Islanders vs Devils Preview: On the Road Again, Odds, Lineups, and More

The New York Islanders are back on the road tonight, for the first time since March 2nd, as they head to the Prudential Center to take on the New Jersey Devils. Tonight is game two of a three-game set between these sides.

On Thursday night, these sides met at the Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders’ offense was on full display as they skated to a 5-3 victory over the Devils.

That win improved the Isles win streak to seven games and their point streak to ten games. The last time the Isles did not take a point from a game was back on February 20 in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

The New York Islanders look to extend their streak as they start a three-game road trip tonight

After tonight’s game, the Islanders and Devils will meet again less than 24 hours later on Sunday evening (5:00 p.m. est puck drop). Then the Isles will finish this trip in D.C. against the Capitals on Tuesday.

Tale of the Tape

Odds

The Islanders come into today as the favorites, courtesy of the Action network.

The Islanders have looked strong and solid throughout this month, while the Devils have been abysmal over their past ten games (2-7-1 record).

The one interesting thing to note is the Isles have struggled on the road so far this season with a 5-6-2 record and the last time these teams met in New Jersey it was a one-goal game.

Projected Lineups

The Islanders will be forced to make at least one change to tonight’s lineup. Anders Lee left Thursday’s game early with an injury and the Isles captain will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Barry Trotz has not revealed who may come in for Lee and chances are we will see who gets the nod for Lee when the lineups are revealed right before the game.

As of now, Kieffer Bellows looks to be a strong candidate to step in on the third line. Beauvillier would step into Lee’s vacant spot on the top line while Dal Colle moves up to the second line.

The Islanders’ defense is projected to remain the same. Semyon Varlamov is projected to start after Ilya Sorokin started and got the win on Thursday.

The Islanders are projected to the lineup like this:

Beauvillier-Barzal-Eberle
Dal Colle-Nelson-Bailey
Bellows-Pageau-Wahlstrom
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Pulock
Leddy-Mayfield
Greene-Dobson

Varlamov (Sorokin)

The Devils have kept the same lineup for the past couple of games and it does not look like they will make any major changes tonight. Expect to see have the same lineup, with the only change coming in the crease.

Scott Wedgewood looks set to get the start tonight after Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals on 33 shots on Thursday.

The Devils are expected to lineup like this:

Zacha-Hughes-Palmieri
Bratt-Maltsev-Wood
Kuokkanen-Zajac-Sharangovich
Johnsson-McLeod-Bastian

Smith-Severson
Kulikov-Subban
Murray-Vatanen

Wedgewood (Blackwood)

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Where to Catch the Game

TV: MSG, MSG+
Radio: 88.7FM 103.9FM
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*