Game Preview: Islanders vs Canucks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (18-11-10) VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (26-11-3)

7:30 P.M. | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

THE PARK CLOSED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER ON TUESDAY, JAN. 9

Returning home from a four-game road trip, the New York Islanders open a two-game homestand with a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.

The Islanders fell 5-2 on Saturday night to the Vegas Golden Knights, finishing their four-game road trip with a record of 1-2-1. Mathew Barzal and Matt Martin scored for the Islanders in the loss, while Jack Eichel (2G), Pavel Dorofeyev, Nicolas Roy (2G) led the way for the Golden Knights. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 25 of 30 in the loss that halted a two-game point streak for the Isles.

“We’re not happy with the result in the last game,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said on Monday. “But I really like the character we have in this room, especially after a loss we’re really good at responding. Now we have two games at home, we want to get right back at winning games. We’ll be ready.”

The Canucks pounded the New York Rangers 6-3 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Nils Hoglander (2G), J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser (1G, 1A), Elias Pettersson (2G, 2A) led the way for Vancouver in the win.

Tuesday marks the second and final meeting this season between the Isles and Canucks. The Islanders took home one point at Rogers Arena on Nov. 15 in a 4-3 OT loss, where the Isles let 2-0 and 3-1 leads slip to ultimately fall in the extra frame. Pierre Engvall, Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat were the goal scorers for New York in the opening game of the season series.

Tuesday is Mental Health Awareness Night, hosted by the Islanders and presented by Northwell. 

The lanterns outside of UBS Arena will turn green in honor of the initiative, as green ribbons are the international symbol of mental health awareness. The Islanders are proud to support the NHL's Hockey Talks Mental Health Awareness initiative, which aims to raise awareness of mental health through fan involvement.

All fans in attendance will receive an Islanders foam finger stress toy, courtesy of Northwell.

Click HERE for more information on the initiative.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Adam Pelech was activated off the team's IR list on Tuesday afternoon and is a game-time decision, per Head Coach Lane Lambert.

Semyon Varlamov has been placed on IR retroactive to Jan. 2, where he left early in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche. The netminder will miss his third consecutive game on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

- Adam Pelech (LTIR, upper-body) practiced with the team on Monday, building off of his previous practice on Friday and four consecutive morning skates. The veteran defenseman suffered the injury on Nov. 24 against the Ottawa Senators and is making progress toward a return.

“He’s getting close,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “I couldn’t confirm exactly when that will be, but it’s nice to see him out there.” 

- Semyon Varlamov (day to day, lower-body) and Ryan Pulock (LTIR, lower-body) have not resumed skating, per Lambert. Varlamov has not played since Jan. 2 in Colorado, while Pulock has not played since Dec. 7 vs Columbus.    

- With the opening goal of Saturday’s contest, Mathew Barzal snapped a 10-game goal drought. He ties for third on the team in goals (11) and leads the Islanders in points with 40. 

- Barzal brings it against his hometown team, with 17 points (3G, 14A) in 10 career games against Vancouver. The Coquitlam, BC native hit the scoresheet in each matchup to string together a 10-game point streak, which marks his longest active (and career-long) point streak against any opponent.

- Noah Dobson skated 26:01 on Saturday, marking the 21st consecutive game he played at least 25 minutes.

- The Islanders are 10-4-6 on home ice this season.

CANUCKS NOTES

- The Canucks will face the Islanders in the middle of a season-long, seven-game road trip where they carry a record of 2-1-0 through the first three games. Monday’s 6-3 win over the Rangers marked their 23rd time this season Vancouver was able to score at least four goals in a game, which leads the league.

- Vancouver leads the Pacific Division with 55 points and a record of 26-11-3. The Canucks lead the NHL in offense, averaging 3.88 goals per game. They have a stingy defense as well, ranking fourth in the league with 2.60 goals allowed per game.

- Brock Boeser leads the team with 25 goals in his seventh season with Vancouver, while J.T. Miller leads in points (54) in his fourth season with the team. Quinn Hughes leads in assists, with 40. Hughes notched his 50th point of the season on Monday, becoming the first d-man this season to reach the 50-point plateau.

- Thatcher Demko started in net on Monday against the Rangers, meaning that Casey DeSmith is expected to face the Islanders on Tuesday in the second half of a back-to-back set for Vancouver. DeSmith is 6-3-2 this season with a .917 SV%, a 2.58 GAA and one shutout in his first year with the Canucks. Smith is 3-2-1 lifetime against the Islanders across his five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

- The Canucks dealt Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Nov. 28. The former Islander had eight points (2G, 6A) in 22 games with the Canucks. Beauvillier collected six points (2G, 4A) through 16 games with Chicago, but was placed on IR with an upper-body injury suffered on Jan. 2 against the Nashville Predators.