Game Preview: Islanders vs Ducks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-8-2) VS ANAHEIM DUCKS (14-17-4)
1 PM | NYCB LIVE | BUY TICKETS
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ISLANDERS TOY DRIVE
The Islanders earned a 3-2 shootout victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night for their first win over Boston since 2017. After going down 1-0, Johnny Boychuk and Mathew Barzal scored in the second period while Jordan Eberle and Barzal scored in the shootout to secure the win. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 27 shots.
The Ducks opened up a four-game road trip with back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and New Jersey, most recently dropping a 3-1 decision to the Devils on Wednesday. Adam Henrique scored the Ducks sole goal while Ryan Miller made 27 saves.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

• President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced that Cal Clutterbuck underwent wrist surgery last night and is out indefinitely. Clutterbuck received an incision from Patrice Bergeron's skate to his wrist on Thursday night against Boston. There is no current timeframe for Clutterbuck's return.
  - With Clutterbuck's absence the Islanders recalled Andrew Ladd from their AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Through 19 games this season with the Sound Tigers, Ladd has nine points (7G, 2A). The winger has three goals in his last two games.
  - Head coach Barry Trotz did not say whether Ladd would be in the lineup against the Ducks.
  - Trotz also did not announce which goaltender would be starting versus the Ducks

ISLES NOTES:

• Boychuk scored his second goal of the season and also assisted on Barzal's goal. Through 32 games this season, the veteran defenseman has nine points (2G, 7A). Boychuk's two-point night was his first multi-point game of the season.
  - Barzal's regulation goal was his team-leading 14th goal of the season. The 22-year-old center leads the Isles in goals, points (28) and is tied with Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey for a team-high 14 assists. Barzal scored the shootout decider and recorded his third-career shootout winner.
  - The Isles are a perfect 3-0 this season in shootouts.
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  - Varlamov made his 17th start of the season and improved his record to 12-3-2. The Russian netminder has a 2.34 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Varlamov stopped two-of-three shots in the shootout.
  - The Isles continued their goalie rotation on Thursday and are first team since the Sharks in 2006-07 to alternate starting goalies for each of the first 33 games of the season. Thomas Greiss has made 16 starts this season and has a record of 11-5-0. The rotation is the longest streak in franchise history among Isles goalie tandems.
  - Eberle assisted on Barzal's goal and scored in the shootout. The winger has points in four of his last five games with five points (1G, 4A) during that span.
  - The Isles penalty kill went 4-for-5 against the Bruins power play that entered the game third best in the NHL.
  - Tom Kuhnhackl rejoined the lineup for the first time since Oct. 25 after missing 22 games with a lower-body injury. After recovering, Kuhnhackl was sent to Bridgeport for a conditioning stint before being activated from long-term IR on Dec. 19. Kuhnhackl logged 11:26 time on ice, had two hits and two blocks playing alongside Derick Brassard and Ross Johnston.
  - Cal Clutterbuck left the game with 5:13 remaining in regulation after catching Patrice Bergeron's skate to his wrist. Clutterbuck received treatment at a local hospital, but flew home with the team Thursday. Trotz will update his status prior to Saturday's game.

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DUCKS NOTES:

• Henrique potted his 10th goal of the season 3:33 into the first period. Henrique has 17 points (10G, 7A) through 35 games this season.
  - Ondrej Kase and Cam Fowler assisted on Henrique's goal. Kase has 13 points (3G, 10A) through 29 appearances this season. Fowler has 17 points (6G, 11A) through 35 games this season.
  - Miller made his first start since Dec. 6 and his ninth start of the season. Miller has a record of 4-3-2, a 3.02 GAA and a .904 SV%.
  - John Gibson has been the Ducks No. 1 netminder this season. Gibson has made 26 starts, has a 10-14-2 record, a 2.80 GAA, a .910 SV% and one shutout, which came against the Islanders.
  - The Ducks outshot the Devils 27-20 and had two power play chances. Anaheim's penalty kill went three-for-four on the evening. The Ducks' PK ranks 22nd in the NHL, while their power play is 28th.
  - Against New Jersey, the Ducks were without forwards Troy Terry, Derek Grant and defenseman Jacob Larsson, who were all injured on Tuesday against Philadelphia. Terry will be sidelined for 10 weeks after suffering a fracture below his knee cap. Grant will be out for four-to-six weeks with an acromioclavicular joint sprain. Larsson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
  - The Ducks recalled center Isac Lundestrom and left-wing Max Jones from their AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls to help fill the void due to injuries. Lundestrom played in his fourth game of the season for Anaheim, logged 18:37 time on ice, had one block and one shot. Jones suited up in his 24th game of the season. The winger logged 14:29 time on ice, had four shots and one block.
  - The Ducks 52.2 faceoff win percentage ranked third best in the NHL.

ISLES VS. DUCKS

The Isles and Ducks last met on Nov. 25 at Honda Center. The Ducks blanked the Isles 3-0 and snapped the Isles franchise record 17-game point streak. Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler and Ondrej Kase scored for the Ducks. Thomas Greiss made 20 saves. The Isles are 5-3-1 in the last nine games against Anaheim, including 3-0-1 at home.