Game Preview: Islanders at Predators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (24-15-4) AT NASHVILLE PREDATORS (19-19-4)

8:00 PM | BRIDGESTONE ARENA

WATCH/STREAM: ESPN + | HULU

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

The New York Islanders will look to make it three wins in a row as they face the Nashville Predators on the road on Thursday night. This is the first game of a seven-game road trip.

New York is coming off a 9-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Anthony Duclair led the way with five points (3G, 2A), and 10 other Islanders skaters notched a point in the win. Ilya Sorokin made a season-high 44 saves for his 26^th career shutout – setting a new Islanders record – in his return from injury.

PROJECTED LINES

Here's how the Islanders lined up at Thursday's morning skate. Roy said the lines are closer to how the Islanders ended Tuesday's game against New Jersey, vs how they started. Max Tsyplakov will sit as a healthy scratch for a second straight contest.

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

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Cole McWard – Scott Mayfield

David Rittich

RITTICH TO START

David Rittich will start in goal, per Roy. Rittich is starting for the eighth time in the Islanders' last nine games.

SOROKIN SHUTOUTS

Sorokin set the Islanders all-time shutout record on Tuesday, recording the 26^th of his career, breaking a tie with Chico Resch.

The shutout was Sorokin’s fourth of the season and came in his first game since Dec. 19. It was also his seventh career shutout with 40 or more saves, which established an NHL record (tracked since the 1955-56 season).

The Islanders goaltender is 13-10-2 with a 2.45 GAA, a .915 SV% and his four shutouts tie Jesper Wallstedt for most in the NHL this season.

DUCLAIR DOMINATES DEVILS

Anthony Duclair recorded his first career five-point game (3G, 2A) in the win against the Devils. Duclair, who was a healthy scratch in the two games prior to Tuesday, scored his three goals on just three shots, two of which were wrist shot snipes from the left circle.

It was his first multi-goal game of the season and first hat-trick since Dec. 14, 2019, when he was with the Ottawa Senators.

“I’m happy for him,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy after Tuesday’s win. “I know it was hard for him to be a healthy scratch the last couple games, so I’m pretty happy to see him bounce [back] tonight.”

Per OptaStats, he was the first NHL player to notch a natural hat-trick, five or more points and a plus-six rating in a game since Wayne Gretzky did it on February 18, 1981. The forward is also the first Islander to notch five points in a game since Mathew Barzal achieved the feat on Apr. 1, 2021, against the Washington Capitals.

Duclair is tied for seventh on the Islanders with 18 points (7G, 11A) in 40 games this season.

SEASON SERIES

This is the first of two meetings between the Islanders and Predators. New York has split the two-game season series with Nashville in each of the last two seasons.

The Isles are looking ot hit the right note in the Music City, as they are 0-4-2 in their last six trips to Nashville.

The Isles will host the Preds at UBS Arena in the second game of the season series on Jan. 31.

PREDATORS NOTES

The Predators enter Thursday’s contest off a 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Nashville scored both goals 15 seconds apart, and six different Nashville skaters tallied points in the loss. The Preds have dropped two of their last three games in the new year.

Nashville (42 points) is three points back of the second Wild Card in the Western Conference, looking to rebound after a slow start to the season. The Preds have gone 13-7-0 since Nov. 26 and were 6-12-4 prior to that.

Steven Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly have led the Predators revival since Nov. 26, with the veteran forwards each recording 23 points over that span. Stamkos has a team-high 14 goals over that span, while O’Reilly has a team-high 17 assists during that timeframe. Stamkos also recorded his 600^th career goal on Dec. 31 against Vegas.

Luke Evangelista enters this game with a team-high six points (1G, 5A) in his last five outings. He recorded back-to-back two-point games against the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights to end 2025. Evangelista ranks tied for second on the team with 31 points (6G, 25A) in 41 games played.

O’Reilly leads the Predators with 36 points (12G, 24A) in 42 games this season, including two points (1G, 1A) in his last three contests. O’Reilly earned a point in both meetings between the Preds and Isles last season.

Jonathan Marchessault (lower-body) is listed as day-to-day heading into Thursday’s game against the Islanders. Marchessault hasn’t played a game since Dec. 17 against the Carolina Hurricanes. He has 10 points (7G, 3A) in 28 games for Nashville this season.

Nashville’s penalty kill ranks ninth in the NHL at 81.4% this season and have allowed one power-play goal through five kills in January.