Game Preview: Islanders at Sharks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (7-6-3) AT SAN JOSE SHARKS (7-11-1)

10 P.M. ET | SAP CENTER

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN, MSG+ ON DAZN, ESPN+

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

The New York Islanders begin a three-game West Coast swing on Monday against the San Jose Sharks at 10 p.m.

The Islanders enter the matchup on a three-game winless stretch but picked up a point with a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The Devils erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime, where Jack Hughes sealed the deal for New Jersey. Ilya Sorokin made a season-high 45 saves in the loss. Anthony Duclair, Matthew Schaefer, Victor Eklund and Simon Holmström (1G, 1A) scored for the Islanders.

Eklund has scored in back-to-back games for the second time this season.

The Sharks are looking to snap a five-game losing streak, which included San Jose’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday evening. Will Smith (1G, 1A), Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg notched the Sharks’ goals in the contest. Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini tallied three assists.

San Jose has only two regulation wins this season and is 3-5-0 at home. The Sharks have won four overtime contests and one game in the shootout this season. The Isles are 3-3-1 on the road this season.

The Sharks enter the contest with a minus-21 goal differential, the fourth-worst mark in the NHL.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Head Coach Pete DeBoer shuffled his lines midgame on Saturday, reverting to what had been his recent regular rotation. The Isles did not practice on Sunday, so check back after Monday’s morning skate for the latest.

Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock will travel with the Islanders to California. Barzal and Maccelli skated with the team for the first time in regular jerseys during Saturday’s optional morning skate, but Pulock remained in a red non-contact jersey.

Here is how the Islanders finished on Saturday.

Simon Holmström – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Emil Heineman – Brayden Schenn – Victor Eklund
 Ondřej Palát – JG Pageau – Anthony Duclair  
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Mitchell Chaffee 

Logan Stanley – Matthew Schaefer
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Ben Hutton – Matt Kessel

SCHAEFER, CELEBRINI AND THE ISLES-SHARKS' YOUNG GUNS

Both the Sharks and the Islanders boast top-tier young talent with recent first-round selections. The Sharks’ lineup consists of five players who are 21 years old or younger.

The 2024 and 2025 first-overall picks each lead or share the lead on their teams in points. Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall pick in 2024, leads the Sharks with 21 points (7G, 14A), despite missing two games with a lower-body injury. He enters the contest with a three-game point streak. Celebrini ranked fourth in the NHL last season with 115 points (45G, 70A), surpassing Joe Thornton for the Sharks' single-season points record.

Matthew Schaefer, the 2025 first-overall pick, is tied with Bo Horvat for the team lead in points this season, with 16 points (5G, 11A). Schaefer has 14 points (5G, 9A) across his last 12 games and is now tied with Tim Connolly for the second-most career points by a teenager in Isles history with 76.

Victor Eklund was selected 16th overall in the 2025 Draft. Eklund is tied for the second-most goals for the Islanders, finding the back of the net five times this season. Victor will face the team that drafted his brother, William, whom San Jose traded to Ottawa this offseason for the ninth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The Sharks have had nine first-round selections in the last four drafts. In 2023, the Sharks selected Will Smith fourth overall. The 21-year-old has tallied 13 points (7G, 6A) this season, which ranks second on the team. Celebrini and defenseman Sam Dickinson were both selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft, first and 11th, respectively.

In the 2025 Draft, the Sharks selected Michael Misa with the second-overall pick and picked second again in 2026, taking 19-year-old left wing Ivar Stenberg. Stenberg and Misa are tied for third on the team with 11 points

Filip Bystedt, San Jose’s 2022 first-round pick (27^th overall), made his NHL debut on Oct. 29, adding to the Sharks’ young core. The 22-year-old center is looking for his first NHL goal and point.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS

The Sharks are sixth in the Pacific Division, with 15 points this season. The Sharks have struggled to win games in regulation, only tallying two regulation wins this season.

San Jose’s power play is in the middle of the pack, ranking 17^th with a 21.4% mark. The Sharks have recorded a penalty-kill rate of 76.5% this season.

This offseason, the Sharks added a veteran presence to their D-corps. San Jose added Jacob Trouba, who is in his 14^th NHL season, and Darnell Nurse, who is in his 13^th. Trouba signed a four-year deal and has tallied 10 points (2G, 8A) this season. Nurse was acquired via a trade with the Edmonton Oilers that sent Shakir Mukhamadullin the other way.

The Sharks picked up defenseman Michael Kesselring in a draft-day trade with the Buffalo Sabres. San Jose also signed Mason Marchment in free agency to a five-year contract. Marchment has recorded seven points (4G, 3A) this season.

San Jose’s goalie tandem consists of Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic. Askarov has  a 4-8-0 record with a 3.35 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage. Nedeljkovic is 3-3-1 between the pipes, with a 3.23 GAA and an .895 save percentage.

Igor Chernyshov and Alex Wennberg were both placed on injured reserve on Oct. 28.