Game Preview: Islanders at Canucks

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (6-6-4) AT VANCOUVER CANUCKS (8-3-3)

10 PM EST | ROGERS ARENA

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The New York Islanders are in beautiful British Columbia for a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, in the second of a five-game road trip.

The Isles are 0-0-1 to start the road trip, as they stole a point in a 4-3 OT loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Anders Lee scored twice in the third period to tie the game at three apiece, but Leon Draisaitl connected with Connor McDavid in overtime to win it for Edmonton, which marked the second goal of the night for the German forward. Ilya Sorokin had a 38-save effort in the overtime loss for New York.

The Canucks are fresh off a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames to open a six-game homestand. Elias Pettersson (PPG), Pius Suter and Erik Brannstrom (1G,1A) scored for the Canucks, J.T. Miller had a two-point game (2A) and Kevin Lankinen made 28 of 29 saves in the win.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders went 0-1-1 against the Canucks last season. The Islanders are winless in their last three games against the Canucks (0-2-1) with their last win coming on Jan. 3, 2023.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in goal for the Islanders. Varlamov won his last outing, stopping 28-of-30 shots in a 4-2 win over Ottawa. Varlamov is 2-3-1 with a 3.01 GAA and an .887 SV% this season.

The Islanders are expected to ice the same skaters from Tuesday's 4-3 OT loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Kevin Lankinen is the expected starter for the Canucks with Thatcher Demko still working his way back from injury. Lankinen is 8-1-2 this season with Vancouver, sporting a 2.46 GAA, a .911 SV% and one shutout. The 29-year-old is in his first season with the Canucks after signing with the team in September.

Aatu Raty was recalled by Vancouver on Thursday and is expected to face the Islanders for the first time since being traded by the team as part of the package for Bo Horvat in January 2023. Raty was the Islanders second round pick in 2021 (52nd overall), spending two seasons in Bridgeport and 12 games with the Islanders in the 2022-23 season.

ISLES NOTES

- With the 4-3 OT loss in Edmonton, the Islanders extended their point streak to four games (2-0-2). New York’s fourth OT loss ranks most in the NHL. The Islanders are 1-4 in games that ended in overtime and are 2-0 in the shootout.

- Anders Lee recorded his 39th career multi-goal game on Tuesday night with two goals against the Oilers. The captain has had a hot start to the season and has been especially productive in the month of November, with eight points (3G, 5A) in his last six outings.

- Kyle Palmieri holds the team lead in goals (7) and points (14). The winger had a two-point performance (1G, 1A) against the Oilers and has collected seven points (3G, 4A) in his last six games.

- Bo Horvat was a member of the Canucks for nine seasons – including four as captain – and Thursday marks his second time at Rogers Arena as a visitor. The center scored against his former team in a 4-3 OT loss on Nov. 15 in his initial return last season.

- Brock Nelson leads the Isles with 10 career goals against Vancouver in 20 career games. Mathew Barzal (LTIR, upper body) leads with 15 assists in 11 career appearances.

CANUCKS NOTES

- The Canucks have won four of their last five games, with their only blemish coming from a 7-3 loss to the Oilers on Saturday.

- Brock Boeser (day to day, upper-body) is out for the Canucks after he absorbed an illegal hit from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot on Thursday. Jeannot received a three-game suspension as a result. Boeser missed two games and his status against the Islanders is unknown. The 27-year-old forward has 11 points (6G, 5A) through 12 games this season and led Vancouver with 40 goals last season.

- J.T. Miller was one of nine players to shatter 100-point plateau last season, with 103 points (37G, 66A) in his fifth season with the Canucks. This season, the 31-year-old center is off to another solid start with 13 points (5G, 8A) in 14 games.

- Quinn Hughes is the team leader in points (16) this season and also leads the Canucks with 12 points (4G, 8A) in seven career games against the Islanders. Hughes is riding a five-game point streak with one goal and six assists over that span. He won the Norris Trophy for the 2023-24 campaign, where he led all NHL defensemen with 92 points (17G, 75A) in his fifth full season with Vancouver.

- Thatcher Demko has shown encouraging signs as he recovers from a rare popliteus muscle injury. The 28-year-old fully participated in Canucks practice on Sunday, but Head Coach Rick Tocchet did not provide updates on the Vezina Finalist’s return. Demko has been skating on his own since the start of Canucks training camp and travelled with the team on their California road trip earlier this month. The San Diego native has not played in game action since Apr. 21 where he suffered the injury in a playoff game against Nashville.