The New York Islanders (23-18-4, 50 points, 9th Eastern Conference) will play the second half of a back on Thursday when playing on the road against the Buffalo Sabres (21-19-3, 45 points, 11th Eastern Conference) after playing at home on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins. The Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Monday and have lost five of the last six. Buffalo lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday for their second straight loss and fifth in the last six. Kyle Palmieri, Adam Pelech and Oliver Wahlstrom are out for New York. Ben Bishop is out for Buffalo
The New York Islanders are allowing an average of just 2.69 goals per game which is 7th best in the NHL. New York is holding opponents to an average of 31.2 shots per game which is 17th. The Islanders penalty kill unit is successfully holding opponents scoreless 82.4% of the time the Islanders are short-handed which is sixth best in the league. New York goalie Ilya Sorokin is 15-14-3 with a 2.30 goes against average and .925 save percentage with three shutouts. Backup Semyon Varlamov is 8-4-1 with a 2.76 goals against average, .913 save percentage and one shutout.
New York is scoring an average of 3.02 goals per game which is 23rd in the NHL. The Islanders are averaging 30.6 shots per game which is 20th. New York's power play scores 18.0% of the time the Islanders have the man advantage which is a disappointing 27th. Brock Nelson and Anders Lee each have 15 goals to lead New York, while Zach Parisi has scored 12. The leader in assists is Matthew Barzal with 30, while Nelson is second with 24. Barzal is the leader in points with 41 and Nelson has 39. New York has scored 23 goals on the power play in 45 games.