Game Preview: Islanders at Jets

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-15-5) AT WINNIPEG JETS (17-22-5)

8:00 PM ET | CANADA LIFE CENTRE

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders head north of the border as they face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

The Islanders are coming off a 4-3 overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night which marked their first road win against the Wild since 2019. Simon Holmstrom tallied three points (2G, 1A), including the overtime winner against Minnesota, while JG Pageau and Casey Cizikas (SHG) provided goals in regulation Ilya Sorokin denied 33 of the Wild’s 36 shots in the win.

PROJECTED LINES

See below for Monday’s practice lines in Winnipeg and check back on Tuesday for any updates.

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Drouin – Cal Ritchie – Emil Heineman
Max Shabanov – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean– Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Adam Boqvist– Scott Mayfield

SOROKIN TO START VS JETS

Ilya Sorokin will start in goal against the Jets, per Head Coach Patrick Roy.

Sorokin is 14-10-2 with a 2.47 GAA, a .915 SV% and four shutouts this season. He has also won two straight starts, stopping 77-of-80 shots over that span.

MACLEAN TO DRAW IN VS JETS

Head Coach Patrick Roy said Kyle MacLean will draw back into the lineup on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets after sitting out Saturday as a healthy scratch.

"I love the way he's been playing with Casey [Cizikas] and Marc [Gatcomb], and I feel like they have an identity," Roy said.

Max Tsyplakov will come out of the lineup in a corresponding move. Roy said the decision to swap MacLean and Max Tsyplakov for a third straight game is also make sure everyone is staying "involved."

"Tsyplakov did okay last game, and we're just going to continue to roll and see how things go," Roy said. "What we're trying to do is having everybody be involved. We're playing so well, and having everybody be part of it, I think, it's important."

BOQVIST STAYING IN

Adam Boqvist will also stay in the lineup for a second straight game. It marks Boqvist's first consecutive games since playing four in a row from Nov. 20-26. Roy said he was happy with the defenseman on Saturday night and wants to see him continue to build off of it.

"We talked about trust, and building that trust from him to us and us to him," Roy said. "I thought that he did really well, kept things simple and I'm curious to see how he's going play again tomorrow."

HOLMSTROM’S 100TH POINT

Simon Holmstrom’s first goal of the night leveled the Islanders and Wild at 2-2 with at the 1:29 mark of the second period, which earned him his 100^th career NHL point. Holmstrom added another assist and eventually potted his first career overtime goal as he earned the game’s first star on Saturday night.

OVERTIME PERFECTION

The Islanders are a perfect 5-0-0 in overtime this season and are the only team in the NHL to be undefeated in overtime this season (not including the shootout).

SEASON SERIES

This is the second of two meetings between the Islanders and Jets. Winnipeg won 5-2 at UBS Arena on Oct. 13.

The Isles are winless in their last two road contests against the Jets.

JETS NOTES

Winnipeg is entering Tuesday’s showdown off a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. Both teams exchanged goals through the first two periods, but Tanner Pearson’s lone third period goal put the Jets ahead 4-3 and decided the game. This was the second straight win following an 11-game winless streak from Dec. 15 to Jan 8.

After winning the Presidents' Trophy with 116 points in the 2024-25 season, the Jets are in unfamiliar territory as they sit 31^st in the league and eighth in the Central Division with 39 points through 44 games. Since Nov. 21, the Jets are 5-15-5.

Kyle Connor was kept off the score sheet against New Jersey, but has still been on a tear as of late. Connor was on a five-game point streak heading into the Devils game, with seven points (3G, 4A) over that span. The 29-year-old's 52 points (20G, 31A) is tied with Mark Scheifele for the most points on the team this season.

Scheifele and defenseman Josh Morrissey have also found rhythm this month. Scheifele has recorded four points (2G, 2A) in the last three contests. Morrissey notched two helpers against New Jersey and tied Dustin Byfuglien for the most multi-point games (89) by a defenseman in franchise history. He has points in five of the last six games and leads all Jets defensemen with 36 points (7G. 29A) this season.

A season after winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP and the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t found the same success between the pipes this season. Hellebuyck has a record of 10-12-4 with a 2.70 GAA, and a .901 SV% while he underwent knee surgery in November and missed 12 games, as the Jets went 2-9-1 when he was out.

Morgan Barron (upper-body) has missed the last two games for the Jets. Barron has 14 points (7G, 7A) in 36 games this season.

Winnipeg has scored the game’s opening goal 25 times this season and is tied with the Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets for fifth in the NHL. Of those teams, they rank last with a 15-7-3 record in contests where they score the icebreaker.