spot in practice Monday, so Bolduc will likely slot in should Mayfield not be good to go.

“He's got to play assertive. Let's put it that way,” Lambert said. And he knows that he's going to move the puck. He's a good puck mover. But we need him to be assertive and defend well and be hard around the net.”

Ilya Sorokin was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, as he's expected to start. He stopped 24 of 26 in the Islanders' win over Buffalo on Saturday.

In four starts against Arizona, Sorokin is 2-2-0 with a 1.53 GAA and a .939 SV% with two shutouts. 

The Coyotes didn't hold a morning skate. 

Mathew Barzal – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom

Pierre Engvall –Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Hudson Fasching

Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech – Noah Dobson

Alexander Romanov – Ryan Pulock

Samuel Bolduc – Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Clayton Keller – Barrett Hayton – Nick Schmaltz

Jason Zucker – Logan Cooley – Alexander Kerfoot

Matias Macelli – Nick Bjugstad – Lawson Crouse

Liam O'Brien – Jack McBain – Travis Boyd

J.J. Moser – Mathew Dumba

Juuso Valimaki – Travis Dermott

Sean Durzi – Troy Stecher

Karel Vejmelka

Connor Ingram

The Islanders were swept aside by the Coyotes last season. New York dropped their first meeting to the Coyotes 2-0 at home after a pair of third-period goals. The second meeting was a 5-4 Arizona win after the Coyotes came back from an early 2-0 deficit.

This is the Islanders’ third time hosting the Coyotes since UBS Arena’s opening. The team is 1-1-0 all-time against Arizona, winning the first meeting 4-0 in January 2022.

Matt Martin will appear in his 900th NHL game tonight. The 34-year-old sits seventh in games played for the Islanders with 767, the rest coming with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This is the Coyotes’ third contest of a four-game road trip and the second game of a back-to-back. They fell 2-1 to the New York Rangers on Monday night. Clayton Keller scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, and Connor Ingram made 26 saves.

Logan Cooley, the third overall pick in 2022’s NHL Draft, made his NHL debut on Friday. In his first two career games, he tallied three assists.

Karel Vejmelka will start for the Coyotes tonight. He defeated the Islanders in both meetings last season, earning a 24-save shutout at UBS on November 10, 2022.

Do you think the Islanders can beat the Coyotes on home ice? The home team comes in at -210 money line and +125 on the puck line.

The Coyotes come in as away underdogs at +155 and -150 on the reverse puck line.

The over is 6.5 goals, at +100, with the under at -120.. The under stands at -120.

Lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.

Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN, starting with pregame coverage at 7:00. On the radio, tonight’s game can be found at 88.7 FM WRHU, 98.7 FM ESPN, and 103.9 LI News Radio 

Matthew Page contributed to this article.