Game Preview: Islanders vs Golden Knights

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (20-15-11) VS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (27-14-6)

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

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ESPN STREAM

The New York Islanders look to make it 2-0 under Head Coach Patrick Roy but they’ll need to take down the defending Stanley Cup Champions to do it, when they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at UBS Arena.

The Islanders earned an important two points in a 3-2 OT win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Bo Horvat scored the game-winner 41 seconds into overtime, while Alexander Romanov and Hudson Fasching scored for the Islanders in regulation. The win not only snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-1) but gave Roy a victory in his Islanders head coaching debut.

"It felt great," Horvat said. "Everybody wanted to get that win, not only for ourselves, but for our coach and really it was phenomenal tonight. We couldn't have done it without him, and it just felt really good to do it at home."

The Golden Knights fell 6-5 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Prudential Center, as Tyler Toffoli capped off a hat trick in overtime to win it for the Devils. Jonathan Marchessault (2G, 1A), Nicolas Roy (1G, 2A), Pavel Dorofeyev and Chandler Stephenson (1G, 1A) scored for the Knights in regulation, while Logan Thompson made 32 saves in the overtime loss.

Tuesday’s tilt at UBS Arena marks the second and final meeting of the season between the Islanders and Golden Knights. New York trails 0-1-0 after falling 5-2 to Vegas on Jan. 6.

ANNUAL PRIDE NIGHT

Tuesday is Pride Night at UBS Arena and The logos on the dasher boards will be printed in rainbow colors to celebrate the NHL's Hockey is for Everyone initiative. 

Mystery pucks, pride hats and pride t-shirts will be available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting LGBTQIA+ programs supported by the Islanders Children’s Foundation.

The first 200 fans who buy a special ticket HERE will receive an Islanders Pride hat.

Click HERE for more information.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

- Ilya Sorokin is expected to start between the pipes against the Golden Knights on Tuesday. He owns a 14-11-9 record this season. Against Vegas, Sorokin is 1-1-1 with a .925 SV% and a 2.51 GAA.

- Mike Reilly will slot into the lineup on Tuesday in place of Samuel Bolduc. Reilly, who has nine points (3G, 6A) through 24 games as an Islander, has missed the last two games as a healthy scratch.

- The Golden Knights announced on Tuesday afternoon that Jiri Patera has been re-assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, leaving the potential for Adin Hill to make his return to the lineup. If he plays against the Islanders, it'll mark Hill's first appearance since he suffered an injury on Dec. 17.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The New York Islanders announced on Monday that Semyon Varlamov was activated from injured reserve. The netminder was sidelined with a lower-body injury, missing eight games since Jan. 2. Varlamov owns a 6-4-2 record this season with a 2.78 GAA, a .918 and two shutouts. Ken Appleby was returned on loan to the Bridgeport Islanders in a corresponding move.

- Varlamov’s activation could mean a well-deserved break for Ilya Sorokin, who has appeared in 14 consecutive games for the Islanders. Sorokin was busy in Sunday’s win, as he made 40 saves to earn his 14th win of the season. 

“He was really sharp. He looks really confident out there,” Roy said after Sunday’s win, while acknowledging he’d like to cut down on the Isles’ shots against. “I understand why today he was a Vezina candidate last year, the way he's been playing.”

- With two assists on Sunday, Noah Dobson reached a career-high 41 assists. With 49 points through 46 games of the season, the 24-year-old is four points shy of matching his career-high 51 points, set in the 2021-22 season through 80 games. 

- Bo Horvat scored the overtime winner 41 seconds into the extra frame on Sunday night. The OT winner marked his second of the season and seventh of his career. The center played 696 NHL games and is expected to play his career 700th on Feb. 5 against Toronto. 

- Hudson Fasching snapped a 10-game scoring drought with a game-tying tally in the third period against the Stars. 

- Brock Nelson is one point shy of 500 for his career. Nelson would be the 12th player in franchise history to crack 500 points. He leads the Islanders with 20 goals and is fourth on the team with 37 points this season.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

- Vegas will take on the Islanders in the second half of a back-to-back set and second of a four-game road trip. With a 6-5 OT loss to New Jersey on Monday, the Golden Knights extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1).

- The Knights are finding ways to stay toward the top of the standings even without key pieces of their lineup. Jack Eichel (lower-body, week to week) has been sidelined since sustaining an injury on Jan. 11 against Boston. The 27-year-old forward was producing at a point-per-game pace for Vegas with 44 points (19G, 25A) in 42 games prior to the injury. 

Eichel will not be able to participate in NHL’s All-Star Weekend. On Monday the league announced that two injury replacements in Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor and New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck, who are stepping in place of Eichel and Chicago’s Connor Bedard. 

- Adin Hill may return for Vegas on Tuesday after missing 15 games with an undisclosed injury. The netminder has been practicing with the team since Jan. 5. Before sustaining an injury on Dec. 17, Hill posted a record of 10-2-2, a 1.93 GAA and a .933 save percentage. 

Logan Thompson has been carrying the majority of the workload in Hill's absence, playing in 11 games and posting a record of 6-5-0 with a .909 SV% and a 2.82 GAA. Jiri Patera made four appearances in the span of Hill's absence, going winless in three decisions (0-3-0).

- The Knights are also without William Karlsson (LTIR, lower-body), Michael Amadio (upper-body), William Carrier (upper-body) and Shea Theodore (upper-body).

- Captain Mark Stone leads the team in points (51) and assists (36) and is on a six-game point streak (3G, 7A). 

- Jonathan Marchessault has been hot for Vegas, extending his goal streak to four games on Monday with a pair of goals against New Jersey in a 6-5 OT loss. Marchessault registered six multi-goal performances this season, while his 26 multi-goal games for the Knights is a franchise record. The 33-year-old leads Vegas in goals (22).