Game Preview: Islanders vs Kings

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (37-23-5) VS LOS ANGELES KINGS (26-23-15)

7 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP 

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders return to UBS Arena for the first time in 12 days as they host the Los Angeles Kings at UBS Arena on Friday night. It is the first half of a home back-to-back set.

New York is coming off a 4-3 comeback overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. After finding themselves down 3-0, they battled back with regulation goals by JG Pageau, Cal Ritchie and Bo Horvat before Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A) scored the the OT winner. Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves on 23 shots.

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up at Thursday’s practice. Check back after morning skate for any updates to the lines.

Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Cal Ritchie
Ondrej Palat – Brayden Schenn – Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Max Shabanov – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb
Kyle MacLean, Anothony Duclair

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield
Adam Boqvist

Ilya Sorokin

David Rittich

SOROKIN TO START AGAINST KINGS

Ilya Sorokin will start between the pipes for the fourth straight game when the Isles play the Kings on Friday night. Sorokin is 1-6-0 with a 3.13 GAA and a .908 SV% in seven career starts against Los Angeles. The 30-year-old is 6-3-0 with a 2.79 GAA, a .913 SV% and one shutout against Pacific Division opponents this year.

Sorokin is 24-14-2 with a 2.51 GAA, a .913 SV% and a league-leading six shutouts this season. He ranks within the top-10 across the NHL in each of these categories this year.

With Sorokin in net for Friday, David Rittich will get the nod for the back end of the Isles’ back-to-back on Saturday.

CRAZY COMEBACKS

The Isles erased three straight 2-0 deficits and turned them into wins from Feb. 26 to Mar.1, but this was the first 3-0 comeback of the season. It was the Islanders’ fourth three-goal comeback of this decade.

BUILT FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

With the overtime deciding goal against the Blues, Barzal tallied his seventh career overtime score. He passed Josh Bailey (6) and Kyle Okposo (6) for the fourth most of such goals in Islanders history. Only Bo Horvat (8), Brock Nelson (9) and John Tavares (11) have more.

Barzal also tallied his fourth three-point (1G, 2A) night of the season. He is riding a three-game point streak, with five points (1G, 4A) in that stretch. Barzy leads the team with 60 points (18G, 42A) in 64 games this season.

HISTORIC IN OVERTIME

The Islanders became the first team in NHL history to earn a perfect 10-0 overtime record in a season. Barzal (2G), Horvat (2G), Pageau (2G), Matthew Schaefer (2G) and Simon Holmstrom (2G) have been the Isles’ goal scorers en route to this historical mark.

SEASON SERIES AND STANDINGS

This is the second of two meetings between the Isles and Kings. New York fell 5-3 to Los Angeles on Mar. 4 at Crypto.com Arena.

The Islanders (79 points) are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (79 points) for second in the Metropolitan Division, but the Pens have one game in-hand. The Columbus Blue Jackets (77 points) are staying in striking distance with one game in-hand.

KINGS NOTES

Los Angeles comes to Long Island off a 2-1 overtime defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. The Kings have gone to overtime in their last two contests, and have played one-goal games in each of their last three. Drew Doughty scored Los Angeles’ lone goal in Tuesday’s loss.

The Kings (67 points) are tied with the Seattle Kraken (67 points) in the Pacific Division, but the Kraken remains ahead with a game in-hand. Los Angeles is on the cusp of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

On Mar. 5, LA acquired a 2026 second-round pick (via BUF) and a conditional 2026 third-round pick from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Warren Foegele and a conditional 2026 third-round selection. Foegele recorded nine points (7G, 2A) in 47 games for the black and silver this season.

On Mar. 6, the Kings sent Corey Perry to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2028 second-round pick. Perry notched 28 points (11G, 17A) with Los Angeles prior to the trade.

Adrian Kempe enters Friday night’s clash with points in each of his last six games, and eight points (4G, 4A) in that stretch. Kempe leads the Kings with 56 points (25G, 31A) this season.

Quinton Byfield missed last week’s game against the Islanders but is active ahead of Friday night. Byfield ranks fourth on LA with 33 points (13G, 20A) in the 2025-26 campaign.

Kevin Fiala (lower body) is out the rest of the season following a leg fracture at the Olympic Winter Games. Fiala ranks second on the Kings with 40 points (18G, 22A) this season.

Andrei Kuzmenko (lower body) and Joel Armia (upper body) also will be unavailable for Friday’s contest. Kuzmenko, who is out for the rest of the season, ranks eighth on the team with 25 points (13G, 12A) this season. Armia, who is expected to miss several weeks, has 20 points (10G, 10A) in the 2025-26 campaign.

The Kings own the 24^th ranked power-play (16.3%) in the NHL this season. They also own the 25^th ranked penalty kill (75.7%) in the league this year.