Game Preview: Islanders at Coyotes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (33-18-6) AT ARIZONA COYOTES (29-24-8)
4 PM | GILA RIVER ARENA
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
The Isles suffered their second consecutive shutout loss on Saturday night falling 1-0 at Vegas during the second game on their four-game Western Conference road trip. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 42 saves while Mathew Barzal logged the most time on ice of Isles forwards with 23:23.

The Coyotes rebounded from back-to-back road losses with a 3-1 home victory over Washington on Saturday night. Christian Dvorak and Lawson Crouse scored while Phil Kessel scored on the power play. Antti Raanta made 36 saves.

ISLES NOTES:

• The Islanders acquired defenseman Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in exchange for David Quenneville and a 2021 second-round pick. Greene spent 14 years with the Devils, including the past five seasons as captain. The 37-year-old left-handed blueliner is expected to add a veteran presence and fill some of the void left by Adam Pelech, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury on Jan. 2. Greene has 11 points (2G, 9A) in 53 games this season and is averaging 20:07 TOI/GP, including 3:25 SH TOI/GP.
  - Sebastian Aho was returned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a corresponding move, as Greene is expected to join the team on Monday.
  - Varlamov made 42 stops in his 31st start of the season. Despite the loss, the goaltender showcased a great effort against Vegas including a second period stick save to deny Paul Stastny on the doorstep.
  MORE COVERAGE
  WRITTEN COVERAGE
  Greene Adding Veteran Presence to Blue Line
  Islanders Acquire Andy Greene
  Notes: VGK 1, NYI 0
  ISLES TV
  AUDIO: Greene and Lamoriello Conference Call
  Recap: VGK 1, NYI 0
  - The Islanders' have been shut out in consecutive games for the first time since March 19-21, 2019, when they fell 5-0 to Boston and 4-0 in Montreal.
  - Barzal played in his 221th consecutive game to tie him with Richard Park for ninth on the all-time franchise list.
  - The Isles won 56% of faceoff draws over Vegas. Across the NHL, the Isles are ranked 15th overall with a faceoff win percentage of 50.0%.
  - Vegas outshot the Isles 43-19 on Saturday, including 20-4 in the second period. The 20 shots in the second period is the most the Islanders have allowed in any period this season.
  - The Isles held the advantage in hits (42 to Vegas' 25) and blocks (13 to Vegas' nine).
  - The Isles penalty kill was perfect at three-for-three while their power play went 0-for-2. In the league, the Isles PK unit is ranked 16th overall at 80.1% while their power play is ranked 22nd (18.6%).
  - Ross Johnston and Tom Kuhnhackl drew back into the lineup in place of Kieffer Bellows and Cole Bardreau. Johnston was last in the lineup on Feb. 10 against Washington and played alongside Leo Komarov and Matt Martin. Johnston logged 7:59 time on ice, threw four hits and dropped the gloves with Ryan Reaves right off of the opening faceoff. Kuhnhackl returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 1 and joined Derick Brassard and Michael Dal Colle. The German winger logged 11:00 time on ice including 2:05 shorthanded -- the second-most of any Islanders forward (Leo Komarov logged 2:20) -- and was tied with Martin for a team-high seven hits on the night.
  - The Isles are now 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. The Isles are 21-7-3 when scoring first and are 12-11-3 when allowing the opening goal.
  - The Isles continue their road swing with a matinee game at Arizona on Monday. This season, the Isles are 24-10-3 against Eastern conference teams and 9-8-3 against Western conference opponents.

YOTES NOTES:

• The Coyotes are in the midst of a tightly-contested Western Conference playoff race. Arizona is currently holding down the second Wild Card with 66 points, one point ahead of the Nashville Predators, though the Predators have three games in hand. Arizona is currently fifth in the Pacific Division, but are only four points back of the first-place Edmonton Oilers, illustrating how tight the division race is.
  - After a scoreless first period on Saturday, Dvorak opened up scoring as he found the back of the net for the 18th time this season. The center has 36 points through 61 games.
  - Kessel lit the lamp for the 13th time this season with his new club. The tally was Kessel's ninth power-play goal and second game-winner of the year. The winger has 34 points through 61 games as a Coyote.
  - Crouse's insurance goal was his 14th of the season. The 22-year-old winger has 23 points through 57 games.
  - Jakob Chychrun recorded two assists on the night and now has 14 helpers on the season. The 21-year-old blueliner has 26 points through 61 games. Chychrun's 12 goals are tied with Colorado's Cale Makar for the fifth-most among defenseman across the NHL.
  - Raanta made his 28th start of the season and improved his record to 12-13-3 with a 2.76 GAA and a .917 SV%.
  - The Coyotes power play went 1-for-3 against Washington's fourth-best PK unit in the NHL. Arizona has a power play conversion percentage of 19.4 and is ranked 18th in the NHL.
  - Arizona's PK is ranked sixth overall in the NHL (83.4) and was perfect at three-for-three against the Caps.
  - Taylor Hall is producing at nearly a point-per-game since being acquired by the Coyotes on Dec. 16. Hall has 21 points (8G, 13A) in 26 games with his new club. Overall, Hall has 46 points in 56 games between the Coyotes and Devils.
  - The Coyotes relinquish the fifth-fewest goals against per game in the NHL with a nightly average of 2.66.
  - Raanta's counterpart between the pipes Darcy Kuemper is on Injured Reserve. Kuemper has been sidelined since Dec. 19 with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old netminder has a record of 15-8-2 and is ranked third in the NHL for his 2.17 GAA and fourth for his .929 SV%.
  - Jason Demers was placed on IR with an oblique injury on Feb. 6. Demers last suited up on Feb. 1 against Chicago. The blueliner has nine assists through 46 games this season.

ISLES VS. COYOTES:

The Isles claimed the first meeting of the season series 4-2 on Oct. 24 at NYCB Live. Derick Brassard, Josh Bailey, Anders Lee and Scott Mayfield scored while Varlamov made 21 saves.
The Islanders are 5-0-2 in the last seven games and 8-1-2 in the last 11 games against the Coyotes. The Isles are 3-0-0 against the Yotes.