Game Preview: Islanders vs. Golden Knights

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8-12-5) VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS (19-11-0)
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The New York Islanders host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena in what will be the first matinee at the Islanders' new home.

It marks the second meeting of the season between the Islanders and Golden Knights, who last met on Oct .24, where the Islanders executed a surgical effort in a 2-0 victory. The Islanders received scoring from Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal as well as a 42-save performance by Ilya Sorokin in the shutout.
The Islanders enter Sunday's meeting after securing a 3-1 win over Boston on Thursday night with two goals from Cal Clutterbuck and a power-play strike from Anthony Beauvillier. Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves on 41 shots as he recorded his first win of the season.
Vegas is coming off a 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night. Brett Howden and Dylan Coghlan scored in regulation while Jonathan Marchessault scored the sole shootout winner. Laurent Brossoit backstopped the win with 27 saves on 29 shots.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Beauvillier broke a 15-game scoreless stretch (16 games when accounting for the game against New Jersey that he was a healthy scratch on Dec. 11). With the goal, the winger brought his scoring total up to four goals and eight points through 23 games.
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• Rookie Finnish defenseman Robin Salo recorded his first NHL point on Beauvillier's goal and now has one point in seven-career games.
• Clutterbuck scored at even-strength and added an empty-net goal for his complete two-goal game against Boston. The winger has scored five times through 25 games.
• Varlamov earned his first win of the season to improve his record to 1-5-1. The veteran Russian netminder has a 2.99 GAA and a .900 SV%.
• Kyle Palmieri sustained a lower-body injury in the second period against the Bruins and has been listed as "day-to-day" per Trotz. The winger did not participate in Saturday's practice and there was no further update provided.
• The Islanders are still without leading scorer Mathew Barzal, who has 17 points (5G, 12A) through 23 games, after Barzal entered COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
• The Islanders are 6-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-1 when allowing the opening goal.
• Bailey has not scored a goal since he got on the scoreboard in the Islanders' 2-0 win over Vegas on Oct. 24, marking a stretch of 14 games without a goal. However, Bailey was sidelined for five games from Nov. 16 to Dec. 2 due to being placed in COVID-19 protocols.
• Beauvillier's PPG was the Islanders' 11th goal on the man advantage this season. Their power play ranks 28th in the NHL at 16.2%. Their penalty kill ranks seventh overall in the league at 83.6%.
• The Islanders are ranked seventh in the league at FOW% at 52.2%.
• Ahead of Sunday's game, defenseman Andy Greene will be honored for his impressive 1,000-game milestone which he reached on Nov. 15.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:

• With the victory against the Rangers, the Knights have now won four-straight contests and are 7-2-0 in the month of December.
• Howden posted a two-point (1G, 1A) performance in the win against his former club and now has eight points (3G, 5A) through 21 games.
• Coghlan extended his point streak to three-straight games where he's earned four points (2G, 2A) during that span and has two goals in as many games. Through 21 games this season, the 23-year-old blueliner has nine points (3G, 6A).
• Brossoit made his seventh start of the season and earned his sixth win to improve his record to 6-2-0. The British Columbia native has a 2.54 GAA and a .913 SV%.
• Since rejoining the lineup on Dec. 1 following an injury, Max Pacioretty had been riding the hot hand as he had scored in seven-straight games with 10 goals in that span. However, in his last two games the 33-year-old winger has gone without a point. In total, through 13 games this season, Pacioretty has 19 points (12G, 7A).
• Marchessault leads Vegas in goals with 13 through 25 games this season. The centerman has totaled 20 points.
• Former Islander netminder Robin Lehner will be making his return to Long Island, where he played for one season from 2018-19 before signing with Chicago as a free agent in 2019-20 and then getting traded to Vegas. Lehner has made 23 starts this season with the Golden Knights and boasts a 13-9-0 record. The Swedish netminder has a 3.05 GAA and a .905 SV%.
• Alex Pietrangelo has paced Vegas' blueline in scoring with his 21 points (5G, 16A) through 30 games.
• The Golden Knight's 3.50 goals for average per game is ranked the fourth highest in the NHL.
• Forward Nolan Patrick (undisclosed) and defenseman Alec Martinez (upper body) are on injured reserve for the Golden Knights.