UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs Kraken

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (16-16-6) VS SEATTLE KRAKEN (14-27-4)
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The New York Islanders look to go into the All-Star break on a high note, as they take on the Seattle Kraken for the first-time ever on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. Wednesday's game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29), but was postponed due to the blizzard that hit the northeast.
Heading into the break, the Isles are 8-4-0 in their last 12 games and 11-6-1 in their last 18 games. They can move above NHL .500 with a win vs Seattle.

Both teams enter the game on the second night of a back-to-back set, as the are Islanders come in off a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, while the Kraken fell 3-2 to the Boston Bruins.
Anthony Beauvillier (PPG), Oliver Wahlstrom, Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, who improved to NHL .500 in the win, while Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 shots for a win. Joonas Donskoi and Mason Appleton scored for the Kraken in the loss, while Chris Driedger stopped 23-of-26 in the loss.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Brock Nelson extended his point streak to four games (1G, 4A) with an assist on Beauvillier's power-play goal. With his assist, Nelson moved past Frans Nielsen for sole possession of 17th on the Islanders all-time franchise points list.
  - Ryan Pulock returned to the lineup after missing 25 games with a lower-body injury. Pulock, who last played on Nov. 15, was on a pairing with Andy Greene skating 15:08 with three shots on goal. With Pulock back, the Islanders iced the 20 skaters who took the ice on Tuesday for only the seventh time this season.
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  - With Ilya Sorokin recording a 26-save victory against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Semyon Varlamov is likely to start in goal on the second game of a back-to-back set. Varlamov is 3-8-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .915 SV% and has lost his past two outings.
  - Oliver Wahlstrom scored for the second-straight game, netting a second period goal against the Senators. The goal was Wahlstrom's 10th of the season.
  - Mathew Barzal scored his 10th goal of the season on Tuesday, netting his third goal in the past four games. Barzal has a team-leading 28 points (10G, 18A) this season.
  - The Islanders recieved a season-high five points from their blueline on Tuesday night, getting a pair of assists from Scott Mayfield, a goal from Adam Pelech and assists from Zdeno Chara and Noah Dobson.
  - Barry Trotz will tie Joel Quenneville for second on the NHL's all-time games coached list (1,769) on Wednesday.
  - Per Eric Hornick, the Isles are 5-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. Historically under Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends.

Video: NYI vs SEA 02/02: Barry Trotz

KRAKEN NOTES:

• The Kraken are 14-27-4 in their inaugural season, last in the Pacific Division. Seattle is 5-13-2 on the road and 9-14-2 at home. The Kraken are 1-2-0 on their current road trip with an OT win over Pittsburgh and a pair of losses to the Rangers on Sunday and Bruins on Tuesday.
  - Jared McCann leads the team with 18 goals and 28 points this season. Alex Wennberg leads Seattle with 17 assists.
  - Former Islander Jordan Eberle plays the Islanders for the first time since leaving the team in June's Expansion Draft. Eberle recorded 169 points (76G, 93A) in 272 games for the Islanders from 2017-21, as well as 34 points (13G, 21A) in 49 playoff games. Eberle has 25 points (12G, 13A) in 43 games for Seattle, good for second on the team.
  - Seattle went 0-for-6 on the power play against Boston on Tuesday night.
  - Philipp Grubauer is the expected starter on the second leg of the back-to-back. Grubauer is 11-17-4 with a 3.20 GAA and an .885 SV%.
  - The Kraken average the fifth-most goals against per game at 3.51.