Game Preview: Islanders at Canucks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-17-5) AT VANCOUVER CANUCKS (16-27-5)

10 PM ET | ROGERS ARENA

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN2 | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders road trip has reached the west coast, as the Isles visit the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night at Rogers Arena.

The Isles are 2-2-1 through five games of their road trip and are looking to rebound from a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a long road trip and we still have a chance to finish it on a high note,” Tony DeAngelo said after Saturday’s game. “[We’re] .500 right now and obviously want to be better than that and still have time to do it.”

The team held a spirited practice on Sunday in Vancouver and focused on cutting down turnovers, especially high in the offensive zone.

“We let up too much last game,” Captain Anders Lee said on Sunday. “We focused on coming back, kind of resetting on some of our structure and thought process there, getting back into our D zone. At the end of the day, we just got to take care of the puck a little bit more sometimes.”

PROJECTED LINES

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Anthony Duclair
Max Tsyplakov – Cal Ritchie – Emil Heineman
Jonathan Drouin – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Adam Boqvist – Scott Mayfield

SOROKIN TO START

Ilya Sorokin will start against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night, Head Coach Patrick Roy announced at Sunday’s practice.

Sorokin is coming off a 35-save shutout in his most recent outing, a 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Sorokin is 15-11-2 this season with a 2.47 GAA, a .915 SV% and a league-leading five shutouts.

With his 282^nd game, Sorokin will tie Chico Resch for third all-time in goalie games played in Islanders history.

TSYPLAKOV IN FOR SHABANOV

Max Tsyplakov is expected to draw into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 10 in Minnesota. Max Shabanov is expected to come out of the lineup in a corresponding move.

Tsyplakov took line rushes with Cal Ritchie and Emil Heineman, as Head Coach Patrick Roy looks to put the Russian forward in a position to unlock his offensive game. After recording 35 points (10G, 25A) in 77 games last season, Tsyplakov has one goal in 24 games to start this season.

"I want him to play his game," Roy said. "He's a guy that will bring pucks to the net, a guy that plays really well defensively. To me, that's his DNA, and I want him to play that game. I don't need him to be like fancy with the puck. I know he will, which is fine with me at times, but what I really want to see with him is net presence. I mean, do a great job in the D zone and stuff like this and I know he can do it."

GATCOMB ON PLAYING IN VANCOUVER

It's not quite a homecoming, but Monday's game might have a little extra meaning for Marc Gatcomb. The Islanders forward spent two years in the Canucks organization playing in Abbotsford, but did not play an NHL game with Vancouver. Monday would mark his first game in Rogers Arena as an NHLer.

"You know, the city here is awesome. It's very pretty, driving in the rink, see the mountains, stuff like that," Gatcomb said. "I still have a bunch of close friends on the other team that I stay in touch with pretty frequently. So catch up with them tonight, grab dinner, but yeah, it's good to be back."

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders trail the season series 0-1-0 after falling 4-1 to the Canucks on Dec. 19 at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are 6-0-3 in their last nine trips to beautiful British Columbia with their last regulation loss coming on Jan. 6, 2015.

CANUCKS NOTES

- The Canucks are currently mired in a 10-game winless stretch (0-8-2) with their last win coming on Dec. 29. Vancouver has lost seven straight games in regulation – including a 6-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. It is the Canucks first 10-game losing streak since 1998 and has them last in the NHL with 37 points.

- During their 10-game slide, the Canucks have scored 17 goals over that span (1.70 per game) and have allowed 45 (4.50 per game), both league worsts. Vancouver’s penalty kill is 13-for-23 (56.5%) over that span.

- The Canucks hold the NHL’s worst home record at 4-13-3.

- Elias Pettersson leads the Canucks with 29 points (13G, 16A) in 40 games, while Kiefer Sherwood leads the team with 17 goals. Defenseman Filip Hronek leads the team with 24 assists.

- Goaltender Thatcher Demko will not play on Monday night, as he is currently on injured reserve. Demko has been out since Jan. 10. Demko is 8-10-1 this season with a 2.90 GAA, an .897 SV% and one shutout.

- Marco Rossi, who was part of the trade package for defenseman Quinn Hughes, is also on IR with a lower-body injury. Rossi had two points (1G, 1A) in eight games with Vancouver prior to his injury.