Game Preview: Islanders Dance With Devils to Finish First Homestand

After winning the first two games of their season-opening homestand, the New York Islanders (2-0-0) host the New Jersey Devils (1-1-1) Friday night.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- After winning the first two games of their season-opening homestand, the New York Islanders (2-0-0) host the New Jersey Devils (1-1-1) Friday night.

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at UBS Arena.

Tonight’s game is the Islanders’ first matchup against a divisional opponent and the front end of a back-to-back. New York travels to Buffalo to play the Sabres on Saturday night.

"We've played fast teams, and we played New Jersey, and they're extremely fast and have a lot of talent," Lambert said. "We have a game plan, and we'll stick to that game plan. But at the same time, they're gonna get some opportunities."

Scott Mayfield (day-to-day) returned to the practice ice for the first time since Saturday. 

He will not play, but Lambert says it's a step in the right direction. They'll decide after the game whether Mayfield will travel to Buffalo. 

Ilya Sorokin was in the starter's crease and was the first goaltender off the ice as he will make his third-straight start. 

Sorokin is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA with a .952 SV% and is coming off a 14-save shutout. 

Semyon Varlamov will make his season debut against Buffalo on Saturday night.

The Devils did not hold a morning skate Friday as head coach Lindy Ruff will address the media at 5:15 PM. 

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

Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Timo Meier

Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt

Dawson Mercer - Michael McLeod - Alexander Holtz

Chris Tierney - Curtis Lazar - Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton

Kevil Bahl - John Marino

Brendan Smith - Luke Hughes

Vitek Vanecek

Akira Schmid

The Islanders won their first two games to start the season. New York is looking for their first 3-0-0 start to a season since 2014-15.

Anders Lee holds 14 goals against the Devils in 36 games, the most of any active Islander. 

His 21 points are tied with Jean-Gabriel Pageau for most against New Jersey lifetime.

Tonight’s game is the Devils’ first road contest of the season. The team played three games at Prudential Center to kick off the season, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3, but fell 4-3 to the Arizona Coyotes (shootout) and Florida Panthers. 

Tyler Toffoli, acquired from the Calgary Flames during the offseason, has the most goals against the Islanders lifetime with seven. Dougie Hamilton and Ondrej Palat are tied for most points against New York with 18.

Erik Haula (upper-body injury) and Tomas Nosek (lower-body injury) have not practiced with the team over the past few days. Colin Miller also suffered an injury in practice on Thursday, head coach Lindy Ruff did not provide an update on his status.

Do you think the Islanders will beat the Devils? The Isles come in at +100 on the money line tonight, while the Devils sit at -120. The over sits at six goals at -120, with the under at -100.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook

Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN. The game can also be found nationally on NHL Network. On the radio, tonight’s game can be found at 88.7 WRHU, 98.7 ESPN and 103.9 LI News Radio