Game Preview: Islanders at Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (5-3-3) AT BOSTON BRUINS (10-1-1)

7 PM | TD GARDEN

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The New York Islanders hit the road to take on the Boston Bruins for a Thursday night matchup at TD Garden.

The Islanders saw a five-game point streak (3-0-2) come to an end on Tuesday night with a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom (PPG) found the back of the net for the Islanders, but Pat Maroon (1G, 1A), Vinni Lettieri, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild. Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves in the loss in his first home start of the season, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves in the win. The Islanders power play went 1-for-5, while the penalty kill went 3-for-4.

The Bruins are coming off a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. John Beecher, Mason Lohrei and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins, while Wyatt Johnston and Joe Pavelski scored for the Stars. The Bruins have not lost consecutive games so far this season, with their only regulation loss coming on Saturday to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Islanders went 0-2-1 last season against the Bruins and are 0-4-2 in their last six trips to Boston.

“Their team has had a lot of success last season and to start this season,” Hudson Fasching said. “They’re a strong team and they play well. We’ll have to be on our A-game tomorrow for sure, it’s a game we’re excited about though. We love playing at TD Garden, there’s a lot of energy in that building.”

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

Bo Horvat will be a game-time decision for Thursday's tilt against the Boston Bruins, Head Coach Lane Lambert said after the team's optional morning skate.

Horvat participated in the optional session, marking his first team skate since Saturday night's 4-3 OT loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The center is second on the Islanders with nine points (4G, 5A).

Adam Pelech also took part in Thursday's morning skate after taking a maintenance day on Wednesday.

For the Bruins, defenseman Derek Forbort is probable to return to the lineup after a three-game absence, per the Bruins official website. If Forbort is in, it appears he'll be slotting in for former Islander Parker Wotherspoon.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- Bo Horvat (day to day, lower body) and Adam Pelech (maintenance) missed Wednesday’s practice, but will travel with the team to Boston. Horvat missed Tuesday’s game against Minnesota.

- Oliver Wahlstrom drew into the lineup for Horvat and scored his first goal of the season with a power-play tally on Tuesday night against Minnesota. The winger skated with Anders Lee with Mathew Barzal shifting back at center. Wahlstrom and Barzal had experience playing together in prior seasons but clicked on the same line after a long hiatus.

“It was fun, he sees the ice really well,” Wahlstrom said of playing with Barzal. “When he brings the puck in the zone, you know there’s going to be some plays there, so I have to put myself in good spots, play my game and attack.”

- Dobson scored his fourth goal of the season on Tuesday night. With his 34th goal of his career, the defenseman took sole possession of second place on the franchise list for most goals scored by a defenseman 24 or younger, second only to Denis Potvin’s 95 goals before his 24th birthday. Dobson maintains his point per game pace, with four goals and seven assists through 11 games, which leads the team. Per Islanders team statistician Eric Hornick, Noah Dobson is the first Islander defensemen since James Wisniewski (2010-11) to have at least 11 points in the Isles’ first 11 games.

- The Islanders have only played three road games so far this year, which is tied for fewest in the league with the Washington Capitals. After a home-heavy schedule to kick off the season, the Islanders are gearing up the next five of six games on the road. Head Coach Lane Lambert said his team needs to be ready regardless of how the schedule shakes out.

“There are no excuses, we have to take advantage of a home schedule or however they’re spread out,” Lambert said. “It’s not a bad thing. In any sport, it’s sometimes not a bad thing to get on the road. But certainly, that’s not an excuse for some of the leads we’ve given up.”

BRUINS NOTES

- The Bruins are off to a blazing start, going 10-1-1 to start the season. Boston sits atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference and is second in the NHL in points, trailing on the Vegas Golden Knights. 

- The Bruins are also the stingiest team, allowing a league-low 23 goals (1.92 per game). They are the only team averaging fewer than two goals allowed per game. 

- David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 17 points (9G, 8A) though 12 games of his 10th season as a Bruin. The 27-year-old forward recently hit his 600th game milestone on Oct. 30.

- Charlie McAvoy is serving a four-game suspension and will not be in the lineup against the Islanders, which marks the last game of his suspension.

- Matt Grzelcyk is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He was placed on LTIR on Nov. 1. The 29-year-old defenseman had one point through nine games before leaving the contest on Oct. 30 against the Panthers. 

- With McAvoy and Grzelcyk out, Parker Wotherspoon was recalled and has played three-straight games with the Bruins recording one assist and six blocked shots over that span. The former Islander spent eight seasons in the Islanders organization, playing 293 games in Bridgeport and 12 games with the Islanders. The 26-year-old blueliner signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins on July 1st.

- John Beecher scored his first NHL goal against Dallas on Monday in his 12th game with the Bruins.

- Mason Lohrei made history with his NHL debut on Thursday as the first Louisiana-born player to take the ice in an NHL game. Every state in the US has produced an NHL player except the following eight states: Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming and Hawaii.