Game Preview: Islanders at Coyotes 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (17-10-10) AT ARIZONA COYOTES (19-15-2)

9 PM ET | MULLETT ARENA

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders take on the Arizona Coyotes in the second and final meeting of their season series on Thursday night at Mullett Arena.

The Islanders are 0-1-1 to start their road trip, most recently falling 5-4 in OT to the high-octane Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon (1G, 2A) buried the overtime winner for the Avs. Pierre Engvall, Brock Nelson (PPG, 1A), Simon Holmstrom and Alexander Romanov scored for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov started between the pipes and turned aside 11 of 12 shots faced before he left in the first period and did not return. Ilya Sorokin entered the game in relief, making 23 saves.

The Coyotes couldn’t stand in the way of the red-hot Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, falling 4-1 in a contest that gave Florida their fifth consecutive win. Alex Kerfoot scored for Arizona to equalize Carter Verhaeghe's opening tally, but Florida pulled away in the third period with three unanswered goals.

The Islanders lead the season series 1-0-0 over the Coyotes after a 1-0 win on Oct. 17 at UBS Arena. Mathew Barzal scored the lone goal of the game and Ilya Sorokin made 14 saves for his first shutout of the season.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

- Ilya Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate, suggesting he'll start against Arizona. Sorokin is 3-2-0 against the Coyotes with a 1.22 GAA, a .941 SV% and three shutouts. 

- Head Coach Lane Lambert confirmed Semyon Varlamov suffered a lower-body injury on Tuesday night. The goaltender is still on the trip with the team.

- Adam Pelech skated with the Islanders for the third day in a row, but will not play on Thursday.

- Sebastian Aho and Matt Martin are expected to return to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game as healthy scratches. Hudson Fasching is expected to come out of the lineup to accommodate Martin's return.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- Robert Bortuzzo was placed on IR after suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday, the team announced Wednesday. The 34-year-old defenseman took a hit from Colorado’s Samuel Girard in the second period and did not return in the 5-4 OT loss to the Avalanche.

- Semyon Varlamov exited Tuesday’s game last in the first period and did not return. The Islanders do not have any updates as of Wednesday afternoon, but the team emergency recalled goaltender Ken Appleby. The 28-year-old netminder is 5-5-0 with a 2.88 GAA and an .897 SV% in his fourth year in the Islanders organization.

With Appleby’s recall, Ilya Sorokin is the likely starter against Arizona and has posted some gaudy numbers against the Coyotes. Sorokin is 3-2-0 with all three of his wins coming via shutout. Sorokin’s three shutouts against Arizona are tied with Philadelphia for his most against any team. Sorokin has allowed six total goals against Arizona with a 1.22 GAA and a .941 SV%.

- Pierre Engvall snapped a 10-game point drought by scoring the opening goal in Tuesday’s contest after he was a healthy scratch against the Penguins on Sunday. The winger has 14 points (5G, 9A) through 35 games this season.

- Simon Holmstrom scored his 11th goal of the season on Tuesday. The 22-year-old winger has 15 points (11G, 4A) through 36 games this season.

- Alexander Romanov netted his third goal of the year on Tuesday for his ninth point of the season.

- The Islanders have played 14 games beyond regulation this season, with a record of 3-7 in games that ended in overtime and a 1-3 in record in the shootout.

- Per Islanders team statistician Eric Hornick, the Islanders had a multi-goal lead in seven games where they did not take home the two points (0-1-6), including Tuesday’s tilt where they had a 3-1 lead and ultimately fell 5-4 in overtime.

COYOTES NOTES

- The Coyotes are competitive this year with a record of 19-15-2 after finishing the previous three seasons under the NHL-.500. Arizona occupies the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with 40 points, chasing the Nashville Predators (43 points) who occupy the first wild card, though Arizona played two fewer games. The Edmonton Oilers (39 points) are not far behind the Coyotes and have one game in-hand. 

- Jason Zucker received a three-game suspension for boarding Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins on Tuesday night and will not face the Islanders on Thursday as a result.

- The Coyotes will host the Islanders in the second game of a five-game homestand. The Yotes are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games on home ice and 12-6-0 at home overall this season.  They present a challenge for the Islanders at Mullett Arena, who are 2-3-2 in their last seven visits to the desert.

- Lawson Crouse leads the Coyotes with 16 goals, while Matias Maccelli leads with 21 assists. Clayton Keller leads the team in points overall with 31 points (13G, 18A).

- Connor Ingram is tied with Tristan Jarry for the league lead in shutouts (4). Ingram owns a record of 13-7-0, a .919 SV% and a 2.49 GAA in his second season with Arizona. He is also one of five goalies in the NHL with two points (2A). 

- Logan Cooley, who was drafted third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, collected 18 points (3G, 15A) through 36 games of his rookie season.