Game Preview: Islanders vs Blue Jackets

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (18-20-7) VS COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (22-17-7)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

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

HOW OPTIMUM SUBSCRIBERS CAN WATCH THE ISLES

The New York Islanders are looking for a second straight win as they host a Metropolitan Division opponent in the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at UBS Arena.

In a much-needed win, the Islanders picked up their first victory of the homestand and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. Brock Nelson (GWG, 1A), Mathew Barzal (1G, 1A), Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, while Marcus Hogberg made 18 of 19 saves in the win.

“We were forechecking well and turning the pucks over that created opportunities for us,” Kyle MacLean said. “We played a solid 60 minutes, we limited a lot of their chances and were able to generate some offense of our own. It was a good full team effort.”

The Blue Jackets saw their season-long, six-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday, but they picked up a point in a 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. Daniil Tarasov stopped all 26 shots he faced through three periods and regulation, but Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck's lone goal in the shootout decided the contest.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders trail the season series 0-1-0 after a 2-0 shutout loss on Oct. 30. The two divisional opponents will face each other twice more this season, March 24th at UBS Arena and April 17th in Ohio, which marks the final regular season game for the Isles.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Ilya Sorokin will get the start for the Islanders on Monday. The Russian netminder last played on Thursday in a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers where he made 19 of 23 saves. His start before that was a 30-save performance in a 4-0 shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights. Sorokin is 13-14-4 this season, along with a .900 SV% and a 2.87 GAA.

Hudson Fasching (upper body, IR) skated in Monday's session in an orange, non-contact jersey after the winger missed five games.

ISLES NOTES

- Alexander Romanov, who made his return to action on Saturday night after missing three games, was absent at Sunday’s practice (day to day, maintenance). Roy expects him to be ready for Monday’s contest against the Blue Jackets.

- Simon Holmstrom made his return from injury after being sidelined for seven games. He played 14:01 TOI and skated on a line with JG Pageau and Casey Cizikas, playing sharp defensively and picking up like he didn’t miss a beat.

“It was amazing to see him do well in his first game back,” Pageau said. “Every time you come back [from injury], things are going to feel a little faster to you, but I’m not surprised with him. He’s been so good for us and he’s such a big part of this team, it’s good to have him back healthy.”

- Cizikas recorded a career-high nine hits on Saturday against the Sharks.

“To see him do that last night is huge for us and our line,” Pageau said.” He’s the kind of player who brings his 120% every game and that’s contagious for the rest of the room when you see a player working this hard, finishing his checks, winning battles. He won so many pucks for us yesterday just by finishing his checks.”

- Marc Gatcomb played in his second NHL game on Saturday night, skating 11:23 and recording seven hits. The 25-year-old said physicality has always been an important element of his game, and he was able to find that quickly at the NHL level.

“Just sticking to my identity, playing simple, playing hard and finishing checks,” Gatcomb said. “It creates opportunities and it’s something I take pride in and try to do every night.”

- The Islanders' PK is perfect through six games, going 10-for-10 over that stretch.

“I really feel we’re connected,” Roy said. “Everyone’s on the same page and we’re working together, we keep them on the outside. And when we let them in the inside, our goalies make big saves.”

BLUE JACKETS NOTES

- The Blue Jackets outscored opponents 25-13 over the span of their six-game win streak. Although it came to an end with a 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers on Saturday, their point streak was extended to seven games (6-0-1), where Columbus has picked up 13 of a possible 14 points.

- The points earned over that stretch helped boost the Blue Jackets to fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 51 points. The Blue Jackets are three points clear of the fifth-place Flyers (48 points) with a game in-hand, while they’re six points back of the third-place Carolina Hurricanes in the Metro. Columbus occupies the second wild card spot in the East.

- Zach Werenski's 51 points (15G, 36A) paces the team and is six points shy of a career-high 57 points established last season. The 27-yer-old defenseman is in his ninth NHL season, all with the Blue Jackets.

Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets leader in goals (18), recorded seven points (2G, 5A) during a six-game point streak that coincided with Columbus’ winning streak. In his third NHL season, Marchenko has a plus-28 rating which ties Leon Draisaitl for best in the league. The 24-year-old has 49 points through 46 games, which established a career-high, besting his previous career-high of 42 points recorded through 78 games in the 2023-24 campaign. The Russian winger was drafted by Columbus in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft (49th overall).

The Blue Jackets’ power play ranks 12th in the NHL (23.1%) but has been hot as of late. Columbus is 16-for-50 on the power play (32%) in their last 20 games, with an overall record of 11-5-4 over that stretch.