Game Preview: Islanders vs Blackhawks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (32-27-15) AT CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (22-47-5)

7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN2 | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders return home to take on the Chicago Blackhawks at UBS Arena after finishing a three-game road trip where they went 2-1-0.

Brock Nelson buried the OT-winner in an important 4-3 OT win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Matt Martin, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored to create a 3-2 lead into the third period, but Morgan Frost forced overtime with 9.6 seconds on the clock. Instead of letting the late goal deflate them, the Islanders scored 1:24 into overtime, though they would have liked to get the job done in regulation instead of giving Philly a valuable point.

“We gutted one out,” Captain Anders Lee said after the gritty 4-3 OT win. “Obviously tough to give them a point, but we found a way to get the extra tonight. Guys played hard. This is a playoff-type game.”

Monday’s result had major implications in the standings. The Islanders (79 points) pulled within four points of the Flyers (83 points), who used the point to re-take third place in the Metropolitan Division. New York has two games in-hand over the Flyers and the Islanders will play those two games this week with matchups against Chicago and Columbus, while the Flyers sit idle until Friday. The Islanders have the opportunity to match the Flyers in points if they win out this week, though Philly has the tie breaker of regulation wins.

Elsewhere, the Detroit Red Wings (82 points) beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Monday night to pull three points ahead of the Islanders. Like the Isles, the Red Wings sit out of a playoff spot as the Washington Capitals (82 points) occupy the second wild card spot in the East.

The Islanders have eight games left in the regular season, with five at home and three on the road.

ISLES NOTES

- Brock Nelson netted his first overtime goal of the year while scoring his 30th goal of the season on Monday night against the Flyers. It marks his third consecutive 30-goal season, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by an Islander since Matt Moulson in 2012.

- Bo Horvat recorded his 500th career point with a goal against the Flyers on Monday, which also accounted as his 30th goal of the season. It also marked Horvat’s third consecutive 30-goal season. Head Coach Patrick Roy made the decision to reunite Horvat and Mathew Barzal midway through the game, saying it was a gut feeling - as the two connected for a big goal shortly after the change.

“I felt like it was time to do it,” Roy said. “When [Martin] scored the first one, I thought we needed a spark, and I was hoping that would do it for us. Nice goal by Marty, but we needed to create something, and I thought that having Bo and Barzy back together was the best thing to do.”

- Anders Lee potted his 19th goal of the season on Monday night and is one goal shy of his third consecutive and eighth career 20-goal season.

- Semyon Varlamov turned aside 30 of 33 shots faced on Monday in his third consecutive start and is 4-1-1 in his last six starts. Ilya Sorokin will come into Tuesday's game rested, having not played since Mar. 24 against the Devils. Sorokin is 2-0-1 lifetime against the Blackhawks through three appearances, along with a .930 SV% and a 2.00 GAA.

- The Islanders are 0-6-3 in the second half of a back set this season and looking for their first back half win of the season. Their matchup against the Blackhawks will round out their last back-to-back set of the season.

- The Islanders fell 4-3 in OT to the Blackhawks on Jan. 19. Over the course of the last 10 seasons, it’s been a fairly mixed bag. The Islanders are 6-5-5 against the Hawks with the only season sweep for either team being a 2-0-0 winning season series for the Islanders last year. New York has not surrendered a game in regulation to Chicago since the 2019-20 season.

BLACKHAWKS NOTES

- The Blackhawks are eighth in the Central Division with 49 points, as they were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention on Mar. 9. Chicago has been playing better hockey as of late, going 6-5-0 in their last 11 games.

- The Blackhawks had two days between games after their 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. For a team who has struggled offensively this season - ranking 32nd in the league in goals for per game (2.22) - the Blackhawks cruised past the Flyers on Saturday with goals from Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev, Nick Foligno, Joey Anderson and MacKenzie Entwistle.

- Connor Bedard is all over the Hawks’ leaderboard with the most goals (21), assists (36) and points (57), as the 2023 first-overall pick also leads all rookies in the NHL in those categories. Bedard has had a productive rookie year and has been shooting more as of late. In his last 10 games, Bedard recorded 22.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes in all situations, which ranks 13th in the NHL over that span. On Tuesday, the NHL announced Bedard was named Rookie of the Month for March after he capped off the month with 17 points (4G, 13A) in 14 games, a total that has not been achieved by a rookie since Anton Lundell in 2022. Bedard previously earned the honor this season in November and December, becoming the first rookie since Connor McDavid in 2016 to win three times in a season. 

The 18-year-old overcame a bump in the road in the middle of the season. The rookie was sidelined for 14 games with a broken jaw from Jan. 5 – Feb. 15 (missing the first meeting of the season against the Islanders on Jan. 19) meaning that the Isles will get their first look at Bedard on Tuesday.

- Philipp Kurashev is having a breakout year in his fourth season with the Blackhawks with 49 points (16G, 33G), shattering his previous career-high 25 points set last season. The 24-year-old forward has really heated up in the month of March, with 17 points (7G, 10A) in his last 14 games.

- Jason Dickinson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career spanning parts of nine seasons. The 28-year-old forward also set a new career high of points (33).

- The Blackhawks have a road record of 7-29-1 this season, though they are 2-1-0 in their last three away games.