Game Preview: Islanders vs Devils

NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS

5 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

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The New York Islanders host the New Jersey Devils in a Metropolitan Division showdown on Sunday afternoon in the second half of a back-to-back set at UBS Arena.

The Islanders took a step in the right direction on Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets to snap a six-game winless skid. Cal Clutterbuck potted two goals in the win, while Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A) and Hudson Fasching (1G, 2A) each had three-point games. The Islanders also had supporting goals from Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee, while Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves in the win. After the Islanders took a commanding 5-1 lead, Connor Hellebuyck was pulled after he stopped 21-of-26 shots faced and was replaced by Laurent Brossoit, who made 12 saves in relief.

The Devils fell 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night in the conclusion of three-game homestand where they went 2-1-0. Jesper Bratt and Tomas Nosek scored in the first minute of the middle frame to take a 2-1 lead, but the Devils let the game slip away from them shortly after, allowing three goals in the span of 4:55. Jake Allen turned aside 20 of 25 in the loss.

The Islanders (75 points) are chasing the Washington Capitals (79 points) for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals shut out the Jets 3-0 on Sunday afternoon to leapfrog the Detroit Red Wings (78 points), who were shut out 1-0 by the Nashville Predators on Saturday. 

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Flyers extended their lead over the Islanders to six points with a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday to pad their spot for third in the Metropolitan Division, though the Isles hold a game in-hand.

The Islanders trail the season series 0-1-1 after a 5-4 loss on Nov. 28 and a 5-4 OT loss on Oct. 20. After their clash on Sunday at UBS Arena, the two teams will meet again on Apr. 15 at Prudential Center.

ISLES NOTES

- Cal Clutterbuck netted his sixth and seventh goals of the season on Saturday afternoon to open the scoring against the Jets. He scored twice in the span of 3:28 for his first multi-goal game since Mar. 21, 2023. 

- With a goal on Saturday against the Jets, Kyle Palmieri has eight goals in his last 11 games for a total of 23 on the season. 

- Bo Horvat is on the cusp of a couple of milestones, as the center is one goal away from his third 30-goal season and recorded an assist on Saturday for his 499th career point. Three of Horvat’s nine career goals against the Devils were scored this season.

- Matt Martin slotted back into the lineup after missing Thursday’s game as a healthy scratch, replacing Simon Holmstrom. The veteran winger skated on a line with Kyle MacLean and Cal Clutterbuck, while Casey Cizikas played with JG Pageau and Pierre Engvall. 

Head Coach Patrick Roy mixed up two of his d-pairs, putting Mike Reilly and Ryan Pulock together, while Alex Romanov skated with Robert Bortuzzo on Saturday. The Islanders will not hold a morning skate on Sunday, so it remains unknown if Roy is sticking with the same lineup while his team vies for a second straight win.

DEVILS NOTES

- The Devils overhauled their goaltending ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks and Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens. New Jersey parted ways with Vitek Vanecek in the deal with San Jose. They also loaned netminder Akira Schmid to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets on Mar. 4.

- Allen was the starter for New Jersey on Saturday night, suggesting Kahkonen could get the nod against the Islanders. Kahkonen had a record of 6-20-3 this season with the Sharks before the trade and is 0-2-0 with a 3.81 GAA and a .875 SV% since he was acquired by the Devils. 

- John Marino skated 20:44 in his return to the lineup on Saturday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The defenseman has 23 points (4G, 19A) through 65 games this season.

- Jesper Bratt leads the team in scoring with 68 points and is tied with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes for the team lead in goals (23). Bratt can achieve a career high if he records six more points this season; he had back-to-back 73 point seasons, which mark his career-high. 

- The Devils relieved Head Coach Lindy Ruff on Mar. 4 and named Travis Green as interim head coach. New Jersey was 30-27-4 (67 points) at the time of the coaching change and is 4-6-0 since. Green served as an associate coach for the Devils prior to the promotion and was the bench boss of the Vancouver Canucks for parts of five seasons (2017-22).

- The Devils are strong in the dot, ranking fourth in the NHL in faceoffs (53.6%).