Game Preview: Islanders vs Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (13-8-2) VS BOSTON BRUINS (13-11-0)

7 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

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

The New York Islanders continue their homestand with a matchup against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.

The Islanders are coming off a 1-0 SO win over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night, a quick bounce-back effort after they fell 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues the night before. Bo Horvat kept the Islanders alive in the shootout and Kyle Palmieri’s game-deciding goal in the fourth round sealed the extra point for the Islanders. David Rittich earned his eighth career shutout and first as an Islander with a 19-save effort.

“It changed the mood of the weekend,” Anders Lee said. “It was a tough one on Saturday, tight game and we came up short, but to rebound and play a solid one on Sunday, obviously it was a light scoring affair, but our game overall was a strong one. It was a big two points.”

The win lifted the Islanders (28 points) to second in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins are coming off a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, where Morgan Geekie scored the lone goal for Boston and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves in the loss.

PROJECTED LINES

Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Jonathan Drouin
Emil Heineman - Bo Horvat - Kyle Palmieri
Max Shabanov - Cal Ritchie - Simon Holmstrom
Max Tsyplakov - Casey Cizikas - Anthony Duclair

Matthew Schaefer - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Tony DeAngelo
Adam Boqvist - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

SOROKIN EXPECTED TO START

Ilya Sorokin is 4-4-3 with a 2.86 GAA and .898 SV% in 11 career games against the Bruins. He is 0-1-1 against Boston with a 3.39 GAA and .854 SV% through those two previous meetings this season.

In the month of November, Soroking has posted a 4-2-1 record, 1.84 GAA and .936 SV%.

CIZIKAS MISSES PRACTICE, EXPECTED TO PLAY

Casey Cizikas (maintenance) did not join the team for practice on Tuesday, but Head Coach Patrick Roy expects him to be in the lineup on Wednesday against Boston. The veteran forward has five points (1G, 4A) through 23 games this season and has not missed a game.

PAGEAU UPDATE

JG Pageau (week to week, upper-body) has not resumed skating on his own, per Roy.

Pageau got injured in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. It’s unclear when he suffered the injury, as he played the full game. Pageau has 12 points (6G, 6A) through 22 games this season, along with a 59.5% FOW.

“He’s had a real big impact on our team, he’s really smart out there and he can be used all over the ice,” Emil Heineman said. We have to try to fill in and help the team any way we can. He’s had a big year with [Holmstrom] on the PK, so I have to keep that up.”

NEXT MAN UP MENTALITY ON THE PK

The Islanders PK has been solid and consistent recently. They have killed off 19 of their last 20 opportunities (95.0%) and 37 of their last 40 (92.5%). Without Alex Romanov (who will miss 5-6 months after surgery on his right shoulder) and Pageau out, the PK lost two top contributors, but Roy has been ramping up Cal Ritchie and Heineman to slot in shorthanded.

Roy said that Ritchie has a solid 200-foot game and logged heavy PK minutes in junior. Heineman hasn’t been a regular on the penalty kill, but his strong defensive game at five-on-five urged Roy to utilize him shorthanded.

“The way he’s playing at five-on-five brings a lot of confidence to us as a coaching staff,” Roy said of Heineman. “We thought it would be a good fit for him, and he’s been doing a really nice job.”

HORVAT STAYS HOT

Horvat’s 14 goals are tied with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl for third-most in the NHL. Though his shootout goal in Sunday’s 1-0 SO win doesn’t count toward that total, the tally kept the Isles alive in the shootout – as he slowed down in front of the net and snaped a quick shot past Joey Daccord.

“It was pretty good, what he did in that shootout,” Roy said. “We talk about bold all year, that was a bold moment for me. He showed some swagger and put that one in, kept us in it and [Palmieri] put one in for us.”

ISLES AMONG TOP TEAMS IN NOVEMBER

The Islanders have been dominant in the month of November, as their eight wins are tied with three other teams for second-most in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild have a league-best nine wins.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders trail the Bruins 0-1-1 this season after they dropped a 5-2 decision at TD Garden on Oct. 28 and fell 4-3 in a shootout on Nov. 4 at home.

ACROSS THE ICE

The Bruins will face the Islanders in the final game of a four-game road trip, where they are 1-2-0 so far. The Bruins are in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 26 points this season.

Marco Sturm is in his first season behind the Bruins’ bench, serving as the 14th former Boston player to be named as the team’s head coach. Sturm suited up in the black and gold for 302 games, tallying 106 goals and 87 assists for 193 points. He is now trying to head the Bruins back to the playoffs after the team missed them last season.

Both David Pastrňák and Morgan Geekie are on three-game point streaks. Geekie has five points (4G, 1A), while Pastrňák has an assist in each game over that span. With 17 goals on the season, Geekie is tied with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead. Pastrnak racked up 29 points (11G, 18A) this season, which ranks seventh in the NHL.

The Bruins power play (25.6%) ranks fourth in the NHL and their power play on the road converts at 29.0%, which also ranks fourth in the league. Over the last five games, they have converted on four of their last 16 power play opportunities.

Boston also owns the NHL’s 10^th-best face-off percentage, winning 52.5% of their draws.

The Bruins are 5-7-0 on the road this season, allowing 3.50 goals against per game on the road.