Game Preview: Islanders at Oilers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-16-5) AT EDMONTON OILERS (23-16-8)

9:00 PM ET | ROGERS PLACE

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

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

The New York Islanders head further northwest as they face the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

The Islanders are coming off a 5-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, which marked their first regulation loss in five games. Emil Heineman, Anthony Duclair, Kyle MacLean and Matthew Schaefer all potted goals, while Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves on Winnipeg’s 22 shots in the loss.

PROJECTED LINES

The Islanders are going back with the same lineup from Tuesday's game in Winnipeg. See below for lines from morning skate.

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 EXPECTED TO START

Ilya Sorokin is expected to start in goal for the Islanders on Thursday and is looking to bounce back after allowing five goals for the first time this season on Tuesday in Winnipeg. Sorokin is 3-3-2 lifetime against the Oilers with a 2.35 GAA, a .932 SV% and one shutout.

PULOCK PRODUCTION

Ryan Pulock earned his 20th point of the season with an assist on Duclair’s goal at the 7:40 mark of the middle period on Tuesday night.

That was Pulock’s 180th assist of his career and tied Noah Dobson for the fifth most helpers by an Islanders defenseman in franchise history. This achievement comes three games after the 31-year-old passed Kenny Jonsson for the fifth most points by an Islanders defenseman in the team’s history.

With 19 assists this season, Pulock has already surpassed his totals from the previous two seasons and ranks second, behind his defensive partner, Matthew Schaefer, in scoring amongst Isles defensemen this season.

Pulock leads the Islanders with 88 blocked shots through 46 games.

CIZIKAS CONSISTENCIES

Casey Cizikas has five points (3G, 2A) in his last four games powered by a three-point (2G, 1A) performance in the recent 9-0 win over the Devils and an assist on MacLean’s goal on Tuesday.

This is the second time this season that the 34-year-old forward has collected a point in three games of a four-game span.

SEASON SERIES

This is the second of two meetings between the Islanders and Oilers. New York won 4-2 at UBS Arena on Oct. 16.

The Isles haven’t won a road game against Edmonton since Mar. 7, 2017, and the Oilers have scored four goals in each of the last three contests between the two teams at Rogers Place.

OILERS NOTES

Edmonton is entering Thursday’s contest coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. Zach Hyman netted a pair of power-play goals that sandwiched Leon Draisaitl’s second period tally. However, Tristan Jarry gambled on a poke check and was left out of position as Roman Josi scored for Nashville in overtime, which marked the Oilers’ second overtime or shootout defeat in their last three outings.

Edmonton finished the first two months of the season 11-10-5 and fifth in the Pacific Division. Since Dec. 1, they have gone 12-6-3 and now sit tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific.

Connor McDavid enters Thursday’s contest on a 20-game point streak. He is the third player, joining Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, in Oilers' history to record a point streak of 20 games or more. McDavid has notched 46 points (19G, 27A) in this stretch. The 29-year-old forward leads the NHL in points (82) and assists (52). He ranks second in goals (30).

Draisaitl is also entering Thursday’s contest on a five-game point streak with 10 points (5G, 5A) in that span. The German forward is not far behind McDavid with 67 points (25G, 42A) this season and ranks within the top-10 league-wide in points, goals and assists.

Jarry is 3-0-1 since being acquired by the Oilers from Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12. Jarry was acquired in a goalie swap for Stuart Skinner, who was Edmonton's starter for the previous three seasons. Jarry won his first three starts with the Oilers, but an injury sidelined him from Dec. 18 to Jan. 13.

Adam Henrique was placed on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on Jan. 6 after he suffered an injury early in Edmonton’s 6-2 win over the Predators. Henrique has 10 points (2G, 8A) in 43 games this season.

Edmonton owns the top power-play percentage in the NHL at 33.8% this season and have capitalized on the man-advantage in five of their last six games.