Game Preview: Islanders vs Avalanche

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (4-4-0) VS COLORADO AVALANCHE (4-3-1)
7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | 70S NIGHT
WATCH: MSGSN | MSGGO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders return home to UBS Arena to face off against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
The Islanders are coming off a 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brock Nelson (2G), Anthony Beauvillier (2A) and Mathew Barzal (2A) each had multipoint games in the win, with Nelson scoring his first two goals of the season.

Josh Bailey scored the game-winning goal in his 1000th NHL game. He will be honored for the milestone on Saturday before puck drop.
"Everybody's just thrilled for Josh and his career, his successes, and what better way to cap your 1,000th game than to do something like that," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of Bailey's goal Friday. "Just happy for him."
The Avalanche are coming off a 1-0 shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. On Tuesday, Alexandar Georgiev led the Avalanche to a 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Rangers. The Avalanche's league-best power play will be the most formidable matchup yet for the Islanders' league-best penalty kill.
It's also 1970s night at UBS Arena, part of the team's 50th anniversary celebration. There will be 1970s themed contests and features, as well as
75 cent popcorn, presented by AmEx
.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Semyon Varlamov will likely start in goal against his former team as Ilya Sorokin played on Friday night in Carolina. Varlamov played for the Avalanche for eight seasons, from 2011-19, before signing with the Islanders for the 2019-20 season. Varlamov is 1-2-0 with a .927 SV% and 2.75 GAA against the Avalanche in his career.
  - Oliver Wahlstrom scored his fourth goal of the season against the Hurricanes, tying Anders Lee for the team lead in goals.
  - Josh Bailey scored his second goal in two games on Friday against the Hurricanes late in the second period. The goal came in Bailey's 1000th career NHL game. Bailey is the 12th player in NHL history to score the game-winning goal in his 1000th game.
  - Alexander Romanov picked up his first point as an Islander with a secondary assist on Josh Bailey's goal in the second period on Friday.
  - Brock Nelson scored his first two goals of the season, bringing his season point total to eight (2G, 6A). Nelson led the Islanders in goals last year with a career-high 37 goals.
  ISLES VS AVALANCHE
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  3 Takeaways: NYI 6, CAR 2
  Isles Longread: Bailey A Bridge Between Isles Eras
  5 Nights for 5 Decades
  Josh Bailey Trivia
  Talkin' Isles: Micheal Haley
  ISLES VIDEO
  Isles Congratulate Bailey
  GAME EXTRAS
  Reverse Retro Jersey
  Talkin' Isles
  Isles Season Tickets
  Getting Here
  Parking
  - Per Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, Mathew Barzal became the first Islander since Vladimir Malakhov in 1992-93 to start the season with nine assists in eight games, two of them coming against the Hurricanes. Barzal is currently the Islanders leading scorer with nine points, but he has yet to score a goal.
  - The Islanders penalty kill remains perfect, going 28-for-28 so far on the season, a franchise record and six kills off tying the 2001-02 Montreal Canadiens for the NHL record. The Islanders have not allowed a goal in an NHL-record eight games to start the season and are the only team in the NHL that has yet to concede a power play goal so far this year.

AVALANCHE NOTES:

• Valeri Nichushkin is tied for fourth in NHL scoring with 12 points (7G, 5A) in 12 games, leading the Avalanche. Nichushkin signed an eight-year contract to return to the Avalanche this offseason after putting up 52 points (25G, 27A) in 62 games last season.
  - The Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Darcy Kuemper from last year's cup winning team to free agency. Kadri scored 87 points (28G, 59A) in 71 games. Burakovsky scored 61 points (22G, 39A) in 80 games, and Kuemper put up a .921 SV% and a 2.54 GAA.
  - The Avalanche have the best power play in the NHL, converting on 38.5 percent of their opportunities so far this season.
  - Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog suffered a knee injury and had surgery earlier in October. The Avalanche announced on Oct. 19 that he would miss at least 12 weeks. Landeskog scored 59 points (30G, 29A) in 51 games last season.
  - Alexandar Georgiev will likely start for the Avalanche in net. The Avalanche acquired Georgiev from the New York Rangers this offseason after Darcy Kuemper, their starting goaltender for their Stanley Cup win, departed for the Washington Capitals. Georgiev is 8-3-0 against the Islanders in his career, with a .935 SV% and a 1.96 GAA.
  - Cale Makar won the Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy last season. He has seven points, all assists, so far this season. Makar has seven points (2G, 5A) in four career games against the Islanders.