Game Preview: Islanders vs. Sabres

UPDATE: TUESDAY'S ISLANDERS-SABRES GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED

Despite trailing 3-1 heading into the second intermission, the Islanders rallied with a two-goal third period from Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal to take on the Flyers in overtime for the second night in a row. Their efforts weren't successful in picking up the extra point as a Barzal high-sticking penalty gave the Flyers a 4-on-3 man advantage and Kevin Hayes delivered the dagger. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves in his third start.
The Sabres are coming off of a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. The Sabres battled back from a 2-0 first-period deficit, with goals from Curtis Lazar, and two power-play goals from Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Ristolainen, but their effort wasn't enough. Carter Hutton made 32 saves.
Tuesday's meeting between the Islanders and Sabres will be the first of four meetings during the month of February.

ISLANDERS NOTES:
• Nick Leddy scored his first goal of the season and picked up his fifth point with a power-play tally in the second period. The defenseman is tied with three other players for the second-most points on the Islanders leaderboard. Leddy's power-play goal was his first of the season and the sixth scored by the team.
• Bailey posted a two-point night with an assist on Leddy's goal before scoring his first goal of the season, a redirect from Ryan Pulock's initial point shot. Through nine games this season, Bailey has three points (1G, 2A).
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• Barzal produced a two-point outing with a goal and an assist on Bailey's marker. The center also extended his point streak to four games where he has six points (2G, 4A) during that span. Through nine games this season, Barzal leads the Islanders across the board with four goals, six assists and 10 points. Barzal also appeared in his 241st consecutive game, passing JP Parise for eighth on the all-time club list.
• Lee had the sole assist on Barzal's goal as he won a foot race to create a meaningful two-on-one for the Islanders in the third period. Lee now has five points (3G, 2A) through nine games.
• Sorokin made his third start of the season and has still yet to record a win in his rookie season with a record of 0-2-1. The Russian netminder has a 3.65 GAA and a .871 SV%.
• Michael Dal Colle drew back in the lineup, as one of three moves made prior to the game. Dal Colle logged 8:50 time on ice on a line with JG Pageau and Austin Czarnik, threw two hits and had one block in his second game of the season.
• Czarnik and Dymtro Timashov made their Islander debuts against the Flyers. Czarnik skated alongside Dal Colle and Pageau. Czarnik totaled 14:12 time on ice including 5:21 on the power play and 1:05 shorthanded, he also had one shot and one block. Timashov skated alongside Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle. The winger logged 7:13 time on ice, had two hits and one shot.
• The Islanders power play went 1-for-6 against the Flyers and their penalty kill was 3-for-4. In the NHL, the Islanders extra-man unit is ranked 20th overall (15.8%) and their PK is ranked 18th (77.8%).
• The Islanders are ranked third overall in the NHL for draws with their 55.2 FOW%.
• The Islanders are 3-1-0 when scoring first and are 0-3-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• The Islanders have lost six-straight road games (0-4-2) since winning on Opening Night.

SABRES NOTES:
• Lazar scored his third goal of the season and is now in a four-way tie for the second-most goals on the Buffalo leaderboard. Through 10 games this season, Lazar has four points (3G, 1A).
• Dahlin scored his first goal of the season - and first goal on the power play - and recorded his third point through 10 games this year.
• Ristolainen had a two-point outing (1G, 1A) and scored his second goal of the season and first power-play marker. The blueliner now has compiled six points (2G, 4A) through 10 games this season.
• The Sabres had an active offseason, signing former MVP Taylor Hall to a one-year deal, while also trading for veteran center Eric Staal. Hall is off to a hot start with nine points (1G, 8A) in 10 games, while Staal has five points (3G, 2A) in 10 games.
• Jack Eichel had a two-point night as he dished out two helpers. Buffalo's captain now has five points (2G, 3A) in his last five games. Eichel leads the Sabres in scoring with 11 points and has nine assists through 10 games this season.
• Victor Olofsson also posted a two-point outing with two assists. In doing so, the Swedish winger extended his point streak to six games with seven points (2G, 5A) during that span. Olofsson leads the Sabres with his four goals and is ranked second in scoring, behind Eichel, with 10 points through 10 games.
• Hutton made his fourth start between the pipes, but his record fell to 1-3-0. The veteran netminder has a 3.05 GAA and a .895 SV%.
• The Sabres power play was 2-for-4 and their penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 against the Devils. In the NHL, Buffalo ranks seventh (30.8%) on the power play and 10th (82.6%) on the PK.
• In the faceoff circle, the Sabres are the second-best team in the NHL with a 55.9 FOW%.
• Eichel has the third best faceoff win percentage across the entire league with a 54.5 FOW% on 116 draws. Eichel has also taken the second-most faceoffs in the NHL, tied with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl and behind Vancouver's Bo Horvat, with 213 draws taken.
• The Sabres average the seventh-most shots on goal per game in the league with a nightly average of 32.2.
• The only player the Sabres have on IR is Zemgus Girgensons, who underwent hamstring surgery after suffering the injury during training camp. Girgensons is expected to miss the season.