Islanders Face 'Fragile' Oilers: Lines & Notes
The Islanders will play five of the next six games on home ice.
ELMONT, NY — After returning from The Golden State, the New York Islanders (29-28-7) host the Edmonton Oilers (37-24-4).
Puck drop at UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:30, and the game can be found on MSGSN.
The Oilers defeated the Islanders 4-3 in overtime in their first meeting on November 12. Leon Draisaitl scored bookend goals, including the game-winner, while Anders Lee had a pair for New York. Connor McDavid also lit the lamp and finished with four points on the night.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Duclair-Horvat-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom
Engvall-Cizikas-Fasching
Tsyplakov-MacLean-Gatcomb
Romanov-DeAngelo
Pelech-Dobson
Mayfield-Pulock
Sorokin
Hogberg
Who’s Hot:
Lee enters Friday’s game on milestone watch, sitting two points away from 500 in his NHL career. In 823 career games, the Islanders’ captain has 285 goals and 213 assists for 498 points. He can become just the 13th player to accomplish the feat.
Bo Horvat, a long-time Vancouver Canucks, leads the Islanders in scoring against Edmonton. In 41 career games, he has 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points.
Ilya Sorokin is projected to start for the Islanders on Friday. He took the loss in the final game of the road trip against the Los Angeles Kings, surrendering three goals on 31 shots. In seven career matchups with the Oilers, he is 3-3-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .931 SV%, most recently allowing four goals on 42 shots in their last meeting.
Opponents Notes:
Edmonton will play on the second game of a back-to-back on Friday, falling to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each lit the lamp for the Oilers.
“We're a fragile team right now,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “And when things aren't going your way, you're finding ways to make mistakes and and ultimately end up losing games. We have a lot of good players. We have a good team. We just have to stick with it, and everyone's got to play to their identity and play well and turn this around. That's the only way.”
Draisaitl enters Friday’s game on a 16-game point streak. The forward has 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in that span. Against the Islanders, he has points in four straight games, notching five goals and four assists for nine points.
McDavid has points in nine straight games entering Friday’s game. Edmonton’s captain has two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in that stretch. His four-point game against the Islanders in their last meeting is one of 40 in his career; he’s had one more against the Columbus Blue Jackets since their last matchup.
Bouchard’s goal extended his point streak to six games on Thursday. The defenseman has four goals and three assists for seven points in that span; he also had three points in his last game against New York.
Jeff Skinner leads the Oilers in goals and points against New York, boasting 14 and 28, respectively, in 48 games. McDavid tops the team in helpers with 15 in 16 games.
After Stuart Skinner started Thursday’s game, Calvin Pickard will face the Islanders on Friday. Pickard last started on March 4 against the Anaheim Ducks, allowing four goals on 11 shots before being relieved. In three games against the Islanders, he is 1-1-0 with a 3.74 GAA and .875 SV%, most recently allowing five goals on 19 shots in a relief effort
OILERS LINES:
NOTES: Pickard will start. Janmark comes in for Jones.
Complimentary Parking!
Once again for the 2024-25 season, those that drive a BMW can receive complimentary single-game parking in the Emerald Parking lot.
Please click the BMW | Islanders image below for parking registration information,
The effort is so damn inconsistent with this team. One night they will play with intensity, the next they won’t show up! It’s a lack of professionalism. The Oilers didn’t have their A Game, but they played hard. Leon is a superstar and not only in skill, in consistent effort game in and game out. Stars playing like stars? Barzel, Dobson it’s time to either grow up and maximize your talents or the Islanders should look to move either or both.
Who woke up Engvall? It makes it even more infuriating to see him play three games in an 82 game schedule! With him he just doesn’t want to engage! I think he worries about his face, just wear a shield and stop being a P!