Game Preview: NY Islanders vs Winnipeg Jets

The NY Islanders will travel back home to play the Winnipeg Jets at UBS Arena on Wednesday night. The Islanders come into this matchup with a record of 29-24-7 and currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference while the Jets have the third most points in the Western Conference with a record of 35-21-1.

Last Game

After brutal news surfaced of Mat Barzal being considered week-to-week with the rest of his season in doubt due to a lower-body injury, the Isles were able to scrap out a 4-2 win on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brock Nelson scored the Islanders' first of the night on a 2-on-1 to tie the game in the second period and later added the empty netter. Bo Horvat had one goal and one assist, getting the secondary assist to the game-winner from Anders Lee. Ilya Sorokin was sensational in the win, stopping 44 of the 46 shots he faced, including a fantastic stick save robbing Kris Letang with an open net. Immediately after this save was made, the intensity picked up with all ten skaters on the ice receiving a penalty for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct after the whistle, which set an aggressive tone for the rest of the game.

Winnipeg is coming off a 4-1 win at MSG against the New York Rangers. Connor Hellebuyck had a monster performance of his own in goal, making 50 saves on 51 shots. Mark Scheifele scored his 33rd and 34th goals of the season in the win, with Kyle Connor assisting on both along with adding a goal. Mason Appleton had two assists and Josh Morrissey also added two assists to his breakout season total of 58 points.

Players to Watch

Winnipeg has gotten production scoring-wise from plenty of players all season long, but one key addition off injured reserve is Nikolaj Ehlers. The Danish winger played the first four games of the season before suffering an undisclosed injury that put him on IR. Ehlers has played the Jets' last 17 games and has 14 points since his return to the lineup, and is a point-per-game player throughout the entire season. The skillset Ehlers possesses is similar to what the Islanders lost in Barzal: fast, dynamic, a great passer, and also adds a hard shot, so he is certainly a player the Islanders need to focus on tonight.

Noah Dobson has quietly been having a productive stretch lately. The former 2018 12th overall draft pick by the Islanders has eight points in his last eight games, with a couple of those being multi-point outings against Montreal and Vancouver. He didn't have a point on Monday night against Pittsburgh, but he did have three hits and was a plus-two on the night. Dobson has 11 goals and 24 assists in 56 games this season and is on pace for 62 points in his fourth NHL season. He has been the most productive offensive defenseman for a New York team that has gotten a lot of scoring from the blue line and will look to keep his pace going against Winnipeg.

Historical Matchup

The Islanders have won their last five games against the Jets dating back to the 2018-19 season. In their most recent meeting saw them win 5-2 at UBS Arena last March. Josh Bailey scored two goals in the win, with J.G. Pageau, Anthony Beauvillier, and Nelson all having two-point nights. The first matchup last season was a gritty 2-0 win in Canada Life Center with goals from Lee and Nelson. Sorokin made 24 saves in the shutout effort.

Projected Lines

Islanders

Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Matt Martin
Zach Parise-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Arnaud Durandeau-Casey Cizikas-Hudson Fasching
Ross Johnston-Otto Koivula-Simon Holmstrom

Adam Pelech-Scott Mayfield
Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Jets

Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Mason Appleton
Nikolaj Ehlers-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Blake Wheeler
Morgan Barron-Adam Lowry-Sam Gagner
Saku Maenalanen-Kevin Stenlund-Karson Kuhlman

Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon-Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley-Nate Schmidt

Connor Hellebuyck
David Rittich

*Lines via Daily Faceoff