Game Preview: Islanders vs Canucks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (27-22-5) VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (20-27-4)
7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders are contending for their fifth consecutive win on Thursday night when they host the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena. Former Canuck Bo Horvat will see his former team for the first time - in just his third game since the blockbuster trade - while Anthony Beauvillier is expected to play against the Islanders for the first time in his career.
The Islanders lead the season series 1-0 as a result of New York's 6-2 win over Vancouver on Jan. 3. Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A), former Islander Aatu Raty, Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2G) and Casey Cizikas scored for the Islanders, while Horvat was ironically the lone goal scorer for the Canucks with a pair of goals. Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves for the first victory of the calendar year.

The Islanders are coming off an energetic 4-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. Samuel Bolduc, Simon Holmstrom, Zach Parise and Horvat strung together four goals in the feat, marking the most the Islanders had scored in nine games, as well as team's longest winning streak since Nov. 21-26. Ilya Sorokin earned his second consecutive shutout, fifth of the season and 15 of his career by turning away all 32 Kraken shots on net.
The Canucks' comeback effort fell one goal short on Wednesday, losing 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. Chris Kreider, Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad provided the offense for the Rangers, but the Canucks put up a fight with goals from Conor Garland, Vasily Podkolzin and Elias Pettersson to make it a nailbiter in the final minutes.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, tied in points with the Pittsburgh Penguins with 59 points, but the Pens have four games in-hand and hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are closing in on the Washington Capitals (60 points) who occupy the first wild card spot.
  - Horvat scored his first goal as an Islander on Tuesday night and simultaneously his 32nd goal of the season, reaching a career-best for the 27-year-old forward. Horvat improved to seventh in the league in goals, tying Alex Ovechkin.
  - Horvat will face his former team on Thursday for the first time he was traded by the Canucks in exchange for Beauvillier, Raty and a conditional first round 2023 draft pick. Horvat played parts of nine seasons and served as captain of the Canucks from 2019 until his trade to Long Island.
  - On the other side of the trade, Beauvillier played his first two games with the Canucks and will face against his former team on Thursday, after spending parts of seven seasons as an Islander. Beauvillier had 209 points in 457 games with the Islanders after being drafted 28th overall in the 2015 Draft. Beauvillier also had 29 points in 49 playoff games, including the OT winner in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, the last goal scored at Nassau Coliseum.
  ISLES VS CANUCKS
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  Islanders to Host Pride Night
  3 Takeaways: NYI 4, SEA 0
  Horvat Ready to Work
  The Story of Ilya Sorokin
  Talkin' Isles: Dave Lewis
  GAME EXTRAS
  Pucks and Paws
  Reverse Retro Jersey
  Talkin' Isles
  - Samuel Bolduc scored his first NHL goal and point on Tuesday night, in his fifth NHL game.
  - Ilya Sorokin stopped 61 consecutive shots in a streak of 132:16 without allowing a goal.
  - Mathew Barzal has a successful track record against the Canucks. His three-point performance (1G, 2A) against Vancouver on Jan. 3 tacked onto the Coquitlam native's 12 career points (2G, 10A) against his hometown team.
  - Jean-Gabriel Pageau had seven multi-point games this season, including two assists in Tuesday's win over the Seattle Kraken and two goals against the Canucks on Jan. 3.
  - The Islanders penalty kill ranks fourth in the league (83.3%).

CANUCKS NOTES:

• The Canucks dropped the first game of a back-to-back set on Wednesday night, falling 4-3 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Vancouver is 10-14-3 on the road, which ranks 24th in the NHL.
  - Vancouver acquired Raty, the Islanders 2021 second round draft pick (20th overall), in the blockbuster trade with New York on Jan. 30. The 20-year-old center played two games and recorded two shots for the Canuck's minor league affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
  - Andrei Kuzmenko is tied with the team lead in goals (22) in his first NHL season, along with 44 points in 49 games. The 27-year-old Russian forward signed a two-year extension with Vancouver on Jan. 26.
  - Elias Pettersson leads the Canucks with 60 points.
  - Former Head Coach Bruce Boudreau was relieved of his coaching duties on Jan. 22 in his second season of the job. The Canucks Hired Rick Tocchet as a replacement.
  - The Canucks penalty kill ranks last in the league (65.8%)