Game Preview: Islanders vs Stars

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (40-27-5) VS DALLAS STARS (43-17-11) 

7:00 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP 

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

The Islanders continue their five-game homestand against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.  

New York fell 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom and Cal Ritchie scored New York’s goals in the loss. David Rittich made nine saves on 12 shots in the first period before Ilya Sorokin replaced him the final two periods and stopped 11 of the 12 shots in relief. It was the Islanders’ third loss in their last four games.

The Islanders (85 points) are outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, as the Ottawa Senators (85 points) occupy the second Wild Card by virtue of holding a game in-hand.

The Pittsburgh Penguins (86 points) dropped to third in the Metro after a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, as the Columbus Blue Jackets (87 points) beat the Philadelphia Flyers to assume second place in the division. The Blue Jackets and Pens have a game in-hand over the Isles.

PROJECTED LINES 

Here is how the Islanders lined up against the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Ryan Pulock missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury and Tony DeAngelo left the game after the first period and did not return. Check back after Thursday’s morning skate for any updates to the lines.

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

DEANGELO INJURY 

Tony DeAngelo (lower-body, day-to-day) exited Tuesday night’s game in the first period and did not return. DeAngelo skated on a pair with Carson Soucy and recorded 6:09 TOI. He was being re-evaluated by the team on Wednesday and an update on his status will be available after the Isles’ morning skate on Thursday. 

The Islanders defenseman has 33 points (5G, 28A), 30 hits, 67 blocked shots and 19 takeaways. 

LEE-VING HIS LEGACY  

Lee’s ice breaking goal against the Blackhawks moved him up the ladder on a pair of Islanders’ all-time lists.  

With his 305th career goal, the Islanders captain passed Clark Gillies (304) for the fourth most goals with the franchise. He also earned his 545th career point (305G, 240A) with the tally, surpassing John Tonelli (544) for sole possession of 10th place on the Islanders' all-time points list.  

Lee enters Thursday night on a three-game point streak, with one goal and two assists in that stretch. He is tied for fourth on the team with 38 points (16G, 22A) this season.

SCORCHING SCHAEFER 

Matthew Schaefer recorded 31:59 TOI on Tuesday, breaking the record for most ice time recorded by a teenager in NHL history. 

Schaefer ranks second on the Islanders and third among NHL rookies with 52 points (22G, 30A) this season. 

SEASON SERIES  

This is the second of two regular season meetings between the Isles and Stars this year. New York edged out Dallas 3-2 in the previous meeting on Nov. 18. Alexander Romanov suffered his season-ending shoulder injury following a hit from Mikko Rantanen in that first meeting of the season.

STARS NOTES 

The Stars stumble into Thursday’s clash against the Islanders on a three-game losing skid, with the most recent a 6-4 defeat to the New Jersey Devils on home ice. This will be the first of a four-game road trip for Dallas.  

The Stars (97 points) sit in second place in the Central Division, Western Conference and NHL. They only trail the Colorado Avalanche (104 points) for the league’s top spot.

Wyatt Johnston’s 40 goals are tied for third in the NHL, while Jason Robertson’s 39 goals is sixth.   Johnston has four points (3G, 1A) in the last two games and ranks second on the team with 78 points (40G, 38A) in this campaign.

Robertson has also been on a heater with 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last seven games. He leads the Stars and ranks 10^th in the league with 85 points (39G, 46A) through 71 games this year.

Miro Heiskanen has 18 points (2G,16A) in his last 17 outings, including 11 points (2G, 9A) in 12 games this month. Heiskanen ranks third on the team and eighth among NHL defensemen with 59 points (9G, 50A) this season.  

Stars GM Jim Nill confirmed that Rantanen (lower-body, IR) is traveling with the team for their four-game road trip but hasn’t played since suffering his injury at the Olympics. Rantanen ranks third on the team with 69 points (20G, 49A) in 54 games this year. 

Roope Hintz (lower-body) has not skated since Mar. 6 against the Avalanche and is not expected back until closer to the playoffs. Hintz is fifth on Dallas with 44 points (15G, 29A) this season. 

Radek Faksa (lower-body) and Tyler Seguin (lower-body) on IR. Faksa (2G,15A) and Seguin (7G, 10A) both have 17 points for the Stars in the current campaign. 

On Mar. 5, Dallas acquired Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2026 third-round draft pick (via. SEA). Bunting has two points (1G, 1A) in nine games with the Stars, but 33 total points (14G, 19A) this season. 

The Stars have the league’s 10th best penalty kill unit (80.9%) but the second ranked power-play (29.0%) this season. They have a power-play goal in each of their last three games.