Can the Vegas Golden Knights go a perfect 3-0-0 on this road trip? They have a great chance but face a tough test against the New York Islanders.
It has been a good week or so for the Vegas Golden Knights (15-11-4) who are starting to hot up after winning four straight, including beating the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils on this east coast road trip.
And the Knights will have the opportunity to win five consecutive games by beating the Islanders tonight, who have cooled off somewhat as of late.
After embarking on a stunning 16-game unbeaten streak, the Islanders (18-6-2) have now only won two of their last five outings and have been brought back to reality somewhat.
Despite their recent struggles, however, they still sit second in the Metro Division with 38 points and all teams go through slumps during the course of an 82-game regular season, so they are better to get it out of the way now.
Offensively, the Islanders get the job done by committee and they have nine players in double-digits in points, including seven players who have tallied 14 or more points.
Mat Barzal leads the Isles in points with 24 (11 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games, but the Islanders are more renowned for their solid structure and defensive prowess under Head Coach Barry Trotz.
And a lot of their success can be attributed to their goaltending, with Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Greiss making up one of the best goaltending tandems in the entire National Hockey League.
Varlamov will get the start against the Golden Knights tonight, while Greiss has been exceptional with a 2.18 Goals Against Average and a .931 Save Percentage with a 10-3-0 record.
As a result of their stellar goaltending, the Islanders ranke inside the top three in the NHL in Goals Against Per Game, while they sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to special teams.
In terms of lineup news for tonight, Varlamov will get the start in net as already expected while bottom six forward Cal Clutterbuck is questionable after taking a cross check to the mouth in his last outing.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, this will be their first-ever game at the Nassau Coliseum in franchise history, and it is a barn that is soaked in history.
Malcolm Subban will get his sixth straight start in goal despite Marc-Andre Fleury being back with the team, and Subban is 9-1-0 with a 1.96 Goals Against Average and a .934 Sv% in the month of December in his career.
Jonathan Marchessault recorded a hat trick in the win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and the top six forward unit has delivered for Vegas so far this year.
This Season
This is the first of two meetings between the franchises this year, with the Golden Knights hosting the Islanders at T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 15.
Vegas sweeped the season series against the Isles last year, edging a tightly-contested 3-2 decision at Barclays Center on Dec. 2, before winning 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena eight days later.
Projected Lineups
Let’s look at the projected lineups for both teams tonight, per nhl.com:
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone
William Carrier – Cody Glass – Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek – Chandler Stephenson – Ryan Reaves
Jon Merrill – Deryk Engelland
Malcolm Subban
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Nick Holden
Injured: Cody Eakin (upper body)
New York Islanders
Michael Dal Colle – Mathew Barzal – Josh Bailey
Anders Lee – Derick Brassard – Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier – Brock Nelson – Leo Komarov
Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Noah Dobson
Game Info
Here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: Nassau Coliseum – New York
TV Broadcast: AT&T Sportsnet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
Finishing Off
The Vegas Golden Knights have the chance to end this road trip on a high and finish with a perfect 3-0-0 record.
It will be tough, however, given the caliber of this New York Islanders team, who are 7-2-0 at NYCB Live Nassau Coliseum, including winning six straight.