Game Preview: Islanders Go Drilling Against Oilers in Edmonton

The New York Islanders (5-5-3) kick off their first extended road trip of the season in Western Canada; their first stop comes against the Edmonton Oilers (3-9-1).’

The New York Islanders (5-5-3) kick off their first extended road trip of the season in Western Canada; their first stop comes against the Edmonton Oilers (3-9-1).’

Puck drop from Rogers Place is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

The Islanders’ losing streak grew to four games on Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. 

Despite an Alexander Romanov goal in the first and 95 shot attempts, the Islanders couldn’t solve Hunter Shepard the rest of the way. Alex Ovechkin tallied bookend goals in the contest, and Nic Dowd scored what proved to be the game-winner, finishing a 4-1 win.

Both teams enter the game cold. With Edmonton struggling to find form early, the Oilers fired head coach Jay Woodcroft on Sunday. Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will take over and make his debut behind the Edmonton bench tonight.

The Islanders held an optional morning skate at Rogers Place on Monday.

Adam Pelech skated with the team this morning after missing the Islanders’ last two games. Lane Lambert said he is a game-time decision. 

Ilya Sorokin was in the starter’s crease for the Islanders, he will make his ninth start of the season tonight (3-2-3, 3.24 GAA, .907 SV%).

Matt Martin and Hudson Fasching were extras, as Oliver Wahlstrom and Julien Gauthier come back into the lineup. 

Edmonton held a fully attended morning skate.

Stuart Skinner was in the starter’s crease for the Oilers,  as he will make his sixth start of the season (2-5-1, 3.53 GAA, .861 SV%).

Mathew Barzal - Bo Horvat - Simon Holmstrom

Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom

Julien Gauthier - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson

Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock

Sebastian Aho - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Sam Gagner

Evander Kane - Leon Draisaitl - Zach Hyman

Dylan Holloway - Ryan McLeod - Warren Foegle

Raphael Lavoie - James Hamblin - Derek Ryan

Darnell Nurse - Cody Ceci

Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak - Vincent Desharnais

Stuart Skinner

Calvin Pickard 

The Islanders split their two meetings against the Oilers last season. In their visit to Rogers Place on January 5, the Islanders fell 4-2. Edmonton scored twice in the first and second periods, and Edmonton outshot the Islanders 38-22 in the contest.

The Islanders haven’t won at Rogers Place since its opening in 2017. Their last victory on the road against the Oilers came on March 7, 2017. Anders Lee scored twice in the game, and former Islander Josh Ho-Sang tallied his first NHL goal.

From his time with the Vancouver Canucks, Bo Horvat leads active Islanders in goals and points against the Oilers with 11 and 27, respectively. Kyle Palmieri sits behind him in each statistic with seven goals and 14 points.

Sorokin has started the Islanders’ last four matchups against the Oilers. In that span, he is 2-2-0 with a .937 SV% and 2.25 GAA, including a 49-save shutout last season.

Edmonton snapped their four-game losing streak against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Zach Hyman tallied a first-period, natural hat trick to headline a four-goal opening frame. Stuart Skinner made 17 saves to finish a 4-1 win for the Oilers.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, two of the NHL’s top stars, have made their marks lifetime against the Islanders. Draisaitl leads active Oilers with seven goals against the Islanders, while McDavid boasts 15 points against New York overall.

With goaltender Jack Campbell passing through waivers last, Stuart Skinner will get the bulk of the playing time in net for the Oilers. He will make his first career start against the Islanders tonight.

Do you think the Islanders will beat the Oilers? The home team enters as a sizable favorite, sitting at -175 on the money line compared to the Islanders’ +145. The over/under comes in at six goals, the over at -120, and the under at +100.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.

Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN. On the radio, the contest will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN. 

Matthew Page contributed to this report.