Game Preview: Islanders vs Devils

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (2-0-0) VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS (1-1-1)

7:30PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

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The New York Islanders take on the New Jersey Devils in a Metropolitan Division showdown at UBS Arena on Friday night to conclude their  three-game homestand to open the season. 

The Islanders shut out the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 on Tuesday night at home to mark their second consecutive win of the season. Mathew Barzal’s game-winner served as the only offensive tally of the contest, while Noah Dobson and Kyle Palmieri picked up assists. Ilya Sorokin stopped all 14 shots in his 17th career shutout and third against Arizona. 

The victory powered the Islanders to their first 2-0-0 start to the season since 2014-15. 

“It’s just two games but it's important to play the right way and get some wins,” Ryan Pulock said on Thursday. “I thought we did a pretty good job for the most part in those games, sticking to our structure. There can be improvements in different areas, but the start we had is positive, but we just have to keep building on that.” 

The Devils opened their season with a three-game homestand where they went 1-1-1 most recently suffering a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday. The Devils found themselves in a 4-0 hole through 43 minutes on Monday and made a third period push with goals from Erik Haula (1G, 1A), Michael McLeod and Jesper Bratt (1G, 1A), but it wasn’t enough to complete a comeback. Vitek Vanecek turned aside 26 of 30 in the loss.  

New York took four of a possible six points from New Jersey last season, going 2-1-0 against their Tri-State rivals. The Islanders are expecting a stiff challenge as they host the Devils for the opening game of the season series. 

“They play with a lot of tempo and a lot of skill,” Brock Nelson said. “They’re up in the rush, creating odd-man rushes. For us, it's going to be about management, [being] positionally sound defensively in the neutral zone, structure, and all the things that we will talk about infrequently, but they're all important parts of the game.”

ISLANDERS NOTES:

- The Islanders had a couple days in between games with an off day on Wednesday and a practice on Thursday before their date with the Devils on Friday.

“We have big game obviously tomorrow and a back-to back weekend,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said on Thursday. “The rest was important yesterday. Good solid practice today to get ourselves ready to go. We have a very skilled hockey team coming in, so, that rest-to-work work ratio helps us prepare.”

- Lambert confirmed that Scott Mayfield will miss Friday's game, his second straight, as a result of blocking a shot on Saturday night. Samuel Bolduc will play for a second straight game in Mayfield's absence. Mayfield did particiapte in the team's optional morning skate. 

- Mathew Barzal scored his first goal of the season and the first power-play goal of the year for the Islanders. The 26-year-old forward netted four on the power play last season and 10 at five-on-five through 58 games played.

- Ilya Sorokin was perfect in making 14 saves against the Coyotes and picked up his second win of the season on Tuesday. With 17 career shutouts, Sorokin is tied with Rick DiPietro for third in franchise history. According to team statistician Eric Hornick, Sorokin has recorded a shutout in 12.9% of his starts (132), which is the highest in NHL history (since 1943-44) among goalies with at least 100 starts.

“He’s a big part of our team and a big part of our success,” Pulock said “He’s one of the best goalies in the league and he shows it night in, night out. Every game there are mistakes that are made that lead to grade-A scoring chances, but we have him back there to make those extra saves.”

- The Islanders boast the best faceoff win percentage in the NHL with 65.2% in the young season.

DEVILS NOTES: 

-    Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek missed practice on Thursday and Head Coach Lindy Ruff said they might not travel with the team to Long Island. Haula played in all three games with the Devils this season, picking up three points (2G, 1A) in his second season with the team after signing a three-year extension in June. 

-    Nosek has been out with a lower-body injury since Monday and subsequently did not face the Panthers. The 31-year-old winger played in his 400th NHL game on Friday and second with the Devils after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. 

-    Keith Kinkaid has cleared waivers on Wednesday and was assigned to the Chicago Wolves, an independent AHL team without an NHL affiliate. 

-    Timo Meier inked an eight-year contract with the Devils on Jun. 28. The 26-year-old forward registered 40 goals and 66 points last season through 57 games with the San Jose Sharks and 21 with the Devils.

-    Jesper Bratt also inked an eight-year extension for New Jersey over the offseason. The 25-year-old winger is a career Devil, collecting 105 goals and 281 assists through 392 games played. Bratt picked up five points (3G, 2A) through three games played in his seventh season with the team. 

-    The Devils acquired Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Toffoli is coming off a career year, recording 73 points and 34 goals for the Flames last season. 

-    Jack Hughes led the team in scoring last year with 43 goals and 99 points. 

-    The Devils sported the league’s only perfect preseason, going 7-0-0 and beating the Isles in both meetings.