UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders at Blues

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (33-28-9) AT ST LOUIS BLUES (41-20-10)8 PM ET | ENTERPRISE CENTERWATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
The New York Islanders look for back-to-back wins as they take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at Enterprise Center.
The Islanders are coming off a third-period thriller against the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Kyle Palmieri scored to make it 2-1 with 14.1 seconds left to play against the Hurricanes, just 42 seconds after Vincent Trocheck scored to tie the game. Ilya Sorokin held a shutout through 59 minutes and made 20 saves on the night. The Islanders beat the Hurricanes for the first time since October 28, 2018.

The Blues rallied in a 4-3 overtime victory over division-rival Minnesota Wild on Friday night. Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov and Jacob Middleton had Minnesota up 3-1 by the beginning of the third period. The Blues answered with goals by Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn to tie the game at three, pushing the game to overtime, setting the stage for Robert Thomas' game-winner 1:27 into overtime. With the Blues earning two points in the feat and the Wild salvaging a point in the overtime loss, both teams are tied at 92 points in the Central Division standings. Minnesota retains the second wild card spot with one game in hand over St. Louis.
The Islanders have the edge on the season series with the Blues (1-0) with a 2-1 win from their first and only meeting this season on March 5. Oliver Wahlstrom found the back of the net for the Islanders and Brock Nelson netted a power-play goal in the win. Robert Thomas had the lone goal in the loss. Ilya Sorokin was between the pipes in the Islanders victory, stopping 27 of 28 shots in his first career matchup against the Blues.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• With Sorokin playing against the Hurricanes on Friday night, Semyon Varlamov is expected to be in net against St. Louis for the back half of a back-to-back set. Varlamov holds a record of 9-14-2, but those numbers don't tell the full story. He's been hot as of late, with a record of 6-2-1 in his last 10 games (nine starts), sporting a .929 SV% and a 2.46 GAA. He also earned consecutive wins against the Blue Jackets at the end of March, as well as his 36th career shutout in a clean sheet vs the New York Rangers on April 1.
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• Kyle Palmieri buried the game-winner against Carolina with only 14.1 seconds left in the third period. He now leads the team with six game-winning goals on the season. Per Eric Hornick, Palmieri's goal was the latest winning goal in regulation for the Islanders in over 20 years, since Tom Fitzgerald netted a goal at 19:57 to beat the Rangers in regulation on December 28, 1991.
• The Islanders' matchup with the Blues is their second game of their 15th back-to-back set of the season. Per Hornick, New York is 9-5-1 in the front end and 5-8-1 in the back end, and boasts a 26-12-5 in back-ends under Head Coach Barry Trotz. Two back-to-back sets remain in the season after the Islanders play the Blues.
• Jean-Gabriel Pageau (15G, 20A) is red-hot for the Islanders, extending his goal streak on Friday night, scoring his fifth goal in three games.
• The Islanders' penalty kill continues to be rock solid, as they successfully killed 17 straight penalties. Their 84.6% penalty kill percentage ranks fourth in the NHL. The Blues stand in sixth in that category (83.3%).
• The Islanders (75 points) continue to fight hard as the season winds down. While still stuck in fifth in the Metro, the Islanders stand 11 points behind the Washington Capitals.

BLUES NOTES:

• The Blues collected points in their last seven games (6-0-1) and stand third in the Central with 10 games remaining after the Islanders come to town.
• Brayden Schenn (20G, 30A) is riding a seven-game point streak, with three goals and six assists since March 28.
• Pavel Buchnevich is carrying an active five-game point streak with four goals and four assists in that stretch.
• Tyler Bozak and Torey Krug skated for the Blues on Friday morning, after being out with injuries. Head Coach Craig Berube did not reveal if they will face the Islanders on Saturday.
• With a two-goal performance against Arizona (April 4) and the Vancouver Canucks (March 28), Vladimir Tarasenko is tied with Buchnevich for the team lead in goals with 25 on the season. He ranks second on the team in points (61).
• The Blues have picked up a power-play goal in four straight games. They rank third in the NHL on power play (26.3%).
• With Ville Husso playing on Friday night, Jordan Binnington is likely to start on Saturday night. Binnington is 13-13-4 with a 3.25 GAA, a .899 SV% and two shutouts. Binnington is 0-3-1 in his last five games and hasn't recorded a win since Feb. 27. Binnington stopped 18-of-20 shots against the Islanders on Mar. 5.