Battle in Music City: New York Islanders Lineup, Matchups and Game Notes vs. Preds

The New York Islanders will look to make it three wins in a row on Saturday afternoon when they face the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

New York has gone five days between their last game and Saturday’s matinee. They’ll only play two games, including the one against Nashville, over the current 10-day span. The Islanders are currently 3-2-1 through their first six games of the season and have points in four straight games.

The big question on Saturday will be who is in net for the Islanders come 1:30 p.m. Semyon Varlamov returned to practice this week after starting off the year on the IR. Ilya Sorokin has held down the fort through the first six games, but head coach Barry Trotz has been coy about when he would get Varlamov back in the net.

Zach Parise is also a game-time decision for New York. He did practice on Friday after missing Thursday’s skate on Long Island, but it’s unclear if he would play on Saturday. Kieffer Bellows practiced Parise’s spot while he was out.

Nashville enters the game after a break as well, having not played since Tuesday. They defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 that night.

New York Islanders Lineup (Projected)

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Kyle Palmieri

Zach Parise — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Scott Mayfield

Zdeno Chara — Ryan Pulock

Andy Greene — Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Nashville Predators Lineups (Projected)

Eeli Tolvanen — Ryan Johansen — Luke Kunin

Filip Forsberg — Mikael Granlund — Matt Duchene

Yakov Trenin — Colton Sissons — Tanner Jeannot

Nick Cousins — Thomas Novak — Philip Tomasino

Roman Josi — Dante Fabbro

Mattias Ekholm — Alexandre Carrier

Mark Borowiecki — Matt Benning

Juuse Saros

Connor Ingram

Game Notes

Mattias Ekholm owns a six-game point streak vs. the Islanders (two goals, six assists) that dates back to Oct. 28, 2017. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 13 career games against the Islanders. … Nashville owns the third-best power play in the NHL currently, with a 31.8 percent (7-for-22) success rate. Their seven power-play goals are tied for the second-most in the NHL. … Tanner Jeannot (two goals, one assist), Philip Tomasino (2g-1a), Tommy Novak (3a) and Alexander Carrier (3a) are all tied for ninth among NHL rookie skaters in scoring. … Mathew Barzal has three goals for the Islanders through their first six games of the year. … The Islanders are 3-1-1 when scoring the first goal and are 0-1-0 when giving up the opening goal. … The Islanders 3-2-1 record is their best record through six games in the Barry Trotz era.

How to Watch

This afternoon’s game will air MSG+ and MSG GO. On the radio dial the game will air on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.