Game Preview: Islanders at Coyotes

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (1-2-1) AT ARIZONA COYOTES (0-3-1)
9 PM ET | GILA RIVER ARENA
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The New York Islanders 13-game road trip enters a new time zone, as the Isles travel to the desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.
The Isles-Yotes clash marks the fifth game of the Isles' marathon trip, which has seen them dart around the country from the southeast, to the Midwest and now the southwest to kick off a back-to-back set. After taking on the Coyotes on Saturday, the Islanders travel to Las Vegas for Sunday dinner with the Golden Knights. The back-to-back weekend set is the Islanders first of 19 back-to-backs this season.

"It is what it is," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of the back-to-backs. "It'll take a tough-minded group, the right determination and the right focus to get it done... I think our second game of back-to-backs have been pretty good the past few years, to me it's all mental. Can you handle it or are you going to make excuses, but it's time for us to not make excuses and just handle it."
ISLES AT COYOTES
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The Bridgeport Report
Maven's Memories: Roland Melanson
ISLANDERS VIDEO
Trotz Pregame
Pageau and Pulock Pregame
Built For Fans By Fans: Ep 8
GAME EXTRAS
Talkin' Isles
Sparky's Spooktacular
Isles STM Reserve List
The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 OT loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night and while they've gotten points in two straight games, are looking to take two points in Arizona.
In lieu of Thursday's loss, Head Coach Barry Trotz suggested there could be changes to the Islanders lineup, floating the idea of tinkering with the Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey trio.
"We haven't scored. As a line that's frustrating, you want to go out there and contribute and chip in offensively," Nelson said. "If Barry is going to change the lines, we've got a good group of guys in here. Twelve to 14 guys who can get in the lineup, play and contribute. If he changes it, whoever you're playing with, go out and play hard."
The Islanders should expect a hungry Coyotes team looking for its first win of the season. Arizona is 0-3-1 to start the season and have given up five-or-more goals in all three of their regulation losses. The Islanders had a high-pace practice on Friday and are looking forward to the challenge.
"We talked about being sharp and wanting to go out there and have a good 15-20 minutes," Nelson said of Friday's practice. "Get the game feeling good and body feeling good and not using travel as an excuse."

ISLANDERS NOTES:
- JG Pageau missed Thursday night's game with an illness, though not one related to COVID-19. In Pageau's absence, Zach Parise shifted to center, while Kieffer Bellows slotted in at left wing. Pageau skated during the team's practice in Glendale on Friday.
- Mathew Barzal had a game-high nine shots on goal on Thursday, and 13 total shot attempts. The Islanders center scored his second goal of the season, tying the game and forcing overtime.
- The Islanders are 1-2-2 in their last five trips to Arizona. Their most recent visit to Arizona was a 2-1 loss on Feb. 17, 2020, which also marked Andy Greene's Islanders debut. The Islanders last win in the desert was a 3-1 win on Dec. 18, 2018.
- Josh Bailey (512 points) is one point shy of matching Bob Nystrom (513 points) for 10th on the Islanders all-time leaderboard.
- Casey Cizikas will play in his 595th game with the Islanders on Saturday, moving past John Tonelli for sole possession of 19th on the franchise's games played list.

COYOTES NOTES:
- The Coyotes have had trouble keeping the puck out of their net early in the season, allowing eight goals to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their season opener, seven goals to the St. Louis Blues and five to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Their 5.25 goals-against-per-game is the highest in the NHL.
- Saturday marks the first time former Islander Andrew Ladd will face his former team. Ladd played 181 games over four seasons with the Islanders (2016-20), as well as 35 games with Bridgeport over the past two years. Injuries hampered Ladd's tenure with the Islanders, limiting him to just 30 games since the start of the 2018-19 season. Ladd was dealt to the Coyotes over the summer and has two points (1G, 1A) in four games with the Yotes. The 35-year-old winger is 46 games shy of 1,000.
- The Coyotes underwent sizable changes in the offseason, as the team looked to restock its prospect stable and acquire draft picks. Captain and longtime defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland were dealt to Vancouver for a package of picks, including a 2021 first-rounder, Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel.
Arizona overhauled their crease, trading Darcy Kuemper to Colorado, Adin Hill to San Jose and letting Antti Raanta walk in free agency. Carter Hutton and Karel Vejmelka are the Coyotes current duo in net.
Andre Tourigny was hired as the team's new Head Coach, replacing Rick Tocchet.
Notable additions to the team include defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who leads the team with four points, forward Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Anton Stralman.
- Notable familiar faces on the Coyotes include: Phil Kessel, who led the team with 20 goals and 43 points last season, 2016 seventh-overall pick Clayton Keller and defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who finished 10th in scoring among NHL blueliners last season.
- Defenseman Dysin Mayo scored his first-career NHL goal in his NHL debut on Thursday night.
- The Coyotes are back in their Kachina jerseys full time this season, wearing the vintage threads for 74 games. They will wear an alternate version of the Kachina for eight games this season.