Game Preview: Islanders at Golden Knights

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (17-13-1) AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (22-9-1)
10 PM ET | T-MOBILE ARENA
WATCH: MSG | MSGGO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7 FM
After falling to the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Friday night, the New York Islanders have a chance to get back on track when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena at 10 p.m. eastern.
It won't be an easy task, as the Golden Knights sit atop the Pacific Division. Vegas has won two straight games, while the Islanders are on a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) and are 2-4-1 in the month of December. Despite their recent struggles, the Islanders remain confident.

"We've got to stop playing a good game, then playing a bad game, then playing a good game,"
Matt Martin
said after Friday's loss. "We're good hockey team, we believe we're a good hockey team, but we have to bring it every night. We can't go on a rollercoaster ride with the way we're going to play we're not going to have success that way."
There was some good to take out of Friday's game, which saw the Islanders jump out to an early 2-0 lead, and also saw the returns of Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Beauvillier. However, the early start was undone by a stretch that saw the Coyotes outshoot the Islanders 17-1, including a stretch of 14 consecutive shots, and score three goals. Cal Clutterbuck and Alex Romanov also left the game late and did not return.
The Golden Knights have won two straight games heading into Saturday night's action, most recently beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday.
The Islanders are 4-3-1 all-time vs the Golden Knights and are 2-2-0 in Vegas.
AFTERNOON UPDATE: Lane Lambert said the Islanders would have a couple of game-time decisions for Saturday night. For Vegas, Alex Pietrangelo will return after missing nine games to tend to his sick daughter. Logan Thompson was Vegas' first goalie off the ice for morning skate.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in goal for the Islanders after Ilya Sorokin played on Friday night. Varlamov is 7-3-1 this season with a 2.68 GAA, a .916 SV% and one shutout. The 34-year-old goalie is 3-0-1 in his last four starts, most recently earning a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Varlamov stopped 42 of 43 shots in his last start in Vegas in a 1-0 loss on Feb. 15, 2020.
  - With an assist on Friday, Josh Bailey earned his 567th career point, passing Pat LaFontaine for seventh on the Islanders all-time points list. Bailey has 12 points (5G, 7A) in 27 games this season and has five points (1G, 4A) in his last five games.
  - Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Beauvillier both returned to the Islanders lineup on Friday. Palmieri had missed 10 games, while Beauvillier was sidelined for two, both with upper-body injuries. Beauvillier scored in his return and had three shots on goal, while Palmieri set a screen for Noah Dobson's tally and finished the night with two shots. Palmieri was on the receiving end of a high and late hit from Nick Ritchie in the third period, but after being pulled for concussion protocol, returned to the contest.
  - Alexander Romanov and Cal Clutterbuck both left the game late in the third period and did not return. There were no updates given by Head Coach Lane Lambert postgame.
  - Friday marked the first time the Islanders had lost a game when leading after the first period (7-1-0).
  ISLES AT VEGAS
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  3 Takeaways: ARI 5, NYI 4
  Isles Win Over Fan in Wisconsin
  Talkin' Isles: Barry Landers
  GAME EXTRAS
  Reverse Retro Jersey
  Talkin' Isles
  Isles Season Tickets
  - Brock Nelson picked up his 199th career assist and is on the cusp of being the 20th player in team history to record 200 assists. Nelson has 31 points (14G, 17A) this season, which is tied with Mathew Barzal for the team lead. Nelson has points in nine of his last 10 games and has not gone consecutive games without a point this season.
  - Noah Dobson scored his 10th goal of the season on Friday. Per Eric Hornick, Dobson is now second in Islander history for defenseman goals before the age of 23 with 27 goals; he is only three goals away from his career high of 13. Noah Dobson set a season-high in ice-time (24:30).

VEGAS NOTES:

• Shea Theodore is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Zach Whitecloud is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is considered month-to-month. Neither is expected to play Saturday.
  - Jack Eichel is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and is questionable to play against the Islanders on Saturday. Eichel leads the Golden Knights in points with 29 (13G, 16A) in 27 games this season.
  - Chandler Stephenson tallied four assists on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets, his second four-point game of the season. He also tallied four points against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 10. Stephenson leads the team in assists with 21 and is on a three-game point streak.
  - Stephenson also has the second-best faceoff percentage in the NHL among those who have taken 75 or more faceoffs this year, winning 62.2 percent of his draws.
  - Reilly Smith scored two goals on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, including one shorthanded goal. Smith leads the NHL with four shorthanded goals this year.
  - Phil Kessel scored a goal on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, his fifth of the season. Earlier this year, Kessel overtook the NHL Iron Man record. He has played 1,014 consecutive NHL games and counting.
  - Alex Pietrangelo remains away from the team for personal reasons and is not expected to play Saturday.