Game Preview: Islanders at Devils

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (5-3-2) AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS (6-3-2)
7 P.M. ET | PRUDENTIAL CENTER
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The New York Islanders look to get back in the win column as they take on the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at Prudential Center.
The Islanders enter the matchup against their Tri-State foes after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night, which snapped the Isles' seven-game point streak (5-0-2) in the process. Anders Lee powered the Islanders' offense with a two-goal performance, while Semyon Varlamov made his season debut with 34 saves on 37 shots.

New Jersey enters the matchup coming off a 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night in what was the first of a three-game homestand. Andreas Johnsson scored twice while Nico Hischier, P.K. Subban, Ty Smith and Jimmy Vesey also scored in regulation. Pavel Zacha added one power-play goal and Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves on 38 shots.
New Jersey is the first team that the Islanders will face this season that's a familiar opponent from last year's intra-divisional competition throughout the 56-game abbreviated season. The Isles took six of eight from the Devils in 2020-21, including the final three games at Prudential Center.
While the Islanders have a surplus of film from last year to dissect as they head into Thursday night's matchup, they also know how important these Metropolitan Division games are given the intense competition among teams that leads to a minuscule difference in rankings.
"It's such a fine line in this conference, in this division," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "You've got to play at a high level, especially in this division. It's the only division where I think every team is over .500 and is playing .600 or better. There's no wiggle room."

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ISLANDERS NOTES:

• With two goals against his hometown team, Lee increased his season total to four goals, three of which have come in the last two games.
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  - Varlamov made his season debut after being sidelined with a nagging injury. The veteran netminder made 34 saves on 37 shots against Minnesota. During last season's eight meetings against New Jersey, Varlamov saw four games of action and posted a 3-1-0 record against them with a 1.51 GAA and a .947 SV%.
  - With assists on both of Lee's goals, Mathew Barzal now has three assists in the last two games. Barzal has a total of seven points (3G, 4A) through 10 games this season. The 24-year-old will skate in his 300th-career game on Thursday against the Devils. Last season during the Islanders' eight meetings against the New Jersey Devils, Barzal paced the Islanders with seven points (2G, 5A).
  - After scoring five goals in the span of two games, Brock Nelson was held pointless against his hometown team in Minnesota. Nelson leads the Islanders in scoring with nine points - including a team-high seven goals - through 10 games. Behind Barzal, Nelson scored the second most points against the Devils last season with six points (5G, 1A) through the eight meetings.
  - Ilya Sorokin backed up Varlamov against the Wild marking the first game of the season he had not started. Through nine games prior, the 26-year-old Russian netminder had earned a 5-2-2 record, a 1.98 GAA and a .939 SV%. Against New Jersey last season, Sorokin earned a 3-1-0 record, a 1.98 GAA and a .921 SV%.
  - With Lee's opening goal, the Islanders have now scored the first goal of the game in eight-straight contests.
  - The Islanders are 5-2-2 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal.
  - The Islanders have had success in recent years at the Devils' Prudential Center, where they've gone 6-1 in their last seven games there.

Video: Practice 11/10: Barry Trotz

DEVILS NOTES:

• With his fifth and sixth goals of the season, Johnsson now leads New Jersey in scoring with nine points and is tied with Zacha for the team lead in goals (6).
  - Hischier, the 22-year-old captain of the Devils, scored his second goal of the season and extended his point streak to three games where he totaled four points (1G, 3A) in that span. The center has seven points (2G, 5A) through 11 games.
  - Subban and Smith each scored their first goals of the season. Smith posted a game-high three-point (1G, 2A) outing against Florida.
  - Jimmy Vesey scored his third goal of the season with his new club as he joined the team on a PTO.
  - Blackwood improved his record to 1-0-0 in his second appearance of the season. The 24-year-old netminder has a 3.01 GAA and a .910 SV%.
  - In goal, Jonathan Bernier has a 4-1-0 record, a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV%. Bernier signed with the team in the offseason after playing three seasons with Detroit.
  - In the offseason, New Jersey also added defensemen Ryan Graves via a trade with Colorado and signed UFA Dougie Hamilton out of Carolina. They also signed winger Tomas Tatar, who was previously with Montreal.
  - After playing just two games to start the season, forward Jack Hughes has been sidelined with a shoulder injury and is expected to miss additional time.
  - Forward Miles Wood is out indefinitely after undergoing hip surgery and has not dressed in a game this season.