New York Islanders

Islanders Game 31 Preview vs. Edmonton Oilers: Lines & How To Watch

Published

4 months ago

December 19, 2023

The New York Islanders play their final home game before the NHL’s Christmas break when they welcome the Edmonton Oilers to UBS Arena tonight. Here’s what you need to know before puck drop.

Projected Lineup:

Lee-Horvat-Barzal

Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri

Holmstrom-Pageau-Gauthier

Fasching-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Romanov-Dobson

Bolduc-Bortuzzo

Reilly-Aho

Sorokin

Varlamov

Last Time Out:

The Islanders saw their eight-game point streak come to an end in Montreal on Saturday night as they fell to the Canadiens 5-3 at Bell Center. New York almost completed a four-goal comeback in the third period but couldn’t make up for their sleepy performance in the game’s first 40 minutes.

Instant Islanders: Takeaways From 5-3 Loss To Canadiens

The Opponent:

The Edmonton Oilers haven’t changed all that much on paper since the Islanders lost to them a little over a month ago, but their spirits certainly have.

The Oilers are 10-5-0 since hiring Chris Knonblauch as their new head coach on Nov. 12 and are slowly pulling themselves out of the basement of the Western Conference.

Connor McDavid is beginning to pick up the pace after a slow start to the season. He leads the Oilers with 41 points, while Zach Hyman is at the front of the pack with 18 goals.

Stuart Skinner is projected to make his 22nd start of the year in goal for the Oilers tonight. The netminder enters play with a 3.04 GAA and a .855 save percentage.

Edmonton carries the league’s fourth-best power play, operating at a 28.4% clip, and the 20th ranked penalty kill. They are 4-8-0 when playing away from home.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Islanders and Oilers from UBS Arena is scheduled for just past 7:30 p.m. EST. The game is only available to watch on ESPN + or Hulu. 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.