Game Preview: NY Islanders vs LA Kings

The NY Islanders are set to host the LA Kings tonight at UBS Arena. The Kings have won their last 11 road games this season, setting the NHL record for most road wins to start a season. A few changes are being made to the Islanders' lineup after placing defenseman Ryan Pulock on IR due to a lower-body injury. The Islanders acquired veteran defenseman Robert Burtuzzo from the St. Louis Blues yesterday afternoon, with Pulock being the third injury to an Islanders blueliner this month.

LAST GAME

The Islanders held on to a third-period lead and doubled it against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in a 7-3 win over their division rivals. Bo Horvat scored twice in 20 seconds and recorded an assist, and linemate Mat Barzal also scored twice and recorded two assists for a successful night. Semyon Varlamov stopped 32 of 35 shots to hold onto the win. Despite going down 2-1 in the second period, the Islanders were able to bounce back and score three straight before the end of the period. Blue Jackets star rookie Adam Fantilli scored twice for his 5th and 6th of the season. Special teams have been incredibly successful for the Islanders, going 1-2 on the powerplay and killing their only penalty. The powerplay, which was painful to watch last season and has turned itself around this season, is ranked 6th in the league at 26.1%.

The Kings are coming into Long Island after a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Quinton Byfield scored twice and recorded an assist on the night.

HISTORICAL MATCHUP

The Islanders are 0-4-0 in their last four games against, struggling against the West Coast foe. Ilya Sorokin, who's expected to start, is 0-2 in his career against the Kings.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Horvat has four goals in his last five games and has been successful in the past against the Kings, registering 17 points in 29 games. Top linemate Barzal has also had a stellar last five games and was named the NHL's second star last week. Barzal has 11 points (4G, 7A) in his last five games and has been finding a rhythm with Anders Lee on the right of that top line. Keep an eye out for Bortuzzo, who's set to start his Islanders career on the second pair with Samuel Bolduc. Bortuzzo may not be the fastest defenseman on the team - but is a strong, physical player, and the Islanders can hopefully benefit from his veteran presence, especially on a struggling penalty kill.

Trever Moore has four goals in his last five games for the Kings. Byfield is coming off a breakout game that has been long-awaited this season. He's looking to continue his hot streak against the Islanders tonight. Cam Talbot is set to make the start against the Islanders. He's been great in net for the Kings so far this season with a goals-against average of 1.84 and a .933 save percentage and is 12-2-0 to start the season.

PROJECTED LINEUP

NYI

Anders Lee- Bo Horvat- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall- Brock Nelson- Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom- JG Pageau- Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching- Casy Cizikas- Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov- Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc- Robert Bortuzzo
Mike Reilly- Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

LAK

Quinton Byfield- Anze Kopitar- Andrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala- Phillip Danault- Trever Moore
Carl Grundstrom- Pierre Luc-Dubois- Alex Laferriere
Trevor Lewis- Blake Lizotte- Arthur Kaliyev

Mikey Anderson- Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov- Matt Roy
Andreas Englund- Jordan Spence

Cam Talbot
Phoenix Copley