The New York Islanders face the Detroit Red Wings with both teams looking to build off strong starts to the season. The Islanders have a 7-4 record and are on a five-game winning streak that puts them near the top of the Metropolitan Division. The Red Wings meanwhile have a 5-3-2 record and are right in the middle of the Atlantic Division. Both teams are looking to improve in the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Islanders are on a five-game winning streak and have seen their offense stepping up, scoring 3.73 goals per game including 22 goals during the winning streak. Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal have scored 11 goals and 25 assists to lead the top two lines but the entire offense has stepped up. Oliver Wahlstrom, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Anthony Beauvillier have combined for eight goals and 12 assists while defensemen Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock have added four goals and nine assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.45 goals per game including only nine goals in the last five games. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have combined for 1.9 defensive point shares and 34 blocked shots to lead the top pairing but the rest of the unit has also stepped up with Scott Mayfield, Noah Dobson, and Alexander Romanov combin ing for 1.8 defensive point shares to give the Islanders multiple great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Ilya Sorokin is having a great season in the net with a .936 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average on 251 shots.