Game Preview: Islanders vs Kings

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (11-7-7) VS LA KINGS (16-4-3)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

**HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE**

The New York Islanders homestand rolls on as they welcome in the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night in the third of a six-game stretch at UBS Arena.

The Islanders put up a season-high seven goals with tallies from Pierre Engvall, Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Palmieri and Mathew Barzal (2G) and Bo Horvat (2G) in a 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves in the win.

The Kings made NHL history on Tuesday night, winning their 11^th straight road game to start a season with a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens, breaking the previous record held by the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres (10-games). Drew Doughty (1G, 1A), Quinton Byfield (2G, 1A) and Trevor Moore provided the offense for Los Angeles while Cam Talbot made 24 saves earned his second shutout of the season and 30^th of his career.

The Islanders were swept in the season series last year, going 0-2-0, and have not beaten the Kings since Feb. 6, 2020, when they won 5-3 at Nassau Coliseum. After Saturday’s contest, the two teams will meet again on Mar. 11 to complete the season series out west.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

- Ilya Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice at the team's morning skate, suggesting he'll start against LA. Sorokin is 0-2-0 lifetime against the Kings with a 3.59 GAA and an .891 SV%.

- Cam Talbot is expected to start for the Kings, per the team's official website. Talbot is 12-4-1 along with an NHL best 1.84 GAA and an NHL second-best .933 SV% (among goalies with at least 10 starts). 

- Adam Pelech (LTIR, upper-body) has resumed skating on his own, per Head Coach Lane Lambert, but is still ineligible to be activated off LTIR until at least Dec. 19.

ISLANDERS NOTES

• The Islanders placed Ryan Pulock on IR on Friday afternoon, as the defenseman suffered a lower-body injury on Thursday night. Pulock, who leads the team with 66 blocks and is second in average ice time with 22:47 per game, is the third Isles defenseman to wind up on IR in recent weeks. Adam Pelech is currently on Long Term Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury, while Sebastian Aho has been on IR, retroactive to Nov. 24.
• With the aforementioned injuries piling up, the Islanders acquired some reinforcements, trading for St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. The Isles sent a seventh-round pick in the 2024 Draft back to the Blues. Bortuzzo is a 13-year NHL veteran, spending the past 10 seasons with the Blues.
• The Islanders jumped back into the playoff picture on Thursday night, sitting third in the Metropolitan Division with 29 points. The Islanders are one of five teams – the Flyers, Hurricanes, Capitals and Devils – separated by just three points in the division.
• Mathew Barzal is on a heater with 11 points (4G, 7A) in his last four games, including two four-point nights. The forward has a team-best 18 assists and 27 points.
• Bo Horvat recorded his third straight multi-point game and has seven this season. The center has 23 points (9G, 14A) in his first full season as an Islander.
• Pierre Engvall scored in three of his last four games and has 13 points (4G, 9A) on the season.
• Mike Reilly has been standing out offensively for the Islanders with three points (1G, 2A) in his last two games. Through his first five games as an Islander, the veteran defenseman has 15 shots on goal.
• The Islanders power play scored in five straight games and is converting at 6-for-15 (40%) over that span. The power play has been strong overall this season, as the Islanders rank sixth in the NHL (26.1%).
• The penalty kill has seen some improvement for the Islanders, going a perfect 8-for-8 over their last four games and 18-for-20 in their last nine contests.

KINGS NOTES

• Los Angeles is vying for their 12^th straight road win to start the season with a trip to Long Island on Saturday night.
• Trevor Moore leads the Kings in goals (13) through 23 games of his fifth season with the team, four goals shy of his career high (17), achieved in 2021-22 in 81 games. The 28-year-old has played a huge role in team success in away games this season, riding an 11-game road point streak (8G, 8A).
• Anze Kopitar is the team leader in points (24) after picking up three assists in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Canadiens. The 36-year-old is on an 11-game road point streak (6G, 9A). Kopitar and Moore are the second pair of teammates in NHL history to reach a road point streak of 11 games to start a season. Kopitar (762 assists) became the Kings’ all-time assists leader on Tuesday in Columbus, passing Marcel Dionne (757).
• Kevin Fiala leads the Kings in assists with 17 in his second year with the team.
• Cam Talbot has a 12-4-1 record this season, along with an NHL best 1.84 GAA and an NHL second-best .933 SV% (among goalies with at least 10 starts). The 36-year-old netminder played for six clubs before he was acquired by the Kings from the Ottawa Senators, inking a one-year deal in the offseason.
• The Kings are averaging a league-best 3.87 GF/GP this season. They’re also a stingy team defensively, owning the league’s lowest GA/GP, allowing 2.22 goals per game.
• The Kings’ penalty kill ranks second in the NHL (88.9%), sitting behind only the Boston Bruins.