Game Preview: Islanders at Kings

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (7-6-4) AT LOS ANGELES KINGS (5-9-2) 

10 P.M. | CRYPTO.COM ARENA  

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: ESPN+, HULU, DISNEY+ 

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7 FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | 92.5FM THE BEACON | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP 

The New York Islanders continue their California road trip at Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Kings at 10 p.m. on Thursday.  

The Isles have earned a point in each of their last two games, but their winless streak extended to four on Monday in a 3-2 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks.  

Defenseman Ben Hutton scored his first goal with the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin recorded 37 saves and Victor Eklund pushed his goal streak to three games.  

Eklund’s power-play tally was his sixth goal of the season in just 17 games, and the 20-year-old is second on the team in goals.  

Eklund is tied for the third most goals by a rookie in the NHL this season, and his nine points places him tied for eighth among first-year skaters.  

The Stockholm, Sweden, product has not only produced offensively but brought a tenacious physical edge to the Isles top 6.  

Eklund’s 52 hits are the most by an Islanders skater and the third-most by a rookie in the NHL.  

“He’s fearless and he’s so strong on his skates for his size,” DeBoer said. “He doesn’t pick his spots. If he has a chance to line you up, he will and he plays clean physical. Really impressive for a young guy and I think he’s getting better and better.” 

Eklund scored a power-play goal the first time these two teams met in a 3-2 Kings overtime win on Oct. 22.  

The Kings are in the midst of a seven-game homestand and have lost each of their last two games, including a 3-0 defeat to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

PROJECTED LINEUP 

The Islanders held practice in San Jose on Tuesday before their off day on Wednesday and Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock factored in during line rushes.  

Read a full recap from Tuesday’s practice here. 

Barzal was the third line center in JG Pageau’s spot as the latter utilized a maintenance day. Maccelli rotated in with Kyle MacLean, Casey Cizikas and Mitchell Chaffee on the fourth line and Pulock was alongside Adam Pelech.  

All three were in regular practice jerseys, and DeBoer said they’ll be evaluated on Thursday to determine their availability against the Kings.  

Stay tuned following Thursday’s morning skate for line updates.

SEASON SERIES

The Kings lead the season series 1-0 following their 3-2 overtime win over the Isles in October at UBS Arena.  

Brandt Clarke scored the game-winner 2:43 into overtime, Artemi Panarin scored twice in the first period and Darcy Kuemper made 41 saves. Kuemper recorded his highest save total in a single game since April 5, 2024.

The Islanders erased a 2-0 deficit in that one with goals from Eklund and Matthew Schaefer. Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots, including one from Adrian Kempe’s penalty shot.  

Read the full takeaways from that game here. 

Thursday’s matchup is the final regular season meeting between the Kings and Islanders.

SCOUTING THE KINGS

The Kings are 5-5-0 since their 0-4-2 start to the season but have struggled at home with a 2-6-0 mark inside Crypto.com Arena.  

The Kings are seventh in the Pacific Division and are 30th in the NHL with a 65.4 percent penalty kill.  

They’re paced by Panarin who leads the Kings in goals (8), assists (10), points (18) and time-on-ice per game (21:31).  

Kempe continues to be one of the league’s most consistent point producers and has 13 points (6G, 7A) in 15 games with a hat-trick against the Sharks on Nov. 4.  

The Kings are 26th in team save percentage (.878) but Kuemper has won five of his last six starts. Kuemper did not play against Nashville on Tuesday and could be in line to start against the Isles.