After dropping their last game in overtime, the New York Islanders are looking to get back on track Friday in Dallas.
- New York Islanders 4th in Metro, 18 points (8-5-2)
- Dallas Stars 5th in Central, 16 points (8-7-0)
- New York Islanders @ Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m. ET, MSG+
- Mathew Barzal Leading the Way
- Alan Quine Set to Make Season Debut
The New York Islanders are set to take on the Dallas Stars on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas.
Both teams are off to a start that finds them in the middle of the pack in November. While the Islanders got hot in October, November has been a cooling down period. Their most recent loss came at the hands of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers when McDavid buried a one-time shot in overtime for the Isles to fall by a score of 2-1.
Meanwhile, the Islanders will look to right the ship against a Dallas Stars team that was revamped in the offseason. The additions of Ben Bishop and Alexander Radulov are serious enough to say that Dallas will no longer accept a “middle of the pack” status. But so far, that’s what the Stars have amounted to. Radulov has been a solid addition to their top line, however, picking up 13 points on the team’s top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
As for the Isles, the loss to Edmonton saw both Josh Bailey and John Tavares have their point streaks end. Despite that, rookie forward Mathew Barzal has stepped up as a legitimate second-line center. Many were unsure if he would be able to handle the size, speed and talent of the NHL. So far, so good.
Since reuniting Bailey with Tavares on the top line, Jordan Eberle has moved down and had the pleasure of being on Barzal’s right. Eberle now has six points (five goals) in the last five games. Barzal’s left-side has had a mix of two players with killer wrist shots—Brock Nelson and Andrew Ladd. The two wingers have looked very comfortable playing with the speedy center. Barzal has found his way on the scoresheet in nine of the last 10 games.
As far as changes go fans should expect to see Alan Quine suit up for the Isles for his season debut. Quine’s conditioning stint from his preseason injury ended with Bridgeport’s matinee on Wednesday. He joined the team for practice yesterday and will take the injured Nikolai Kulemin‘s roster spot. Look for him to center the third line.
#Isles Lines at today's practice:
Lee-Tavares-Bailey
Nelson-Barzal-Eberle
Ladd-Quine-Beauvillier
Chimera-Cizikas-Clutterbuck— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 9, 2017
For the starting goaltenders, only time will tell for the Islanders. Thomas Greiss is coming off of strong performances against Edmonton and Colorado, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the German netminder tonight and then have Jaroslav Halak play his former team in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas at American Airlines Center.