Game Preview: Islanders vs. Flames

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (5-6-2) VS CALGARY FLAMES (9-3-5)7 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETSWATCH: MSG+ | MSG+2 | MSG GO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 1050 AM | 88.7FM | 103.9FM
Home sweet home.

The wait is over and the New York Islanders are officially in their new home at UBS Arena.
In the first-ever game at UBS Arena, the Islanders will host the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. It's a nice nod as the Atlanta Flames, who moved to Caglary in 1980, were the first opponent the Islanders took on back at Nassau Coliseum back on October 7, 1972. Saturday night marks the first time the Islanders and Flames will have faced each other since their last meeting on Feb. 26, 2019.
"We're going to be so excited," Mathew Barzal said after seeing the arena at Thursday's practice. "It's all going to be channeled into our play, into our game. As a group we're just so excited to play in front of our fans after playing on the road for so long. We're going to channel it into the right directions...I can't tell you the excitement and energy level that was at the rink today being at a new facility and such a special facility."
After a 13-game road trip, where the Islanders went 5-6-2, the home opener should provide the team with a morale boost after losing four-straight games and being outscored 19-4. The Islanders' most recent loss came at Florida where they suffered a 6-1 result. Ilya Sorokin started the game and made 13 saves on 17 shots in 20 minutes of action before he was relieved by Semyon Varlamov, who made 17 saves on 19 shots through 40 minutes of play.
Calgary enters the contest coming off a 5-0 win over Buffalo on Thursday night. Johnny Gaudreau and Andrew Mangiapane each scored twice, while Matthew Tkachuk also found the back of the net. Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves in the shutout - his league-leading fifth of the season.

ISLANDERS NOTES

• Ahead of the home opener, the Islanders lineup took a hit due to COVID-19 and injuries. Forwards Josh Bailey, captain Anders Lee and Ross Johnston were all placed in COVID-19 protocol while defenseman Ryan Pulock was placed on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot on Monday night.

"We found out the news last night, so they are in protocol," Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello said of Lee and Johnston on Friday afternoon. "They are feeling well, but when the test come back negative, we have to wait for the second test on the same sort of gene test, so we haven't heard yet, so as of now, they will both be in protocol."
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Getting Here
Parking
Bailey was placed in COVID-19 protocol ahead of Tuesday's game at Florida. The veteran winger and longest-tenured Islander at totaled six points (1G, 5A) through 12 regular season games.
Pulock sustained his lower-body injury on Monday night at Tampa and upon evaluation, is expected to be out for four-to-six weeks. The defenseman had compiled two assists through 12 games this season and led the Islanders with 34 blocked shots at the time of his injury.
Lee compiled four assists through 12 games, while Johnston has dressed in one game this season.
• Robin Salo was recalled from the Bridgeport Islanders on Thursday and if he plays, would be making his NHL debut. Salo was drafted by the Islanders in the second round in the 2017 NHL Draft and led Bridgeport blueliners with eight points (2G, 6A) in 14 games prior to his callup.
• Lamoriello said the Islanders were planning at least one more recall in wake of Lee and Johnston's protocol designation.
• The Islanders power play is 0-for-12 over the past six games.
• Sorokin made his 11th start of the season against Florida and has a 5-4-2 record, a 2.50 GAA, a .925 SV% and three shutouts.
• Varlamov has a 0-2-0 record, a 3.40 GAA and a .893 SV%.

CALGARY NOTES:

• Gaudreau scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season, including his first on the power play. The left winger leads the team in scoring with his 19 points (6G, 13A) through 17 games. Gaudreau also dished out an assist for a three-point outing against Buffalo and has four points (2G, 2A) in his last two games.
• Mangiapane buried his 11th and 12th goals of the season and is the leading goal scorer for the Flames and tied with four other skaters for the second-most goals in the NHL. The winger has 14 points (12G, 2A) through 17 games.
• Tkachuk scored his eighth goal of the season and has 15 points (8G, 7A) through 17 games.
• Markstrom made his 13th start of the season and improved his record to 6-3-4 with his league-leading fifth shutout of the season. The Swedish netminder also has a 1.68 GAA and a .942 SV%.
• Calgary's offense ranks 11th overall in the NHL with a 3.18 goals for per game average, while their defense has given up the second-least amount of goals in the league with just a 2.00 goals against average.
• The Flames power play is ranked ninth in the NHL with a 23.5% conversion rating and their penalty kill is ranked fifth in the league at 87.3.
• Calgary had a busy offseason as they acquired Tyler Pitlick from Seattle and defenseman Nikita Zadorov from Chicago. They also signed Blake Coleman, who was on Tampa Bay's back-to-back Stanley Cup winning squads.
• Brett Ritchie was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury that he sustained on Nov. 3.