Game Preview: Islanders vs Sabres

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8-12-6) VS. BUFFALO SABRES (10-16-5)7:30 P.M. ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+ LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 98.7FM
The New York Islanders are looking forward to getting back into game action as they host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at UBS Arena.

The matchup against the Sabres marks the Islanders' first game since Dec. 19, as their last four games were postponed, due to a cross-border pause, a league-wide extended holiday break and COVID-19 outbreaks. The Islanders were scheduled to travel to Buffalo on Dec. 27 and were slated to host Detroit on Wednesday night, both of which were postponed.
Like many teams, the Islanders' lineup coming out of holiday break will look different, as they've added five players into COVID-19 protocol. Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Zach Parise and Oliver Wahlstrom all entered protocol on Dec. 26, while Brock Nelson was added to the list on Dec. 28.
In their last game on Dec. 19, the Islanders picked up a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Nelson (power play), Kieffer Bellows and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves on 34 shots.
The Sabres played their first game since Dec. 17 as they dropped a 4-3 decision to New Jersey in the first leg of their Tri-State back-to-back set on Wednesday night. Buffalo received a two-goal performance from Tage Thompson, who is the son of the Bridgeport Islanders' Head Coach Brent Thompson. Ethan Prow also found the back of the net. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 38 saves on 42 shots in the loss.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Nelson scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season and his third strike on the power play. The Islanders' centerman has registered 13 points (10G, 3A) through 19 games this season.
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• Bellows buried his second goal of the season against Vegas. The 23-year-old winger also got in his first NHL fight as he dropped the gloves with Golden Knights forward Max Paciorietty.
• Pageau tallied his fifth goal of the season. The centerman has totaled 10 points (5G, 5A) through 25 games.
• Sorokin made his 19th start of the season while his record dropped to 7-7-5. The Russian net minder has a 2.49 GAA, .926 SV% and three shutouts.
• With an assist on Pageau's goal, Anders Lee extended his point streak to three games where he has compiled as many points (1G, 2A) in that span. Through 21 games this season, the Islanders' captain has picked up 10 points (8G, 2A).
• Nelson's power-play goal marked the second-straight game where the Islanders' man advantage converted. It also marked the fifth time in the last seven contests that the extra-man unit has converted. In the NHL, the Islanders' power play ranks 23rd overall at 16.9%.
• Despite giving up a PPG against Vegas and going 0-for-1, the Islanders' penalty kill ranks ninth in the league at 82.4%.
• Kyle Palmieri, who has been sidelined with a lower-body injury that he sustained on Dec. 16 against Boston, has been skating on his own per Trotz.
• While the Islanders are without Nelson, Beauvillier, Clutterbuck, Parise and Wahlstrom for the time being, they are pleased to welcome Mathew Barzal back, who had been placed in protocol on Dec. 14 and missed three games. The team is also expecting to have Matt Martin and Robin Salo exit protocol on Dec. 29. Barzal leads the Islanders with 17 points (5G, 12A) through 23 games. Prior to entering protocol, Barzal had been heating up and was riding a six-game point streak (1G, 8A).
• The Islanders are 7-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• The Islanders have assigned Cole Bardreau, Simon Holmstrom and Grant Hutton to their taxi squad. In total, the team is permitted to have six players on a taxi squad. Individual players can only be on the taxi squad for a maximum of 20 cumulative days.
\Update: Forwards Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck and defenseman Robin Salo are no longer in COVID protocol.*

Video: Practice 12/28: Barry Trotz

SABRES NOTES:

• Thompson scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season for Buffalo. The 24-year-old leads the Sabres in goals and is tied with former Islander Kyle Okposo and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin for the scoring lead with 20 points (12G, 18A). Thompson is the son of Bridgeport Islanders Head Coach Brent Thompson.
• Ethan Prow scored in his NHL debut after being recalled from Buffalo's taxi squad ahead of the game. Prow logged 15:59 of time on ice.
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his sixth start of the season, while his record dropped to 2-3-1. The Finnish netminder has a 1.96 GAA and a .939 SV%.
• Earlier this season, Buffalo acquired Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the team's former captain Jack Eichel. The Sabres also picked up future first and second-round draft picks from Vegas. Against New Jersey, the Sabres activated Tuch off IR - where he was placed as a result of undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason - and Krebs made his Sabres debut. In his Sabres' debut, Tuch recorded an assist on Thompson's first goal and totaled 18:27 TOI. Krebs, Vegas' first-round pick in 2019, played 17:03 minutes and threw one hit.
• The Sabres' power play was 0-for-1 against the Devils while their penalty kill was 1-for-2. In the NHL, Buffalo's power play ranks 18th overall at 18.4% while its penalty kill sits in 16th at 80.0%.
• Dahlin dished out two assists in the loss to New Jersey. Through 31 games this season, the Swedish blueliner has posted 20 points 6G, 14A) which is tied with Okposo and Thompson for the scoring lead.
• Defenseman Collin Miller did not play against New Jersey due to injury.
• Against the Devils, Buffalo was without five forwards Dylan Cozens, Jeff Skinner, Zemgus Girgensons, Vinnie Hinostroza and Mark Jankowski, defenseman Jacob Bryson, and head coach Don Granato because they were placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. Assistant coach Matt Ellis served as the interim coach.
• JJ Peterka and Casey Fitzgerald also made their NHL debuts against the Devils.
• On Dec. 2, the Sabres acquired goaltender Malcolm Subban from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.
• In the offseason, Buffalo acquired defensemen Robert Hagg, Will Butcher, Jimmy Schuldt, forwards Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan MacInnis and goaltenders Craig Anderson, and Aaron Dell. Haag did not play against New Jersey due to a lower-body injury.