Game Preview: Islanders at Predators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (19-12-10) AT NASHVILLE PREDATORS (22-18-1)

8 PM ET | BRIDGESTONE ARENA

WATCH: MSGSN2 | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders are ready to battle in Smashville with a game against the Predators in the first of a four-game road trip.

Noah Dobson’s assist on Mathew Barzal’s overtime goal lifted the Islanders to a 4-3 OT win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Dobson (4A) and Barzal (1G, 3A) had four-point outings, while Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov and Bo Horvat scored in regulation. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in a victory that snapped a two-game losing skid for the Islanders.

“We needed a bounce-back game, we needed to answer,” Noah Dobson said after Thursday’s win. “Big two points at home. Hopefully we’ll carry that momentum on the road, get some traction and string a couple wins together.”

The Predators earned an important two points against their Central Division foes in the Dallas Stars with a final score of 6-3 at American Airlines Center on Friday night. Jeremy Lauzon, Tommy Novak, Ryan O'Reilly (1G, 2A), Filip Forsberg (1G, 1A), Gustav Nyquist (EN) and Juuso Parssinen (EN) powered the offense for Nashville while Kevin Lankinen made 19 saves in the win.

The Islanders haven’t had much luck in Nashville in recent years. The Isles haven’t won in regulation at Bridgestone Arena since a 6-2 win on Oct. 28, 2017 and are 0-3-1 on the road since. In their last 10 games against Nashville overall, the Islanders are 1-7-2. The Predators have been struggling at home as of late with a record of 1-5-0 in their last six matchups on home ice.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

- Ilya Sorokin is the expected starting netminder for the Isles. A start against Nashville would mark his 10th consecutive start, which would match a career-high. Sorokin is 13-8-8 this season with a 3.19 GAA, a .909 SV% and two shutouts.

 - Since Kevin Lankinen was between the pipes against Dallas on Friday, Juuse Saros is the expected starting netminder against the Islanders. Through 32 starts this season, Saros has a record of 16-15-1 along with a 3.09 GAA and a .899 SV%. The 28-year-old goalie has a record of 6-1-0 in seven career appearances against the Isles.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The Islanders hold the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 48 points, ranking fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They stand two points behind the third-place Philadelphia Flyers (50 points) after they finished off a 4-3 OT win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, though the Islanders have one game in-hand.

- Mathew Barzal’s overtime winner marked his second of the season and fifth of his career. With his second four-point night of the season (1G, 3A), he extended his point streak to five games with nine points (2G, 7A) over that span. His other four-point this season also featured an overtime winner on Nov. 30 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

- Noah Dobson recorded four assists in one game for the first time in his career with an assist on every Islanders goal in Thursday’s 4-3 OT win. He’s up to 42 points (6G, 36A) through 41 games, ranking third in points among all defensemen.

- The Islanders are one of six teams in the NHL with three or more players producing at over a point-per-game with Bo Horvat (40 points in 40 games), Barzal (45 points in 40 games) and (Dobson (42 points in 41 games).

- Kyle Palmieri snapped a 12-game goalless drought with the opening tally on the power play 40 seconds into the game on Thursday. Per Islanders team statistician Eric Hornick, that goal marked the eighth time in franchise history the Islanders have scored in the first minute of the game with the man advantage.

- Alexander Romanov reached a career-high four goals on Thursday. The 23-year-old defenseman scored twice in his last five games.

- Brock Nelson is expected to play in his 800th NHL game on Saturday night against the Predators in Nashville. Nelson leads the Islanders in goals (19) and is three points shy of his milestone 500th.

PREDATORS NOTES

- Nashville dominated the Dallas Stars in a 6-3 win on Friday night, bouncing back from a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. The Predators hold the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 47 points and a record of 23-18-1. The Edmonton Oilers (45 points) chase them by two points in the conference but have four games in-hand. The red-hot Seattle Kraken (45 points) are within two points of the Preds and have one game in-hand.

- The Predators will take on the Islanders in the second half of a back-to-back set on Saturday, returning home after playing in Dallas on Friday. The Predators are 4-0-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season.

- Gustav Nyquist hit the scoresheet for the 10th straight game on Friday with a goal against the Dallas Stars, matching a career-long point streak of 14 points (7G, 7A). The 34-year-old center previously achieved a 10-game point streak in the 2013-14 season and he can shatter a new career high with a point against the Islanders on Saturday. Nyquist is in the middle of his first season with Nashville with 34 points (11G, 23A) through 42 games.

- Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in goals (22) and points (47) in his 10th season in Smashville. The 29-year-old forward had a two-point night (1G, 1A) against Dallas on Friday.

- Captain Roman Josi leads the team in assists (27) and had a three-point night (3A) on Friday. He ranks seventh among all defenseman in the league in points (35).