Islanders Face Sabres To Conclude Thanksgiving Back-To-Back

The Islanders could be without Jean-Gabriel Pageau for a second straight night.

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Nov 30, 2024

After suffering another third-period implosion on Friday evening, the New York Islanders (8-10-6) return to UBS Arena and face the Buffalo Sabres (11-10-2) on Saturday.

The puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game can be found on MSGSN.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau missed Friday’s game and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Scott Mayfield left the game with 8:00 to play in the third after taking a puck to the face.

His status is unknown.

We will chat with Islanders head coach Patrick Roy at 6:15 PM ET to get the latest before puck drop.

The Islanders bested the Sabres 4-3 in their first meeting on Nov. 1. After the Sabres scored first, New York rallied for three straight goals before the second intermission and kept pace the rest of the way. However, the win was a costly one for New York, as Alexander Romanov, Mike Reilly, and Adam Pelech were injured that night; only Romanov returned to the lineup.

PROJECTED LINEUP:

Lee-Horvat-Holmstrom

Tsyplakov-Nelson-Palmieri

Engvall-Cizikas-Wahlstrom

Martin-MacLean-Fasching

George-Dobson

Romanov-Pulock

Cholowski-Mayfield

Sorokin

Varlamov

WHO’S HOT:

Anders Lee was the star of the show for New York on Friday, tallying a goal and two assists; it was the 14th three-point game of his career. He also recorded the 200th assist of his NHL career.

With Jean-Gabriel Pageau out of the lineup, Lee shined alongside Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom. Horvat had two helpers on Friday, and Holmstrom had the first multi-goal game of his NHL career.

Isaiah George has assists in each of his last three games. Per MSG Networks’ Eric Hornick, he is the first Islanders defenseman since Bryan Berard to have a three-game point streak before his 21st birthday.

Lee has the most goals against the Sabres among active Islanders, boasting 14 in his career. Casey Cizikas leads the team in assists against Buffalo with 14, he is tied with Lee for the most points total with 20.

After Semyon Varlamov started on Friday, Ilya Sorokin will return to the crease for New York on Saturday. In a losing effort, Sorokin let up five goals in his last outing against the Boston Bruins. Against Buffalo, he is 6-3-2 with a 2.64 GAA and .914 SV%, earning the win with 32 saves in their last meeting.

OPPONENT’S NOTES:

Alex Tuch has averaged over a point per game over his last 10 contests. In that span, he has four goals and seven assists for 11 points.

J.J. Peterka enters Saturday’s game two points shy of 100 for his NHL career. The 22-year-old forward has 47 goals and 51 assists for 98 points in his career.

Dylan Cozens has goals in his last three games against the Islanders. He has a total of five in his career against New York. Rasmus Dahlin also has a four-game assist streak against the Islanders, tallying one in each game of that stretch.

After tallying a goal and assist in Friday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Jason Zucker padded his lead as Buffalo’s leading scorer against the Islanders, boasting eight goals and 13 points. Dahlin leads the team in helpers against New York with 11.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started Friday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, meaning James Reimer is projected to start against the Islanders on Saturday. He last started against the San Jose Sharks last Saturday, making 31 saves in a win. Against New York, he is 9-3-2 in 17 games with a 2.83 GAA and .914 SV%, earning a win with 33 saves on 36 on March 21 with the Detroit Red Wings.

PREGAME READING: