Two in a Row? New York Islanders Lines, Matchups and Game Notes vs. Columbus

The New York Islanders will look to string together a pair of wins on Thursday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

The Islanders picked up their first win of the year on Tuesday in a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. New York goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 31 stops on the night and Oliver Wahlstrom scored twice in the win.

The Islanders will face their first Metropolitian Division opponent of the year when they face Columbus Thursday evening. They have won the season series in the two previous years and the Islanders are 7-12-1-2 all-time on the road against Columbus. 

Columbus marks another first-time, long-time situation for the Islanders, who haven’t faced their Metro Division foe since Dec. 23, 2019.

The New York Islanders will have Anders Lee back in the lineup, but they could be without Jean-Gabriel Pageau when the puck drops. Head coach Barry Trotz has described Pageau as a game-time decision. His absence could mean Zach Parise could find himself centering the Islanders’ third line.

Trotz didn’t have any concerns about Parise handling the changed role if they needed him to. “He’s a pretty detailed guy, he’s played there before,” Trotz said.

New York Islanders lineup (Projected)

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Kyle Palmieri

Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Josh Bailey

Zach Parise — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

Zdeno Chara — Noah Dobson

Andy Greene — Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Cory Schneider

Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup (Projected)

Patrik Laine — Boone Jenner — Jakub Voracek

Gustav Nyquist — Jack Roslovic — Yegor Chinakhov

Alexandre Texier — Cole Sillinger — Oliver Bjorkstrand

Eric Robinson — Sean Kuraly — Gregory Hofmann

Zach Werenski — Jake Bean

Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Boqvist

Scott Harrington — Andrew Peeke

Elvis Merzlikins

Joonas Korpisalo

Game Notes

Columbus is 5-1-1 over the past seven games vs. the Islanders at Nationwide Arena and has points in each of the last two meetings at home. … Columbus will actually play four of its next five and six of the next nine games against Metropolitan Division opponents. They went  10-7-5 against the Metro in 2019-20. … Oliver Bjorkstrand has recorded four points (two goals, two assists) in three games for Columbus. … Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom recorded his first career two-goal game Tuesday night in Chicago. It was the fourth time in his career that he scored a goal in two consecutive games. … On Tuesday, the Islanders scored two unassisted goals in a period for the first time since February 16, 2018. … The Islanders are 90-10-11 under Barry Trotz when scoring three or more goals.

How to Watch

The game will air locally on MSG+2 and MSG GO. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.