Islanders Morning Skate Updates Ahead of Avalanche Game On a day where all 32 NHL teams take the ice, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-lane-lambert-lineup-changes-barry-trotz-anders-lee] (2-1-1) host the Colorado Avalanche (5-0-0). Puck drop at UBS Arena is set for 8:00 p.m. The Islanders are coming off two straight losses, falling to the New Jersey Devils 5-4 in overtime Friday and losing 3-1 to the Buffalo Sabres Saturday. New York was outshot 43-25 against the Sabres, with Noah Dobson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/noah-dobson-new-york-islanders-defenseman-stan-fischler] scoring the lone Islander goal with under two minutes left in regulation. MORNING SKATE UPDATES The Islanders held a morning skate on Tuesday, with all players accounted for, outside of Scott Mayfield. Ilya Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, as he will make his fourth start of the season (2-0-1, 2.31 GAA, .914 SV%, 1 SO). Simon Holmstrom and Oliver Wahlstrom remained on Jean-Gabriel Pageau's wing after head coach Lane Lambert made that chance at Monday's practice. Mayfield has still not resumed skating with the team but did skate on his own. NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED) Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock Samuel Bolduc - Sebastian Aho Ilya Sorokin Semyon Varlamov COLORADO AVALANCHE LINES (PROJECTED) Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin Tomas Tatar -- Ryan Johansen -- Mikko Rantanen Miles Wood -- Ross Colton -- Jonathan Drouin Andrew Cogliano -- Fredrik Olofsson -- Logan O’Connor Devon Toews -- Cale Makar Bowen Byram -- Samuel Girard Josh Manson -- Jack Johnson Alexandar Georgiev Ivan Prosvetov ISLANDERS NOTES The Islanders and Avalanche split their two meetings last season. The Islanders won their meeting at UBS last season 5-4. After falling behind 3-0 in the second, the Islanders got five straight goals, including two in 17 seconds from Scott Mayfield and Anthony Beauvillier in the third. Dobson’s goal on Saturday allowed him and Mat Barzal to extend their point streaks to three games. Both own a goal and two assists in that span. Anders Lee has seven goals against the Avalanche throughout his career, the most of any active Islander. Bo Horvat leads all Islanders in points vs. Colorado with 12, but tonight will be his first matchup with the Avs since joining the team. Sorokin will start tonight for the Islanders. In two career meetings with the Avalanche, Sorokin is 0-1-1 with a .955 save percentage and 1.94 goals against average. Both lifetime starts required him to make over 35 saves, including a 46-save performance in a 1-0 shootout loss in Denver. AVALANCHE NOTES Colorado enters tonight off a 6-4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. After trailing 3-2 in the second, four straight goals helped propel them to their fifth straight win to start the season. It’s the fifth time in Avalanche/Nordiques history the franchise opened a season with five consecutive wins. A sixth straight win would tie a franchise record. Logan O’Connor enters tonight’s game with shorthanded goals in three straight games, a tie for the second-longest streak in NHL history. Dave Reid holds the record with four games with a shorty. Mikko Rantanen has been white hot to start the season. He has points in four of the Avalanche’s first five games, tallying four goals and four assists. Against the Islanders, Nathan Mackinnon leads active Avalanche players with eight goals and 20 points. Alexandar Georgiev will start tonight for the Avalanche. He’s faced off with the Islanders 13 times, earning a 9-4-0 record with a 1.96 GAA and .936 SV%. He earned a shutout in their last meeting on December 19. BETTING CORNER: Do you think the Islanders will beat the Avalanche? Colorado enters tonight’s game as the favorite, sitting at -145 on the money line, while the Islanders sit at +120. The over/under comes in at six goals, over sitting at -105 while the under enters at -115. All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook HOW TO WATCH: Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN. On the radio, tonight’s game can be found at 88.7 WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.
