NEW YORK ISLANDERS (29-24-7) VS WINNIPEG JETS (35-21-1)
7 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS
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The New York Islanders will fight to hold on to the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference as the Winnipeg Jets come to UBS Arena on Wednesday.
The Islanders are coming off a momentous 4-2 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena, extending their season series lead to 3-0 over the Penguins and snapping their five-game winless streak in Pittsburgh in the process. Brock Nelson (2G), Bo Horvat (1G, 1A) and Anders Lee (GWG) scored for New York, while Ilya Sorokin made 44 saves in the win. Down 2-1 entering the third frame, the Islanders rallied to defeat their Metropolitan Division rivals.
"That's a full team win," Anders Lee said on Monday night. "Really proud of our guys tonight. We pushed through, we took control and [we were] able to come out with a big win."
The Jets are also riding the high of a huge win, beating the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday with the help of a 50-save performance from Connor Hellebuyck to limit the Rangers to a single goal. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Mark Scheifele (2G) and Kyle Connor (1G, 2A) generated the offense for the Jets, while Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal for New York.
The Islanders (65 points) are clinging to the first wild card in the tight Eastern Conference standings, where three points separate the top five teams vying for a wild card spot. On the other hand, the Jets (71 points) are sitting in second place in the Central Division.
The Islanders are 9-3-0 against the Jets in their last 12 matchups, including a current five-game winning streak against Winnipeg.
ISLANDERS NOTES:
- The Islanders pulled off a third-period comeback victory on Monday night against Pittsburgh, taking home a valuable two points with 22 games left in the regular season. Anders Lee scored the game-winner in the third frame and was a key in the Islanders' resiliency that earned them the win."That's what you're going to see the rest of the way here," Lee said. "Say whatever you want about us, we're going to battle and we're going to fight to the end."
- Brock Nelson bookended the scoring on Monday with a first period goal and an empty-net goal in the waning seconds to secure the win for New York. With 57 points on the season, Nelson is two points shy of matching his career-best 59 points in a season, set in 2021-22.
- With a goal and an assist on Monday, Bo Horvat reached the 60-point threshold for the second time in his career. His career-best is set at 61 points, achieved in the 2018-19 season with Vancouver.
- Arnaud Durandeau made his NHL debut on Monday against the Penguins, taking four shots and recording two hits in 14:09 TOI.
"I thought he was good, I liked his speed," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of Durandeau's debut. "[The puck] gets on his stick not by accident. He seems to be in the right spot, so I thought he created a spark and some offense for us."
- Matt Martin collected an assist on Monday night, adding to his 17 points (7G, 10A) on the season. The 33-year-old winger is two points shy of matching his career-best 19 points, set in 2015-16 through 80 games. Martin, who is second in the NHL with 229 hits, has four points (2G, 2A) in his last five games.
- Mat Barzal is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury and is considered week-to-week. Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper-body) is placed on the team's IR list, while Bailey missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
- Anders Lee has averaged over a point-per-game against the Jets, recording 20 points (14G, 6A) in 16 career games played against Winnipeg.
- The Islanders are 4-2-2 since the All-Star break.
- The only other team the Islanders have not faced yet this season is the Los Angeles Kings, who will visit UBS Arena on Friday.
JETS NOTES:
- The Jets were able to snap a brief two-game losing skid with Monday's 4-1 win over Rangers. Winnipeg sits one point behind the Dallas Stars (72 points) for first in the Central, with both teams at 57 games apiece.- The Jets are 3-2-0 since the All-Star break.
- Mark Scheifele added two goals to his team-leading 34 tallies on Monday night - which is his second-best goal total - inching toward his career-high 38 goals in a season (2018-19). The 29-year-old forward is expected to appear in his 700th career NHL game on Wednesday.
- Connor Hellebuyck is sporting a career-best .926 SV%, which is currently tied for third in the NHL among goalies with at least 15 games played. Hellebuyck is 26-16-1 this season with a 2.39 GAA and three shutouts.
- Josh Morrissey is third among all NHL defenseman in points (58) and is tied for third in assists (47). With two points on Monday, the 27-year-old broke Dustin Byfuglien's franchise record for points in a season by a defenseman (56).
- The Jets are among only four teams with a better penalty kill record than the Islanders' fifth-best in the league, as Winnipeg ranks third (84.0%).
- Winnipeg has the fewest number of overtime losses in the NHL, as their only single-point result came in a 2-1 OT loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 30.
- Cole Perfetti missed the Jets' win over the Rangers with an upper-body injury. The 10th overall pick in 2020 has 30 points (8G, 22A) in 51 games and is third in rookie scoring.
Game Preview: Islanders vs Jets | New York Islanders
The Islanders face the Jets for their first meeting of the season [7 p.m., MSGSN]
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