Game Preview: MacLean To Make Debut As Islanders Face Blackhawks

The Islanders battle the Blackhawks to conclude a four-game road trip after dropping the first three.

With no wins in their first three games of their Midwest road trip, the New York Islanders (19-15-10) face the Chicago Blackhawks (13-30-2) before returning to Long Island.

Puck drop from United Center is scheduled for 8:30.

After dropping a 5-0 blowout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Monday, New York played a more complete game against the Winnipeg Jets 24 hours later. Gabe Vilardi opened the scoring for Winnipeg, but Anders Lee’s 14th goal against the Jets tied up the contest through the first period. 

Fluky goals by Neal Pionk and Mason Appleton put Winnipeg up 3-1 early in the second, but Lee’s second of the game cut the deficit in half early in the third. However, that was as close as the Islanders could get, as Kyle Connor sealed a 4-2 Jets win with an empty net goal.

Friday’s game is a special night for a recent Islanders’ callup. Center Kyle MacLean will make his NHL debut after spending four seasons with AHL Bridgeport. MacLean, 24, has six goals and 13 assists, 19 points, in 36 games with the Islanders’ farm club.

The Islanders skated at United Center on Friday.

Ilya Sorokin was in the starter’s crease for the Islanders, he’ll make his 32nd start and 33rd appearance of the season (13-11-8, 3.18 GAA, .910 SV%). It’s his eighth straight start and 13th consecutive appearance.

He last started against Chicago on Nov. 1, 2022, letting up one goal on 22 shots. Lifetime, he is 2-0-0 against the Blackhawks, boasting a .968 SV% and 1.00 GAA in two starts.

New York will be without a pair of forwards. Casey Cizikas was placed on IR with a lower-body injury on Wednesday, and Pierre Engvall missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury; he is day-to-day.

Chicago did not skate this morning, they are on the second game of a back-to-back. 

Petr Mrazek is expected to start for the Blackhawks, as he will make his 29th start and 31st appearance of the season (11-16-1, 3.04 GAA, .907 SV%). Despite an .894 SV% against the Islanders in his career, he is 8-5-2 with a 2.95 GAA in 16 appearances.

Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal

Hudson Fasching - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri

Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Julien Gauthier

Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov - Noah Dobson

Mike Reilly - Scott Mayfield

Adam Pelech - Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Kenny Appleby

Rem Pitlick - Philipp Kurashev - Taylor Raddysh

Colin Blackwell - Jason Dickinson - Joey Anderson

Kirby Reichel - MacKenzie Entwistle - Cole Guttman

Boris Katchouk - Zach Sanford - Reese Johnson

Alex Vlasic - Seth Jones

Kevin Korchinski - Jaycob Megna

Jarred Tinordi - Isaak Phillips

Petr Mrazek

Arvid Soderblom

The Islanders swept the Blackhawks aside last season, winning a 3-1 decision at United Center on Nov. 1, 2022. Anders Lee opened the scoring in the first period, and Brock Nelson added an insurance marker in the third. Jonathan Toews cut the lead in half in the closing minutes, but Zach Parise sealed the deal with an empty net goal.

Chicago was a hard place to play for the Islanders during the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup years. The Islanders had a six-game losing streak at the United Center from the 2010-11 season to 2016-17 but have since gone 3-2-0 in the Windy City.

Brock Nelson’s quest for 500 career points has hit a snag. The Islanders’ center is riding a four-game pointless drought but needs only three to reach the half-century mark for his career; he can become the 13th Islander to reach the feat.

Two longtime Western Conference rivals of Chicago lead New York in scoring against the Blackhawks. Bo Horvat, a former Vancouver Canuck, tops all Islanders in goals and points against Chicago, totaling 10 and 19, respectively. Kyle Palmieri, a former Anaheim Duck, leads all Islanders in assists with 10.

Chicago enters Friday’s game off a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Zemgus Girgensons opened the scoring in the second period for Buffalo, and two goals by J.J. Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin four minutes apart were all the Sabres needed. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned a 20-save shutout in the victory, his second straight clean sheet.

The Blackhawks are down several skaters for Friday’s game, particularly Connor Bedard. The former first-overall pick suffered a broken jaw against the New Jersey Devils earlier this month and is out for the foreseeable future. Andreas Athanasiou, Taylor Hall, Tyler Johnson, Nick Foligno, and former Islander Anthony Beauvillier are also out of the lineup

With Chicago in transition between the Patrick Kane-Jonathan Toews era, the Blackhawks committed to a pair of veteran forwards to aid the process. The team recently extended Foligno and Jason Dickinson to two-year deals over the past week.

Hall, Foligno, and Tyler Johnson top Chicago’s active scoring list against New York, but with all three out of the lineup, Seth Jones is the Blackhawks’ top scorer when facing the Islanders. The former Columbus Blue Jackets blueliner has four goals and five assists, nine points, against New York in 26 games.

Despite their recent struggles, New York enters Friday’s game as the heavy favorite, starting at -250 on the money line; Chicago starts at +200. The over/under starts at six goals, the under slightly favored at -115, and the over at -105.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.

Friday night’s game will be available on MSGSN. On the radio, the contest will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 98.7 FM ESPN, and 103.9 LI News Radio