Game Preview: Islanders at Ducks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (29-26-7) AT ANAHEIM DUCKS (27-28-7)

9 PM EST | HONDA CENTER

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The New York Islanders continue their three-game California swing with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night in the second half of a back-to-back set.

The Isles opened their trip out west with a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday night. The consensus from Head Coach Patrick Roy and the players was that it wasn’t their best start - Ilya Sorokin had to make all 20 saves he faced in the first period alone to keep the Isles in the game - but the Isles capitalized on their bounces.

Anthony Duclair (PPG), JG Pageau, Anders Lee and Adam Boqvist (PPG) led the way offensively for the Islanders, and Sorokin finished the night with 38 saves in the win.

With an important two points in the victory, the Islanders (65 points) narrowed their gap from five points to three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (68 points) for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, though the Isles did not leapfrog any of the four teams in between them.

The Ducks are coming off a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. Sam Colangelo (PPG), Frank Vatrano and Alex Killorn scored for Anaheim in the loss and Lukas Dostal turned aside 18 of 21 shots in defeat.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders trail the Ducks in the season series 0-1-0 after a 3-1 loss at UBS Arena on Oct. 29. Mathew Barzal scored the lone goal for the Islanders with a power play tally, but it wasn’t enough to combat Anaheim’s offense with Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry potting power play goals of their own and Frank Vatrano burying the empty-net goal.

MORNING UPDATES

Roy did not reveal his starting goalie against Anaheim. If Sorokin gets the start, it’ll mark the fourth time all season the netminder will start in consecutive nights. Sorokin is already bearing a heavy workload, as Saturday marked his 10th straight start and 32nd start in the last 38 games.

Marcus Hogberg is making steps toward returning and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury. The Swedish netminder practiced with the team for the first time on Friday in San Jose and was on the ice for Saturday’s morning skate but Jakub Skarek backed up Sorokin against the Sharks.

The Islanders will not hold a morning skate in Anaheim, so all lineup news will come closer to puck drop.

ISLES NOTES

- Noah Dobson has three assists in his last two outings. Saturday marked his fifth game back after an 11-game absence with a lower-body injury.

- Ryan Pulock donned the “A” for the Isles on Saturday after Brock Nelson, who served as an alternate captain for parts of five seasons, was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche before the NHL Trade Deadline. Roy revealed postgame that Pulock will wear the “A” in road games, while Palmieri will wear the “A” during home games.

The Islanders have two power-play goals in two straight games. Anthony Duclair, who got the scoring started on Saturday with a power-play goal against the Sharks, has two PPGs in his 32 games played this season, as he scored the first PPG on Opening Night against Utah. Per Islanders team statistician Eric Hornick, the Islanders have scored four power play goals in a four-game span for the first time since February 8-18, 2024.

“We moved the puck well and we got our retrievals,” Lee said of the power play’s performance overall on Saturday in San Jose. “When we did bring it to the net, we were the ones coming out with it.”

- Lee picked up his 497th career point against the Sharks on Saturday night, two points behind Derek King for 13th place in franchise history.

- The Islanders are 4-5-0 on the second half of back-to-back sets and they recently proved they can beat the league-best Winnipeg Jets on short rest, as they won 3-2 on Tuesday night. The Isles are focused on a strong start on Sunday against the Ducks

“The key for us is to get as much rest as we can, and quickly,” Pageau said on Saturday night. “We want to focus on the first period, keep things simple and find our legs tomorrow.”

- The Isles have a road record of 14-13-5 this season.

DUCKS NOTES

In the flurry of the NHL Trade Deadline, Oliver Kylington was technically an Islander for five minutes. The Islanders acquired the defenseman from the Colorado Avalanche, but almost immediately flipped him to Anaheim for future considerations on Thursday night. Kylington could make his Ducks debut against the Isles on Sunday. He tallied four points (1G, 3A) through 13 games with the Avs this season.

The Ducks acquired forward Herman Traff along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin before the NHL Trade Deadline.

Traff, 19, has seven points (3G, 4A) this season for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League. He was selected by the Devils in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft (91st overall). Dumoulin had 16 points (2G, 14A) through 61 games in his first and only season with Anaheim.

Troy Terry leads the Ducks in scoring with 47 points (17G, 30A) through 57 games this season. Frank Vatrano leads Anaheim with 19 goals.

The Ducks are 14-14-2 on home ice this season.

Anaheim’s power play (12.6%) ranks 32^nd in the NHL.