Canucks at Islanders preview
Vancouver tries for fifth straight win; New York playing first game after 10-day break
by Brian Compton @BComptonNHL / NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
CANUCKS (29-18-4) at ISLANDERS (29-15-5)
1 p.m. ET; MSG+, SNP, NHL.TV
The Game
The Vancouver Canucks will go for their fifth straight win when they play the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Saturday.
Vancouver has won six of its past seven games and is 13-3-0 since Dec. 19.
New York, playing its first game since Jan. 21, is 4-0-2 at Barclays Center this season. The Islanders have not lost there in the regular season since Jan. 12, 2019 (9-0-2). They are 6-0-1 in their past seven games against the Canucks and have won the past three against them at Barclays Center.
Players to watch
Canucks forward J.T. Miller has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past seven games.
Islanders forward Anders Lee has scored in each of his past two games.
They said it
"Obviously when we were losing a couple games in a row there earlier, a month or two months ago, it was obviously tough. But from the start of the season, I've been really impressed by this group and the guys and the team we have. We've got to keep it going." -- Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom
"A team that's coming back off a break, they're not used to the lack of space you've got to execute in under pressure. You've got to keep it simple and smart, especially early in game until you get back into that comfort zone of feeling you can make plays." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake Virtanen
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Brock Boeser
Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Brandon Sutter
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Justin Bailey, Jordie Benn
Injured: Tyler Motte (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Tyler Graovac (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Michael Dal Colle -- Derick Brassard -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Leo Komarov
Noah Dobson -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho
Injured: Cal Clutterbuck (wrist), Adam Pelech (Achilles)
Status report
Roussel had a maintenance day Friday but is expected to play. … Motte, who was injured during a 5-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, is on injured reserve. The forward is being evaluated in Vancouver. … Trotz said Clutterbuck, who has been out since Dec. 19, has resumed skating but the forward is weeks away from returning.
Stat pack
Virtanen has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak. Six of his 15 goals are game-winners. … Horvat has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his past 12 games. … The Islanders are 4-1-1 in afternoon games this season.