Islanders Game 71: Opportunity Knocks; Lines & How to Watch

The New York Islanders (32-28-10) host the Vancouver Canucks (33-26-12) inside UBS Arena on Monday night. The puck drops just after 7:30. With a win, the New York Islanders will take sole ownership of the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference with 76 points.

Final Word on Monday:

On Monday, the Islanders lost in highly controversial fashion after Kyle Palmieri scored what would’ve been a game-winning goal. Instead, a phantom goalie interference call came on the ice and the league refused to overturn the call. The decision drew the ire of the entire Islanders’ dressing room and coaching staff.

This morning, Head Coach Patrick Roy admitted the team did not play well at all in the third period, putting themselves at risk. I asked him this morning if it was hard to deliver that message today after the way the game ended on Tuesday.

Roy replied with a smile, “I think my speech was pretty easy. The hockey gods took care of it last night, isn’t it? Come on, we’re coming to the rink thinking ‘Wow, okay, we got a break [everyone lost].’ So that’s the easiest speech you can have because we just need to focus on what we need to do and we can’t worry about what’s happened. We said what we had to say [on Monday].”

Roy thanking the hockey gods had to do with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers b0th losing last night, further establishing the opportunity ahead of them tonight. It’s simple. Win, and finish the night in a playoff spot.

Notes on Vancouver:

However, the Vancouver Canucks are not going to lie down and die. They’re in a desperate race of their own, but the St. Louis Blues keep on winning. A loss tonight would really damage Vancouver’s hopes. Thatcher Demko starts for the Canucks in his second game back from a 15-game absence.

Elias Pettersson (the forward), Nils Hoglander, and Filip Chytil all remain sidelined for tonight’s game. Aatu Raty, traded for Bo Horvat, will play against the Islanders in UBS Arena for the first time.

Islanders Lines:

Simon Holmstrom – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Anthony Duclair

Pierre Engvall – Casey Cizikas – Hudson Fasching

Maxim Tsyplakov – Kyle MacLean – Marc Gatcomb

Defense & Goalie

Alexander Romanov – Anthony DeAngelo

Adam Pelech – Noah Dobson

Mike Reilly – Ryan Pulock

Ilya Sorokin

Canucks Lines:

Jake DeBrusk – Pius Suter – Brock Boeser

Conor Garland – Teddy Blueger – Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Drew O’Connor – Aatu Raty – Kiefer Sherwood

Dakota Joshua – Nils Aman – Linus Karlsson

Defense & Goalies

Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek

Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers

Derek Forbore – Victor Mancini

Thatcher Demko

How to Watch:

TV: MSGSN, ESPN+ Out of Market

Radio: 88.7 WRHU