New York Islanders
Islanders Game 17 Preview at Calgary Flames: Lines, Best Bets, How To Watch
The New York Islanders play the finale of a four-game road trip tonight against the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Here’s what you need to know ahead of time.
Projected Lineup:
Barzal-Horvat-Holmstrom
Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Wahlstrom
Fasching-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Pelech-Dobson
Romanov-Pulock
Aho-Mayfield
Sorokin
Varlamov
Last Time Out:
Not that the bar was all that high, to begin with, but the Islanders (5-6-5) are coming off their best performance of this recent road trip, salvaging a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
As has been the case throughout their losing streak, the Islanders’ penalty kill was their Achilles heel, as all three goals the Kraken scored in regulation came on the man advantage.
Besides that, Semyon Varlamov was solid in goal while the game was at even strength. He finished the night, stopping 29 of 32 shots.
The Islanders’ power play was also productive. Anders Lee ended what was a 10-game pointless streak by scoring his second goal of the season at 3:46 of the first period. In the third, Noah Dobson potted his fifth of the year. It was the first time the Islanders scored multiple power-play goals in back-to-back games since 2014.
Casey Cizikas contributed to the effort as well with his third goal of the season.
The shootout between the Islanders and Kraken was an extended affair, lasting eight rounds until Dobson failed to answer the eventual game-winner from Seattle’s Kailer Yamamoto.
The loss was the Islanders’ eighth in their last nine games, extending their losing streak to seven. In the five games that have lasted beyond regulation this season, the Islanders are winless.
The Opponent:
A win tonight over the Islanders would establish a winning streak for the Calgary Flames, who’ve won their last two contests.
On Thursday, they took down their division rival Vancouver Canucks by a final of 5-2.
Otherwise, though, the Flames have been anything but hot this season, as a 6-8-2 record has tensions in Calgary boiling with trade rumors running rampant.
Elias Lindholm’s name has been at the heart of those rumors while he leads the team with 11 points. Blake Coleman paces the team in goals with four.
Under first-year head coach Ryan Huska, Calgary posts the league’s 26th-ranked power play and fifth-best penalty kill.
Best Bets:
The Islanders continue to be one of the NHL’s worst teams in the third period. You can bet on the Flames to have the advantage in the game’s final 20 minutes by using odds presented by Draft Kings.
How To Watch:
Puck drop between the Islanders and Flames from Scotiabank Saddledome is scheduled for just past 7 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on MSGN2 and streamed on MSG + and ESPN + for out-of-market viewers. 88.7 FM WRHU will produce the radio feed of the game, which can also be heard on 103.9 FM WRCN.