The Islanders don't have an easy task ahead of them as they battle the central-leading Dallas Stars, starting their day nine points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who sit in the second wild-card spot.
After dropping a Saturday matinee with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the New York Islanders (23-20-14) and Dallas Stars (35-16-8) meet in the Lone Star State on Monday.
Puck drop from American Airlines Center is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Monday's game is a rematch of Patrick Roy's first game as Islanders head coach. Roy was on the long side of a 3-2 overtime win, with Bo Horvat scoring the game-winner.
Where They've Been:
Dallas enters Monday's game off a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The game was a defensive battle, with Carolina outshooting Dallas 21-16 and goals hard to come by. Jason Robertson scored the lone goal of the first period, but Sebastian Aho got Carolina level early in the second. The tie only lasted six minutes, as Wyatt Johnston broke it eight minutes into the middle frame, a score that stood all the way to the end.
Dallas sits atop the Central Division standings with 77 points, battling with the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche for the top spot. The Stars are 17-8-3 at home this season.
Players To Watch:
Ilya Sorokin left the ice first for the Islanders on Sunday, he will likely make his 41st start and 42nd appearance of the season (17-13-11, 3.14 GAA, .909 SV%). Sorokin started Saturday's game and yielded three goals on 20 shots in the loss. Against Dallas, the netminder is 1-0-1 with a 1.43 GAA and .957 SV%, earning the win on Jan. 21 with 41 saves on 43 shots.
Mathew Barzal earned an assist on Anders Lee's third-period goal, tallying the 300th assist of his NHL career. He is the 12th player in team history to reach the milestone with the team and is 12 assists shy of Stefan Persson for 10th on the Islanders' all-time list.
With two assists on Saturday, Noah Dobson reached the 60-point mark for the first time in his career. He became the fourth Islanders defenseman to reach the mark since Denis Potvin in 1984-85.
Horvat's overtime winner put him in a tie with Lee and Nelson for most goals against the Stars by active Islanders with seven. Nelson's seven assists, tied with Cal Clutterbuck for the team lead against Dallas, gives him the most points with 14.
Dallas' offensive boasts a dynamic top six, with Roope Hintz leading in goals with 23. Jason Robetson, while having a down year in the goals department, leads Dallas with 38 assists and 57 points. Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, and Joe Pavelski also own 20 goals, while Robertson and Wyatt Johnston are one goal short of the mark.
After stopping 25 of 28 in his first meeting with the Islanders, Scott Wedgewood is back between the pipes.
In 26 appearances this season, Wedgewood is 23-13-6, with a 2.97 GAA and an .899 SV%. He owns a 1-2-2 record in five career starts against New York, with a 2.55 GAA and a .919 SV% with one shutout.
Defenseman Miro Heiskanen enters Monday's game on a five-game point streak, totaling two goals and four assists in that span. Joe Pavelski also has points in three straight games, owning a goal and two assists.
Despite being kept off the board in their last meeting, Craig Smith leads the Stars in goals against New York with 12, including a hat trick in 2020. Tyler Seguin leads in the remaining offensive categories with 16 assists and 24 points.
Projected Lines:
New York Islanders:
Brock Nelson - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri
Pierre Engvall - Casey Cizikas - Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Dallas Stars (via Mike Heika)
Jason Robertson - Roope Hintz - Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment - Matt Duchene - Ty Dellandrea
Jamie Benn - Wyatt Johnston - Logan Stankoven
Radek Faksa - Sam Steel - Craig Smith
Thomas Harley - Miro Heiskanen
Derrick Pouliot - Joel Hanley
Ryan Suter - Esa Lindell
Scott Wedgewood
Jake Oettinger
How to Watch:
The Islanders-Stars matchup will air on MSGSN; for those outside of Long Island, the game will also be available on NHL Network. On the radio, the contest can be found on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.