Islanders Game 37 Preview at Colorado Avalanche: Lines, Notes & How To Watch

The New York Islanders (17-10-9) kick-off 2024 tonight at Ball Arena in Denver, where they take on the Colorado Avalanche (23-11-3). Here’s everything you need to know before puck drop.

Tough Road Ahead:

Tonight’s game in Colorado is the start of a stretch that can be labeled somewhere in the range of challenging and harrowing.

The Islanders will play eight of their 13 games in January on the road. Their first six of the month come against postseason-caliber opponents. Not to mention, they won’t play a single team from within their division.

All that puts the Islanders’ place in the standings at risk and could be a recipe for disaster.

Islanders Want Winter Classic:

Once again, the annual Winter Classic was a raving success this year as it emanated from T-Mobile Park in Seattle on New Year’s Day.

The Islanders have long wanted to host a Winter Classic and believe they now have the means to do so, along with other marquee NHL events, at Belmont Park.

Projected Lineup:

Lee-Horvat-Barzal

Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri

Holmstrom-Pageau-Gauthier

Fasching-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Romanov-Dobson

Reilly-Mayfield

Bolduc-Bortuzzo

Varlamov

Sorokin

Last Time Out:

The Islanders wanted to go into the New Year with a win and a little bit of revenge as they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. Instead, they lost to their division rival for the second time in less than a week.

Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic shut down the Islanders at every turn. The only chance that got by him was Samuel Bolduc’s first goal of the season late in the third period.

That made things somewhat interesting until Lars Eller scored his of the night by putting the puck into an empty Islanders’ net to seal the 3-1 final.

The Opponent:

Unsurprisingly, the Colorado Avalanche are among the best teams in the entire NHL. Just one year removed from hoisting the Stanley Cup, Colorado appears certain to make another run at a championship.

Nathan MacKinnon is second in the league with 58 points. In December alone, he racked up 29 points and was named the NHL’s First Star of the Month. He and Mikko Rantanen share the team lead in goals with 19.

Offseason acquisition Ross Colton is expected to return from a brief absence tonight against the Islanders.

Between the posts, the Avalanche will turn to Alexander Georgiev. In 29 starts, Georgiev boasts a .900 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA.

Colorado’s power play is operating at a 23.9 percent clip, good enough for eighth in the league. Their penalty kill is seventh.

The Islanders last faced the Avalanche back on Oct. 24, falling in a 7-4 effort at UBS Arena.

For more Avalanche coverage, follow Evan Rawal at Colorado Hockey Now. 

Key Stats:

• The Avalanche has scored four goals or more in three of their last five games.
• The Islanders have not scored a power-play goal in their last five games.
• Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri are both riding eight-game goal-less streaks.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Islanders and Avalanche from Ball Arena is scheduled for just past 9 p.m. EST. The game is available to watch on MSGSN and can be streamed on MSG Plus or ESPN Plus for out-of-market viewers. 88.7 FM WRHU will produce the radio feed of the game, which can also be heard on 1050 AM ESPN or 103.9 FM WRCN.

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