King of the Castle, Gm 48: Islanders vs. Kings, Game Notes, Lines & More

The New York Islanders (19-20-8), who are on the first of a back-to-back, face the Los Angeles Kings (28-17-7) who are on the second of a back-to-back Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. Puck drop is slated for 10:30 PM ET, 7:30 local time (PT).

The New York Islanders registered a season-high 47 shots in their 4-3 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

“I mean, we’re happy with the way we played, but not happy with the result,” Matt Martin said following morning skate. “You know, unfortunately, we’re in a position where we need the results. So now, we just got to come with the same mindset like we had against San Jose every night, and I think more often than not, we will come away with a ‘W’.”

Following the loss, New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said that that might have been the best game of the season for the Islanders but that “the hockey gods did not bless us tonight.”

The Islanders did not run lines at Saturday’s morning skate, but Trotz stated that the lineup would be the same from Thursday. That means Josh Bailey will be a healthy scratch for a second straight contest, with Greene being the other.

Semyon Varlamov (3-9-1, 2.57 GAA, .916 SV%), who has not started a game since Feb. 12, will get the start for the New York Islanders on Saturday. Trotz had ridden Ilya Sorokin and had planned to start Varlamov against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 12, but a positive COVID-19 test following warmups forced him to miss that game and the next two.

Varlamov served as Sorokin’s backup for Tuesday’s contest against the Seattle Kraken and Thursday against San Jose.

On Friday, Jonathan Quick got the start for the Los Angeles Kings in their 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Cal Peterson is expected to start for LA Saturday.

The Kings are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINEUP (PROJECTED)

Lee–Barzal–Palmieri

Bellows–Nelson–Beauvillier

Parise–Pageau–Wahlstrom

Martin–Cizikas–Clutterbuck

Pelech–Mayfield

Chara–Dobson

Aho–Pulock

Varlamov

Sorokin

LOS ANGELES KINGS LINEUP (PROJECTED)

Iafallo–Kopitar–Kempe

Moore–Danault–Arvidsson

Grundstrom–Byfield–Brown

Lemieux–Lizotte–Kaliyev

Anderson–Doughty

Maatta–Roy

Bjornfot–Durzi

Peterson

Quick

GAME NOTES

The New York Islanders visit the Los Angeles Kings tonight, the second of two matchups between the teams this season. The last time these teams met was Jan. 27, at UBS Arena.

Tonight is the third in a  five-game road trip for the Islanders, who have collected points in their last four games.

The last time they earned points in four straight was January  13.

This evening, the Islanders begin their second back-to-back series this month, while the Kings play the back-end after they won against Anaheim last night.

The last time the Islanders visited the Kings was Nov. 27, 2019.

BETTING CORNER

The New York Islanders are the road underdogs against the Los Angeles Kings at +105. They are -240 on the reverse puck line. The Kings come in at -125 and +195 on the puck line.

The over for this game is set at 5.5, with the over at +100 and the under at -120. These lines are subject to change.

HOW TO WATCH:

Saturday’s contest will be available on MSG+. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.