NY Islanders finish off road trip in Seattle against Lane Lambert's Kraken

The New York Islanders close out their seven-game road trip Wednesday night when they visit the Seattle Kraken.

New York is coming off a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, a win that handed Vancouver its 11th straight loss. Anthony Duclair scored twice in that game, while Ryan Pulock and Tony DeAngelo also found the net. Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 of 32 shots to improve the Islanders’ record to 27-17-5.

Coach Patrick Roy is expected to reinsert rookie winger Max Shabanov into the lineup after he sat out one game as a healthy scratch. Shabanov has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 35 games this season and is projected to skate alongside Casey Cizikas and Max Tsyplakov.

“We want to put Shabby back in the lineup,” Roy said. “Casey’s playing so well and brings so much energy, so I feel like that could be a good fit for the three of them.”

Sorokin is slated to start in goal again. The Islanders’ No. 1 netminder has been sharp throughout the trip and is coming off his latest strong outing in Vancouver.

Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer continues to be a major storyline for New York. He recorded two assists Monday for his seventh multi-point game of the season. Schaefer now has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists), second on the team behind Mathew Barzal, and leads all NHL rookie defensemen in scoring.

The Islanders won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 1-0 shootout victory at UBS Arena on Nov. 23, and are seeking their first road win against Seattle since Feb. 22, 2022.

Seattle enters the matchup on a four-game winless streak after a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Former Islander Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken with 31 points, while Matty Beniers also has 31. Vince Dunn anchors the blue line and is one goal away from becoming the first Seattle defenseman to reach 50 career goals. The Kraken’s power play ranks ninth in the NHL at 23.4 percent, while their penalty kill sits 26th at 71.9 percent.