Game Preview: Islanders at Devils

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (17-6-4) VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS (8-12-3)
7PM | PRUDENTIAL CENTER
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | NHL.TV
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders travel to New Jersey for a back-to-back set at Prudential Center as they take on the Devils in the second of three-straight meetings. The game will also kick off a three-game road trip for the Islanders.

On Thursday night, the first game of the three straight between the Tri-State foes, the Islanders picked up a 5-3 win at Nassau Coliseum. The win was supported by 1,000 frontline Northwell Health workers in attendance and marked the first time since March 7, 2020 that the Islanders had fans in the stands to cheer them on.
Their efforts didn't disappoint as Matt Martin, Adam Pelech, Noah Dobson, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson scored while Ilya Sorokin backstopped the win with 19 saves. The Islanders also improved their winning streak to seven games and their point streak to 10 (9-0-1).
While the Islanders soundly dominated the win, they deviated from their disciplined game in the third period and New Jersey was able to capitalize. The Devils scored back-to-back goals in 40 seconds early in the period and ended the period with a goal.
The third-period push from the Devils, featured goals from Janne Kuokkanen, Mikhail Maltsev and Jack Hughes. Mackenzie Blackwood started in net for New Jersey and stopped 28 shots.
The Islanders improved to 3-1-0 over the Devils this season, but just as New Jersey didn't back down in the third period, their upcoming back-to-back set against the Devils should be competitive.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Win the win, the Islanders are not only riding a seven-game winning streak and a 10-game point streak (9-0-1), but they remain the only team in the league to have not suffered a regulation loss on home ice (12-0-2). The Islanders also extended their home point streak to 14 games, which is the longest point streak at home since a club record-tying streak of 23 games during the 1981-82 season.
ISLANDERS VS DEVILS
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
5 Takeaways: Islanders Welcome Fans Back with 5-3 Win over New Jersey
Isles Day to Day: Lee Out Indefinitely
Prospect Report: March 8, 2021
ISLANDERS VIDEO
Trotz Pregame: Coming Soon
Player Pregame: Coming Soon
GAME EXTRAS
Silent Auction
Buy Fan Cutouts
Fan Cutout Gallery
Hockey With a Heart
• Anders Lee sustained a lower-body injury in the first period and is out indefinitely as confirmed by the team on Friday morning. Lee collided with Devils' forward Pavel Zacha and left the ice immediately with assistance. On the shift prior to his collision, the Islanders' captain had earned an assist on Martin's opening goal. Through 27 games this season, Lee leads the Islanders with his 12 goals and his 19 points are ranked second on the Islanders leaderboard behind Mathew Barzal's 23 points (9G, 14A). Lee also currently has the third-longest ironman streak in franchise history (behind Bobby Nystrom and Billy Harris) with 295-consecutive games played.
• The Islanders win not only featured balanced scoring, but all six defenseman contributed at least a point in the win and in total, 10 different players got on the scoresheet.
• Martin scored his fifth goal of the season on Thursday and ninth point. Through 27 games, the 31-year-old winger has already surpassed his production from last season where he produced eight points (5G, 3A) in 55 games compared to his nine points (5G, 4A) through 27 games.
• The Islanders are 12-1-2 when scoring first and are 5-5-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• Pelech earned his second goal of the season with his first-period tally from distance. The blueliner now has eight points through 27 games.
• Dobson wired in his third goal of the season and his 12th point through 27 games of his sophomore season.
• Bailey also scored his third goal of the season. The 31-year-old winger now has 14 points (3G, 11A) through 27 games.
• With a third-period goal and a response to New Jersey's back-to-back strikes, Nelson rifled in his 11th goal of the season and extended his point streak (5G, 1A) to five games, where the center has scored as many goals during that span and has a four-game goal streak.
• Michael Dal Colle rejoined the lineup after being a healthy scratch against Boston on tuesday and played 14:51. The 24-year-old winger drew back in his usual place alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom, but took some shifts with other forwards as the Islanders played down a forward - with Lee's absence - for over 40 minutes.
• Sorokin improved his record to 5-2-1 with the win and became the first goaltender in Islanders history to earn a win in five-straight games. The Russian rookie has a 2.25 GAA and a .906 SV%.
• Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello and Head Coach Barry Trotz each celebrated their respective 100th wins with the organization on Thursday night.
• The Islanders went 0-for-5 on their power play while their penalty kill was a perfect 1-for-1 against the Devils.

DEVILS NOTES:

• The Devils return home for a five-game homestand. However, unlike the Islanders, New Jersey has struggled to find success on home ice. The team has not won a game at home since Jan. 24 when they beat the Islanders 2-0. In New Jersey's most recent homestand, the team went 0-5-0 and was outscored 22-9.
• Kuokkanen scored his third goal of the season and now has nine points (3G, 6A) through 18 games.
• Maltsev scored his fourth goal of the season and now has as many points through 11 games.
• Hughes recorded his sixth goal of the season which is tied with Zacha for the second-most among the Devils, behind Miles Wood, who has eight goals. Hughes now has totaled the second most points on New Jersey's leaderboard with 14 points (6G, 8A) through 23 games of his sophomore season.
• Blackwood made his 13th start of the season, while his record fell to 5-7-1. The goaltender has a 3.13 GAA and a .900 SV%.
• The Devils penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 against the Islanders while their power play was 0-for-1. New Jersey's power play is ranked 31st overall in the league with a kill rate of 67.1%.