Game Preview: Isles vs Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-20-14) VS BOSTON BRUINS (35-12-14)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders are returning home with the momentum of a two-game winning streak, looking for their third victory in a row when they take on the Boston Bruins Saturday night at UBS Arena. 

After a win in Dallas on Monday, The Islanders swept a two-game road trip by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday night. The win also prevented the Red Wings from extending their win streak to seven games. Brock Nelson (2G), Mathew Barzal (GWG), Casey Cizikas and Pierre Engvall (ENG) led the charge offensively for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves in the win. The Islanders managed to pull out the victory and stay the course, despite the Wings coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 Islander leads. 

“Tonight I was very impressed with our group,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said after the after the win. “Even when [the Red Wings] made it a 2-1 game, we didn’t change our game. When they scored early in the third period, we didn’t change our game. We took a 3-2 lead, didn’t change our game. I think the dressing room really made a commitment to shut this down and turn it around.”

The two points allowed the Islanders (64 points) to pull closer to a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Isles narrowed the gap to eight points between themselves and the Red Wings (72 points), who occupy the first wild card spot. New York is six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who picked up a point in a 3-2 OT loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. The Isles have three games in-hand over Tampa Bay. The Washington Capitals (65 points) defeated the Philadelphia Flyers (69 points) by a score of 5-2 on Friday night. As a result, Caps moved one point ahead of the Islanders in the standings, while the Flyers remain five points ahead of the Islanders, though New York has one game in-hand.

The Boston Bruins won 5-4 over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, pulling off the win after letting a 3-0 lead slip away. Morgan Geekie recorded a hat trick in the win, while Jesper Boqvist and Mason Lohrei (GWG) scored for the Bruins.

The Islanders trail the season series 0-1-1 after a 5-2 loss on Nov. 9 and a 5-4 shootout defeat on Dec. 15. The Islanders are 6-1-1 in their last eight games on home ice against Boston.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

- Ilya Sorokin is the expected starter for the Isles. Sorokin has won two straight starts, stopping 52 of 57 shots over that span. Sorokin is 0-1-1 against Boston this season, stopping 60 of 68 shots over the two games.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The Islanders hit the ice for practice on Friday morning following their win over the Detroit Red Wings. Ilya Sorokin and Ryan Pulock took a rest day.

- Scott Mayfield (day to day, lower-body) missed three games and did not join the team for practice on Friday and has not resumed skating, per Roy. Mayfield has five points (5A) through 41 contests this season, along with 106 blocked shots and 70 hits.

- Brock Nelson recorded his fifth multi-goal of the season on Thursday and first since Jan. 9. Nelson leads the team in goals (27) and has 48 points through 59 games this season.

- Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat are tied for the team lead in game-winning goals (4). Barzal recorded the game-deciding goal in Thursday’s 5-3 win, while Horvat buried the overtime winner in Tuesday’s win over the Dallas Stars.

- Pierre Engvall potted the Islanders’ first empty net goal of the season on Thursday night against the Red Wings. The Swedish forward created a two-game point streak (1G, 1A) and has six shots over that span. Roy is pleased with Engvall’s performance as of late, especially on the revamped line with Simon Holmstrom and Casey Cizikas.

"I'm starting to see leadership in him," Roy said. "I think he's having a natural connection with Simon [Holmstrom] and I love the leadership that he's taking on, I'm very happy with him. His puck protection is good, and he's skating well and puts pucks at the net. That empty net goal was well deserved."

- The Islanders scored the opening game in both games of their winning two-game road trip after going six straight allowing the game’s first goal. The Islanders are 18-3-9 this season when scoring the opening goal and 5-0-0 under Roy.

BRUINS NOTES

- With a record of 35-12-14, Boston is tied with the Florida Panthers for the top spot in both the Atlantic Division and the NHL with 84 points.

- The Bruins went 4-3-5 in the month of February in an uncharacteristic stretch for the team. Their power play converted at 13.5% over that span but overall, the Bruins own the eighth best power play (23.5%) on the season. Their 5-4 win over the Knights ended a three-game winless skid (0-0-3) for the Bruins.

- The Bruins took seven of their last nine contests past regulation, matching the Islanders’ total 22 games played this season in the overtime or shootout. Both teams have a record of 8-14 in games decided beyond 60 minutes. The NHL record for overtime games is 30, recorded by the 2003-04 Bruins.

- Hampus Lindholm (has been sidelined since Feb. 19 with an undisclosed injury and his status against the Islanders on Saturday is unknown. The 30-year-old defenseman has 19 points (1G, 18A) through 56 games this season.

- Marc McLaughlin was recalled on an emergency basis by the Bruins on Friday. The 24-year-old center has not appeared in the NHL this season but has three goals in 13 career games with the Bruins.

- David Pastrnak leads the team with 87 points (38G, 49A) and ranks fourth in the NHL in scoring in his 10th season with Boston.

- Jesper Boqvist is heating up for the Bruins with seven points (3G, 4A) in his last seven outings. The center has 10 points (4G, 6A) through 26 games this season.