Three consecutive victories take the New York Islanders (5th in Metropolitan Division) to the first outing of their upcoming three-date road trip, with the Chicago Blackhawks (3rd in Central) playing host on the back of three straight defeats.
The current winning run of the New York Islanders (5-4-0) expanded to three outings after the team followed up triumphs against the New York Rangers (3-0) and the Carolina Hurricanes (6-2) with a 5-4 victory versus the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on Saturday. Five different players lit the lamp and 12 recorded a point for the Isles, who scored five straight tallies, including four in the third period, after the visitors took a 3-0 lead during the first eight-and-a-half minutes of the middle frame. On the downside, New York’s perfect penalty kill record to start the season (28-for-28) ended with Colorado’s first marker.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 33 pucks on Saturday and has now gone 2-1-0 for the ongoing campaign with a 3.03 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He has picked up a 14-6-4 past record versus Chicago w ith a 2.26 GAA and a .934 save percentage, while Ilya Sorokin (3-3-0 on the year with a 2.21 GAA and a .933 save percentage) is 1-0-0 against the Blackhawks historically with a 1.00 GAA and a .975 save percentage. The Islanders are 4th in most goals scored per game this season (3.67), 6th in least goals conceded on average (2.67), 5th from the bottom in power play (10.7%; 3-for-28) and top of the league in penalty kill (96.7%; 29-for-30).