Game Preview: Islanders at Stars

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-20-14) AT DALLAS STARS (35-16-8)

8 PM ET | AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders are opening a two-game road trip with a trip to Dallas to face the Stars on Monday night at American Airlines Center.

The Islanders fell 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon in their second consecutive loss. After the Lightning made it 3-0, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson (PPG) scored, but it wasn't enough as Luke Glendening scored an empty netter for Tampa Bay to seal the deal. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 17 of 20 in the loss. 

The Stars grinded out a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston scored while Miro Heiskanen had a two-point night with assists on both goals. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves in a game that snapped a four-game winless streak (0-2-2) for the stars.

The Islanders (60 points) are slipping in the wild card race in the Eastern Conference. The Detroit Red Wings (70 points) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (69 points) won their respective matchups on Sunday to cushion their wild card spots. The Islanders would have to leapfrog the New Jersey Devils (62 points), Washington Capitals (61 points) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (60 points) in the standings.

The Islanders took the first game of the season series against the Stars with a 3-2 OT win on Jan. 21 in Patrick Roy's debut as Islanders head coach.

PREGAME UPDATES

- Head Coach Patrick Roy revealed on Monday morning that Ilya Sorokin will start against Dallas. Sorokin is 17-13-11 this season, along with a 3.14 GAA and a .909 SV%. Against Dallas, Sorokin is 1-0-1 lifetime with a .957 SV% and a 1.43 GAA. 

- Scott Wedgewood is the projected starter against the Islanders The 31-year-old netminder is 13-6-4 this season with a 2.97 GAA and a .899 the season. Wedgewood is 1-2-2 against the Islanders and faced New York between the pipes in the 3-2 OT loss for the Stars on Jan. 21.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

- The Islanders changed up their lines at Sunday’s practice on Long Island. Brock Nelson shifted from center to left wing, putting the Isles' leading goal scorer on a line with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. The line played together in the third period of Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

JG Pageau centered Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri in what Roy said should be a hard-nosed line for the Islanders. Casey Cizikas centered Pierre Engvall and Simon Holmstrom, while Kyle MacLean centered Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck.

- The defensive pairs also shifted, as Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock were a pairing, as were Adam Pelech and Noah Dobson. Roy said he wanted to have a veteran with his younger blueliners and wanted a first-hand look at different pairings. 

- Scott Mayfield (day-to-day, lower body) missed Sunday morning's practice and will not accompany the team on their two game trip to Dallas and Detroit. Mayfield also missed Saturday afternoon's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

- With two assists on Saturday, Noah Dobson reached 60 points (7G, 53A) for the first time in his career. Dobson is just one of four Islanders defensemen – Denis Potvin, Jean Potvin, Stefan Persson – to record 60-or-more points in a season. Dobson has recorded 31 primary assists this season, which lead all NHL defensemen in that category, per team statistician Eric Hornick.

- Mathew Barzal recorded his 300^th career assist on Saturday, becoming the 12^th player in team history to hit the 300 assist mark. Barzal is tied with Dobson for the team lead with 60 points this season. Barzal has nine points (4G, 5A) in 11 games against the Stars.

- Brock Nelson has three goals in his last four games, racking up five points (3G, 2A) over that span. Nelson netted his team-leading 25^th goal of the season on Saturday, hitting the 25-goal mark for the third straight year, fifth time in the past six seasons and the sixth time in his career. Nelson has 14 points (7G, 7A) in 19 career games against Dallas.

STARS NOTES

- The Stars sit in first place in the Central Division with 78 points through 59 games. Dallas is focused on seeding as the regular season is winding down, as the Winnipeg Jets (77 points, 56 GP) and the Colorado Avalanche (75 points, 59 GP) rank second and third respectively. After facing the Islanders on Monday night, the Stars will face the Avs and Jets to close out the month of February. 

- Jason Robertson leads the team in points (57) and assists (38), while Roope Hintz leads the Stars in goals (23).

- Logan Stankoven was loaned to the Stars' AHL affiliate on Sunday after he made his NHL debut in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Hurricanes. The forward, who turns 21 years old on Monday, made an impact for Dallas in his debut with a team-leading three shots on goal against Carolina in 15:20 TOI. Stankoven was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NHL draft (47th overall) and has 57 points (24G, 33A) through 47 games with the Texas Stars this season. 

- Derrick Pouliot was also loaned to the Texas Stars on Sunday after his first four NHL outings of the season. The 30-year-old has played in parts of 10 NHL seasons and is in his first season with the Stars organization. 

- The Stars rank fourth in the NHL in offense with 3.61 GF/GP. Their penalty kill has struggled as of late (operating at 72.2% since Jan. 21) though their shorthanded unit ranks seventh overall this season in the league. 

- Dallas owns a record of 17-8-3 on home ice.