Game Preview: Islanders vs Avalanche

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (14-10-3) VS COLORADO AVALANCHE (19-1-6)

7 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

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

The New York Islanders will host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. It is the seventh and final game of the Islanders’ longest homestand this season.

The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at UBS Arena where Islanders' goals came from Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair. Between the pipes, Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 of the 30 shots sent in his direction.

“He was outstanding,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said on Sorokin’s performance against Tampa Bay. “He made ... obviously a lot of great saves, but I love the commitment that our guys made to block shots.”

The win snapped the Lightning’s seven-game winning streak, while the Islanders improved to 2-3-1 on this seven-game homestand.

ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINEUP

See below from Thursday's morning skate lines:

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Jonathan Drouin
Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Max Shabanov
Simon Holmstrom – Cal Ritchie – Anthony Duclair
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Max Tsyplakov

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Mitchell – Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

SOROKIN TO START

Ilya Sorokin is the starting goaltender for the Islanders tonight. This is the third straight game that Sorokin has been between the pipes. He is 2-3-2 with a 2.95 GAA, .918 SV% and one shutout against the Avalanche in his career. Sorokin has been strong on Thursdays this season, posting a 2-1-0 record with 2.34 GAA and .919 SV%.

PAGEAU MAKES PROGRESS TOWARD A RETURN

JG Pageau (upper-body, week-to-week) missed his fifth straight game on Tuesday night. He skated in an orange non-contact jersey for the second straight session on Thursday, which is a postive step toward return.

Roy said that Pageau will join the team on the back-to-back set in Florida, but his timeline to return is unknown.

BLOCKING BISCUTS

The Islanders blocked 19 shots in the win against the Lightning. It was the most blocked shots in a game since they rejected 22 shot attempts from the Red Wings on Oct. 23.

The team’s total blocked shots is up to 406 on the season, the 11th most in the NHL.

OUTSHOT, NOT OUTSCORED

The Islanders were outshot in the game against the Lightning, marking the 12th time they have trailed in the category this season. However, the Isles own an 11-1-0 record, including 4-0-0 at home, when they are outshot in a game.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Islanders have killed 80% of their penalties in this six-game stretch at UBS Arena. This includes four games without allowing a power-play goal.

On the other side of special teams, the power play is still struggling, going 2-for-34 (5.9%) in the last 10 games.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders are 0-1-0 against the Avalanche this season, falling 4-1 at Ball Arena on Nov. 16. This is the second and final meeting between the Islanders and Avalanche this season.

NELSON MAKES RETURN TO UBS ARENA

Brock Nelson returns to Long Island for the first time as a visitor on Thursday. He faced his former team for the first time this season, contributing an empty netter in a 4-1 loss for the Isles on Nov. 16 at Ball Arena.

Nelson’s 901 games played for the Isles rank fifth in franchise history and his 295 goals also rank fifth.

“It’s still so familiar,” Nelson said. “It’s not home right now, but it was for a long time and a lot of great memories. It’s fun being here to reminisce a bit, it’s crazy how much time has flown. I’m fortunate to have spent a great portion of my life here.”

BLACKWOOD TO START FOR THE AVALANCHE

Mackenzie Blackwood is expected to start for the Avalanche tonight. Blackwood is 6-0-1 with a 1.84 GAA, .930 SV% and two shutouts in his eighth season in the NHL. He is 4-5-1 with a 2.70 GAA, .911 SV% and one shutout in 10 career games against the Islanders. While undefeated on home ice, Blackwood is 2-0-1 with a 2.30 GAA, .923 SV% and one shutout on the road this season.

AVALANCHE NOTES

Colorado is coming off a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. Nathan MacKinnon (2G) and Nelson scored for the Avs in the victory, which extended their home streak to nine games.

The Avalanche begin their four-game road trip against the Islanders. They enter the contest on a 17-game point streak, in which they are 14-0-3 in that stretch. It is the second-longest point streak in franchise history.

MacKinnon leads the team and entire NHL with 46 points (22G, 24A). His 22 goals are also a league best. MacKinnon notched a pair of goals in the 3-1 win against the Canucks on Tuesday night, extending his point streak to four games.

Gabriel Landeskog and Nelson, have also caught fire recently. Landeskog is also riding a four-game point streak, in which he has three goals and two assists in that span. Nelson has tallied five points (3G, 2A) in the last two games.

Scott Wedgewood (upper body) left Tuesday’s game in the second period and didn’t return. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief.

Colorado recalled goaltender Trent Miner from the Colorado Eagles. Miner is 0-0-2 with a 2.12 GAA and .909 SV% in his two games with the Avalanche this season. In the AHL, he owns a 4-1-0 record with a 2.16 GAA and .908 SV% in six games for the Eagles.

The Avalanche are the only team with more than 100 goals this season, totaling 106 lamplighters.

The defense is also strong as the team allows the fewest goals per game across the entire league. This remains consistent on special teams defense with an 87% penalty kill rate, ranking third in the NHL.

Colorado’s power play unit has struggled when away from Ball Arena. The Avalanche have converted on 8.1% on the man advantage on the road this season, which ranks 32nd in the league.

The Avalanche have been a dominant road team this season, posting an 8-1-4 record with two shutouts. The sole regulation loss was against the Bruins on Oct. 25.