After a two-game stop at UBS Arena, the New York Islanders (19-12-10) start a four game swing in the Midwest against the Nashville Predators (23-18-1).
After a two-game stop at UBS Arena, the New York Islanders (19-12-10) start a four game swing in the Midwest against the Nashville Predators (23-18-1).
Puck drop from Bridgestone Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
This is the first time the Islanders will be playing the Predators since Trotz took over as the general manager late last season.
He received a standing ovation at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.
The Islanders split their two contests in Elmont earlier in the week, most recently topping the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime on Thursday. Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring in the first minute of play, but Bobby McMann got Toronto even through one. The first three minutes of the middle frame were the Auston Matthews show, scoring twice to give the Leafs a 3-1 edge.
New York answered Matthews’ tallies with goals from Alex Romanov and Bo Horvat on the man advantage, leading to a tie at the end of regulation. In overtime, Mathew Barzal tipped home a Noah Dobson shot, giving both of them their fourth points of the night and New York a 4-3 victory.
Morning Skate Updates
The Islanders skated at Bridgestone Arena this morning.
Ilya Sorokin left the ice first for the Islanders, per Newsday''s Andrew Gross, as he will make his 29th start and 30th appearance of the season (13-8-8, 3.19 GAA, .909 SV%). This will be Sorokin’s fifth straight start with Semyon Varlamov still on the IR.
In his career against Nashville, Sorokin is 0-2-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .880 SV%, most recently letting in two goals on 21 shots in a 4-1 defeat on Dec. 2, 2022.
Nashville did not skate on Saturday, they are on the second game of a back-to-back after playing the Dallas Stars on Friday.
Kevin Lankinen played the first game of the back-to-back in Dallas Friday, meaning Juuse Saros will likely start his ninth game and make his 33rd start on Saturday (16-15-1, 3.09 GAA, .899 SV%). In seven career matchups with New York, Saros is 6-1-0 with a 2.55 GAA and .910 SV%.
New York Islanders Lines (Projected)
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Oliver Wahlstrom
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson – Hudson Fasching
Simon Holmstrom -- Mathew Barzal -- Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov – Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech – Scott Mayfield
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Ken Appleby
Nashville Predators Lines (Projected)
Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly - Gustav Nyquist
Juuso Parssinen – Colton Sissons – Denis Gurianov
Cole Smith – Tommy Novak – Luke Evangelista
Phil Tomasino – Cody Glass – Michael McCarron
Roman Josi – Dante Fabbro
Ryan McDonagh – Luke Schenn
Jeremy Lauzon – Alexandre Carrier
Juuse Saros
Kevin Lankinen
Islanders Notes
Dobson’s four-assist game on Thursday was the first of his NHL career. Barzal’s four-point night was the seventh of his career and third this season, adding to his hot stretch. The Islanders’ All-Star enters Saturday’s game on a five-game point streak with two goals and seven assists in that span. In addition, he boasts a four-game point streak against the Predators, totaling a goal and three assists in that stretch.
Horvat’s power-play goal on Thursday was his seventh such goal of the season to lead the team. He sits in a tie with Palmieri for the fourth-most power-play points on the Islanders with 12, Dobson leads the way with 17 after earning two helpers with a man advantage against Toronto.
Palmieri’s goal snapped a 12-game goalless streak with his opening marker on Thursday. The Islanders’ forward also leads active players in goals and points against the Predators with nine and 16, respectively. Brock Nelson is the team’s leader in assists, with eight in 17 games.
Predators Notes
The Predators earned a 6-3 win against Dallas in the first game of the back-to-back. After a scoreless first period, Jeremy Lauzon and Tommy Novak scored 4:31 apart to give the Predators a 2-0 lead after two periods. The third period was an airshow with seven goals combined between the teams.
Dallas got within one on three occasions on goals from Jani Hakanpää, Wyatt Johnston, and Matt Duchene, but Nashville had the answer for each strike. Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, and Gustav Nyquist restored the two-goal leads, with Juuso Parssinen adding a second empty netter for insurance, finishing a divisional victory.
Over the past few years, the Predators have had the Islanders’ number. Nashville has a nine-game winning streak against New York dating back to Oct. 28, 2017. Their most recent victory over New York came on Dec. 2, 2022, at UBS Arena. Forsberg and Roman Josi scored over the first two periods, and the Islanders’ offense couldn’t solve Lankinen. Despite a Barzal power play goal, a pair of empty net goals by Duchene and Mikael Granlund finished a 4-1 win, highlighted by Lankinen’s 48 saves.
Nashville’s top line has headlined their offense as of late. O’Reilly had three points in Dallas on Friday, giving him two goals and six assists in his last five games, while Forsberg’s red light and assist gave him four goals and two helpers in his last five. Nyquist’s empty-net goal extended his point streak to 10 games, totaling seven goals and seven assists in that span.
Filip Forsberg and Ryan McDonagh are tied for Nashville’s lead in goals against the Islanders with eight. McDonagh also sits in a tie with Gustav Nyquist for the team lead in helpers against New York with nine but leads in total points with 17.
Betting Corner
The oddsmakers call for this game to be a tossup; both the Islanders and Predators enter at -110 on the money line. The over/under starts at six goals, the over is favored at -125 to the under at +105.
All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.
How To Watch
The Islanders-Predators matchup 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.
Matthew Page contributed to this story.