Game Preview: Islanders at Ducks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (34-27-8) AT ANAHEIM DUCKS (22-35-10)
10 PM ET | HONDA CENTER
WATCH: MSGSN | MSG GO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9 FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders California trip continues Wednesday night, as the Isles look to bounce back from a loss on Tuesday night and sweep the season series from the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center, in the second half of a SoCal back-to-back set.
The last time these teams met, Oct. 15, the Islanders took a 7-1 victory over the Ducks for their first win of the season. Scott Mayfield (2G), Noah Dobson (GWG), Oliver Wahlstrom (1G, 1A), Anthony Beauvillier (1G, 1A) and Robin Salo (2G) powered the offense for the Islanders, while Anders Lee had a three-point night (3A). Troy Terry netted the lone goal for the Ducks.

The Islanders are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, in the first of a three-game California road trip. Pierre Engvall and Jean-Gabriel Pageau put up goals for the Islanders, while Blake Lizotte, Drew Doughty (PPG), Alex Iafallo (PPG), Trevor Moore and Quinton Byfield scored in the win for the Kings.
The Ducks are coming off a 5-4 OT loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday. After finding themselves down 4-2 late in the third, Troy Terry and Mason McTavish scored to force overtime, but Nashville's Tommy Novak buried the overtime winner to secure two points for the Predators.
The Islanders (76 points) hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but lost the opportunity to make headway on teams chasing them in the standings. Pittsburgh (78 points), Washington (71 points), Ottawa (70 points) and Detroit (69 points) all lost in regulation on Tuesday night.
The Islanders are 9-4-2 in their last 15 matchups against the Ducks, but are 1-3-0 in their last four visits to Honda Center.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau was activated off the team's IR list on Tuesday ahead of the matchup against the Kings and scored in his return to the lineup. Simon Holmstrom came out of the lineup to accommodate Pageau's return. Pageau centered a new-look line with Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching on Tuesday. He registered a season-low 30.8 FOW%, showing a little bit of rust at the dot after missing 12 games.
• Pierre Engvall has goals in back-to-back games, opening the scoring in both games against the Kings on Tuesday and Washington Capitals on Saturday. The Islanders' newest acquisition played in five games since the trade.
• Scott Mayfield has seven points (2G, 5A) in nine career games against the Ducks, including a pair of goals on Oct. 15.
• With Ilya Sorokin starting on Tuesday, Semyon Varlamov is likely to start on Wednesday in Anaheim. Varlamov is coming off a 5-1 loss to Washington on Saturday and is 11-8-2 this season with a 2.79 GAA, a .910 SV% and two shutouts. Varlamov is 4-6-3 lifetime against the Ducks with a 3.08 GAA, a .904 SV% and one shutout, though he's 0-0-1 against Anaheim as a member of the Islanders.
ISLES AT DUCKS
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
3 Takeaways: Kings 5, Islanders 2
Western Road Trip Shows Benefits of Isles Travel Schedule
Isles Prospect Report: Mar. 13
Isles Pregame Coffee
Talkin' Isles: Bryan Trottier
GAME EXTRAS
Become a Season Ticket Member
Race to the Rink
Reverse Retro Jersey
Talkin' Isles
Isles History
• The Islanders have lost two straight games for the first time since a three-game winless streak from Feb. 9-14. The Islanders have allowed five goals in back to back games for the first time since Jan. 21 and 23 against Carolina and Toronto.
• The Islanders allowed two power-play goals for the first time since Feb. 9.
• Scott Mayfied has seven points (2G, 5A) in nine career games against Anaheim.

DUCKS NOTES:

• The Ducks have 13 points in their last nine games (5-1-3), while they still sit in seventh place in the Pacific Division with 54 points.
• The Ducks will host the Islanders for the second matchup of an eight-game homestand. Anaheim has a record of 11-16-3 on home ice.
• Trevor Zegras leads his team across the categories of goals (21), assists (35) and points (56) in his third season with the team. The 21-year-old forward is on the brink of reaching his career-high 61 points (23G, 38A), set in the 2021-22 season.
• Troy Terry is second on the Ducks in goals (19) and points (49). The 25-year-old winger spent parts of six NHL seasons with the Ducks, matching his career-high in assists (30) through 60 games this season.
• John Gibson won points in seven of his last eight starts, with four wins, three overtime losses and one regulation loss. Gibson made his 11,814th save on Friday, passing Guy Hebert to set a new record for most saves in Ducks history.
• John Klingberg was shipped to the Minnesota Wild ahead of the trade deadline in exchange for defenseman Andrej Sustr, rights to prospect Nikita Nesterenko and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
• Adam Henrique (lower-body) missed nine games with a lower-body injury and is considered week-to-week. The 33-year-old center had 33 points (19G, 14A) through 57 games played in his sixth season with Anaheim.
• Urho Vaakanainen is out for the season after undergoing hip surgery as a result of an injury suffered on Jan. 28.
• The Ducks' goals against average ranks last in the NHL (4.00).