North of the Border: New York Islanders Lines, Matchups & Game Notes vs. Jets

The New York Islanders will wrap up their first trip north of the border in over a year on Saturday in Winnipeg. The Islanders have will look to continue their winning ways against a Winnipeg Jets team that has won six of its last seven games and is second in the Central Division.

Not to be outdone, the Islanders have put together a strong stretch as well picking up points in six straight games and going 4-0-2 in that span. Both teams are coming off pretty dominant wins in their last game, with the Islanders defeating Montreal 6-2 and Winnipeg beating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1.

Saturday marks the first time that the New York Islanders have seen Winnipeg since Oct. 19, 2019, when Mathew Barzal scored two goals in a 3-1 victory. It will also serve as a bit of a homecoming for both Islanders head coach Barry Trotz and defenseman Ryan Pulock.

Trotz was born in Winnipeg and Pulock is from Dauphin, Manitoba.

“It’s definitely nice. A lot of family and friends always come down,” Pulock said. “My family never got to see me play live last year because of the pandemic. They’re all pretty excited to be here tonight.”

The Islanders aren’t expected to make any changes to their lineup on Saturday. Trotz, as he often does, played things close to the vest when it came to his goaltending.

When a reporter asked if Semyon Varlamov was expected to play one of the two games New York will this weekend Trotz responded, “yes.” Asked if  Varlamov would start on Saturday, Trotz wouldn’t say.

“You’ll have to come to the game,” Trotz said.

Varlamov returned from injured reserve ahead of the Isles game in Nashville, but has served as the backup to Ilya Sorokin. The younger Russian netminder has started all eight games that the Islanders have played this season and has a 2.23 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

Winnipeg will go with the same lineup it had against Chicago and Eric Comrie will start in net, according to head coach Paul Maurice. He also started on Friday against Chicago.

New York Islanders Lines (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

Winnipeg Jets Lines (Projected)

Kyle Connor — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Evgeny Svechnikov

Andrew Copp — Paul Stastny — Nikolaj Ehlers

Blake Wheeler — Adam Lowry — Mark Scheifele

Jansen Harkins — Dominic Toninato

Josh Morrissey — Nate Schmidt

Brenden Dillon — Neal Pionk

Logan Stanley — Dylan DeMelo

Nathan Beaulieu

Eric Comrie

Mikhail Berdin

Game Notes

Pierre-Luc Dubois is on an eight-game point streak (seven goals, four assists) for Winnipeg. It is the longest in his NHL career and tied for the second-longest active point streak in the NHL. … Kyle Conner’s 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) leads Winnipeg in scoring and is fourth in the NHL. His eight goals also leads Winnipeg in goals scored this season. … Winnipeg’s power play is third in the NHL, operating at a 29 percent success rate. … The New York Islanders have not allowed a first-period goal in six consecutive games and have only allowed three first period goals through eight games, which is a franchise-best. … Thursday’s four-goal night was a career first for Brock Nelson. He currently leads the Islanders in points (eight) and goals (six). … Casey Cizikas and Ryan Pulock are both two games away from playing in their 600th and 300th career NHL games respectively.

How to Watch

Saturday’s game will air on 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.