Game Preview: Islanders at Avalanche

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (0-1-1) AT COLORADO AVALANCHE (0-2-0)

9 PM | BALL ARENA

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The New York Islanders continue their three-game Central Division road trip with a matchup against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night, where both teams are in search of their first win of the season.

The Isles were shut out 3-0 by the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. Tyler Seguin (2G) and Jamie Benn provided the offense for the Stars and Jake Oettinger made all 34 saves in the win. The Isles put quality chances on net and had bursts of urgency - including a 15-shot effort in the third - but could not find a way to penetrate. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 24 of 26 shots in his second consecutive start of the season.

The Isles are 0-1-1 in their first two games of the season, but they’re looking to build off the positives and learn from the negatives.

“It’s a long season,” Kyle Palmieri said. “It’s not a dream start. It’s not what we were thinking about in camp, but here we are. We knew it was going to be a tough road trip, but there are positives to draw from it and definitely some things we can clean up.”

The Avalanche dropped their first two games of the season, most recently falling 6-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Miles Wood, Nathan MacKinnon, Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton scored, while Cale Makar had two assists in the loss. Alexandar Georgiev allowed three goals on nine shots through two periods before he was replaced by Justus Annunen, who stopped 11 of 13 shots in relief.

Last season, the Islanders picked up one of four possible points against the Avalanche. New York is 0-2-2 in its last four trips to Denver, having not won in the Mile High City since Dec. 17, 2018.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Ilya Sorokin will make his season debut on Monday night. Sorokin was sidelined for the first two weeks of training camp and did not play in the preseason, so tonight marks his first action since last year's playoffs. Sorokin is 0-2-2 lifetime against the Avalanche with a 3.24 GAA, a .917 and one shutout, which he picked up in a 1-0 shootout loss on Dec. 19, 2022.

Alexandar Georgiev will start in goal for the Avalanche.

ISLES NOTES

- Monday’s tilt will mark Head Coach Patrick Roy’s first game in Denver as Islanders head coach. The Hall of Fame goaltender is a former head coach for Colorado, with a 130-92-24 record in three seasons coaching the Avalanche from 2013-16, including a 3-2-1 record in six games against the Isles.

- Roy won two Stanley Cups in eight seasons as a player for the Avs (1995-03) and is the franchise leader in games played (478) wins (262) and shutouts (37) for Avalanche netminders.

- The Isles penalty kill improved on Saturday night against Dallas, going 2-for-2 after it went 0-for-2 shorthanded on Thursday.

- Brock Nelson leads the Islanders with 13 points (6G, 7A) in 20 career games against the Avalanche.

- Mathew Barzal nearly has a point-per-game against the Avalanche in his career, with nine assists in 10 career games played. Colorado is the only NHL team (except for Utah) that the 27-year-old winger has not scored a goal against.

- Simon Holmstrom scored two goals against Colorado last season.

AVS NOTES

- The Avs claimed goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers on Friday, but due to immigration restrictions it is unclear when the Finnish netminder can join the team. Kahkonen, 28, split last season between the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks. He pitched a 4-0 shutout against the Isles on Mar. 24 for the Devils and helped the Sharks win 5-4 in overtime on Dec. 5, 2023.

- The Avalanche boast top-end talent in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, who all currently have four points through Colorado’s first two games. MacKinnon is the NHL’s reigning MVP after recording 140 points (51G, 89A) last season, while Rantanen also surpassed the 100-point mark. Makar finished second among NHL defensemen last season with 90 points.

- The Avalanche are having issues on the injury front early in the season. Jonathan Drouin is sidelined with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss Monday night's game after he was injured in Colorado's season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 29-year-old winger had his third career 50-point campaign last season with 19 goals and 37 assists.

- The Islanders will not face winger Valeri Nichushkin, who is serving a six-month suspension and is expected to return on Nov. 13.

- Though there is no timeline for Gabriel Landeskog’s return, the Avs captain is eyeing a return to game action for the first time since June 26, 2022 when he won the Stanley Cup with his team. The 31-year-old winger has been dealing with a knee injury since 2020.

- The Avalanche are a high-octane team offensively, putting up eight goals in their first two games of the season. Last season, Colorado led the league in goals against (3.68).