Get your coffee ready for the next two nights, as the New York Islanders (5-6-3) face the Vancouver Canucks (11-3-1) to kick off a west coast back-to-back.

VANCOUVER, BC -- Get your coffee ready for the next two nights, as the New York Islanders (5-6-3) face the Vancouver Canucks (11-3-1) to kick off a west coast back-to-back.

Puck drop from Rogers Arena is scheduled for 10:00 p.m.

The Islanders’ losing streak grew to five games on Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Despite a strong start and an early Mathew Barzal goal, Edmonton tallied the final four goals of the game, three of them in the third period. Stuart Skinner made 32 saves as Kris Knoblauch earned a 4-1 win in his first game as Oilers’ head coach.

Amid their recent struggles, tonight’s game has some extra meaning for the Islanders’ top-line center. Bo Horvat makes his return to Vancouver following nine seasons with the Canucks. The former captain tallied 201 goals and 420 points in 621 career games.

"It's weird. I'm not gonna lie. It's really weird, even just walking around yesterday just brought back a lot of memories, a lot of good memories. A lot of bad memories sometimes...it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows here," Horvat said. "Even walking out there just seeing the rink and everything just brought back a lot of memories. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of emotions here tonight, but I gotta control them and try to get a win here."

Morning Skate Updates

The Islanders skated at Rogers Arena on Wednesday morning.

Ilya Sorokin was in the starter’s crease for New York, he’ll make his sixth start of the season tonight (3-3-3, 3.21 GAA, .907 SV%).

Matt Martin, who was a healthy scratch Monday, will be back in the lineup for Julien Gauthier. 

Oliver Wahlstrom stays in. 

Vancouver held an optional morning skate. 

Thatcher Demko left the ice first for the Canucks, and he’ll make his 11th start tonight (7-3-0, 1.96 GAA, .935 SV%).

New York Islanders Lines (Projected)

Mathew Barzal - Bo Horvat - Simon Holmstrom

Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin- Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson

Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock

Sebastian Aho - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Vancouver Canucks Lines (Projected)

Andrei Kuzmenko - Elias Pettersson - Ilya Mikheyev

Phil Di Giuseppe - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua - Pius Suter - Connor Garland

Anthony Beauvillier - Teddy Blueger - Sam Lafferty

Quinn Hughes - Phillip Hronek

Ian Cole - Noah Juulsen

Akito Hirose - Mark Friedman

Thatcher Demko

Casey DeSmith

Islanders Notes

The Islanders split their two meetings with Vancouver last season, winning their matchup at Rogers Arena. Despite a slow start, New York scored three times in the second and third periods to finish off a 6-2 win. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored twice, and Mathew Barzal tallied three points.

The Islanders have historically had success in Vancouver. Since 2019, the Islanders have won three of their last four matchups against the Canucks on the road. Their lone loss in that span came in the shootout in 2020.

While Brock Nelson leads active Islanders in points against the Canucks with 15, three players sit in a tie in goals. Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, and Cal Clutterbuck all boast seven goals against Vancouver lifetime.

Ilya Sorokin will make his third career start against the Canucks tonight, a team he has struggled against in his career. Despite a 2-1-0 record, he holds a 3.73 GAA and .887 SV%, last time out letting up six goals on Feb. 9.

Canucks Notes

Vancouver enters tonight’s game as one of the NHL’s biggest surprises thus far. Their strong start continued on Saturday with a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Three goals in the second by Connor Garland, Ilya Mikheyev, and Dakota Joshua were enough for Vancouver, and a pair of empty netters finished off a 5-2 win.

One of the main reasons for Vancouver’s success is the duo of Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson. Boeser has 12 goals to lead the team, as well as four goals in as many games entering tonight. Pettersson has seven goals and 18 assists, 25 points, which sits atop the NHL.

J.T. Miller, a former New York Ranger, leads active Canucks players in goals and points against the Islanders with seven and 15, respectively.

Demko hasn’t lost any of his appearances vs. the Islanders to date. In three games, two starts, and a relief effort, he is 2-0-0 with a 2.85 GAA and .912 SV% against New York.

Betting Corner

Do you think the Islanders will beat the Canucks? Vancouver enters as the favorite tonight, sitting at -160 on the money line compared to the Islanders’ +135. The over/under comes in at six goals, the over at -115, and the under at -105.

All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.

How to Watch

Tonight’s game is the Islanders’ first national television appearance of the season, airing on TNT. On the radio, tonight’s game is available on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN. 

Matthew Page contributed to this report.