NEW YORK ISLANDERS (24-15-4) @ NASHVILLE PREDATORS (19-19-4)
7:00PM CT | BRIDGESTONE ARENA
The New York Islanders look to continue their 2-game winning streak against the Nashville Predators on the start of a 7-game road trip Thursday night. This matchup will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season and the start of a 4-game homestand for the Preds at Bridegstone Arena.
New York, coming off a 9-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, aims for its first win in Bridgestone against Nashville in close to 9 years. The Preds are 8-2-0 in their last ten outings against New York and have held the Isles to 0-4-2 in the last six in Bridgestone Arena.
New York selected David Rittich over Ilya Sorokin, the former Nashville Predator, to sit in net later. Notably this will be his eighth start in the Isles’ last nine games. Nashville will opt to wait till gametime draws closer to make lineup decisions per Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette. Isles Head Coach Patrick Roy has already stated the lineup will be similar toward the end of the game Tuesday as opposed to the start.
Tale of the Tape:
Isles- Preds-
2.91 GF 2.81
2.70 GAA 3.38
15.9% PP 19.8%
81.8% PK 81.4%
51.0% FO 51.9%
Ilya Sorokin, since joining the league in 2020-21, now leads all goaltenders with 26 shutouts with Tuesday’s win. Anthony Duclair had an amazing night too, as he managed to get a natural hat-trick and get two more assists.
Steven Stamkos scored his 600th career goal on New Year’s Eve against Vegas, he is now two goals away from passing Jari Kurri for 21st in all-time goals scored in NHL history. Nic Hauge is two away from playing in his 400th NHL game, while Barry Trotz is three wins away from 100 wins overall as a NHL GM.
New York is much better than prior seasons, but something tells me this strange trend of losing in Nashville continues. Give me the Preds in a close one to win, but the Isles may get a point out of the night.
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