Game Preview: Islanders vs Jets

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (27-26-7) VS WINNIPEG JETS (42-15-4)

7:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders face a tough test on Tuesday, as they host the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are playing the second night of a back-to-back set, coming off a 4-0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers on Monday night, marking the seventh time they’d been blanked this season.

The loss puts the Isles (61 points) five points back of the Detroit Red Wings (66 points), who hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers (66 points), Ottawa Senators (65 points), Montreal Canadiens (65 points), Boston Bruins (64 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (62 points) sit between the Isles and a playoff spot.

“We know where we are in the standings, but at the same time, this is a group that is resilient and we’re going to continue to work hard and we’re going to continue to push,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “How many times last year did I have to answer that question and we made the playoffs, so we have great fans at home and we’re certainly going to keep battling.”

The Jets are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Mark Scheifele scored the lone goal in the shootout loss, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31-of-32 in regulation.

SEASON SERIES:

The Islanders are 0-1-0 against the Jets this season, falling 4-3 on Feb. 7 in Winnipeg. Simon Holmstrom, Marc Gatcomb and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Isles, whose third period comeback bid – they outshot Winnipeg 19-6 in the final frame – fell short.

The Islanders have won four straight home games against the Jets.

ISLES NOTES:

- The Islanders went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Monday night. Defenseman Scott Mayfield returned to the lineup on Monday after missing three games as a healthy scratch. Forward Max Tsyplakov returned after sitting out one game as a healthy scratch. Anthony Duclair and Pierre Engvall came out of the lineup on Monday.

- Brock Nelson’s five-game point streak came to an end on Monday night. Nelson became the fifth player in team history to play in 900 games with the club – tying Bob Nystrom for fourth all-time in team history.

- The Islanders are 3-5-0 on the back end of back-to-back sets this season.

- Head Coach Patrick Roy did not announce his goaltender for Tuesday night. Ilya Sorokin stopped 22-of-25 shots in Monday’s loss, but he has started on consecutive nights twice this season (Dec. 7 and 8, Feb. 7 and 8).

- Anders Lee has 25 points (17G, 8A) in 21 career games against the Jets.

JETS NOTES:

- The Jets lead the NHL with 42 wins and 88 points, averaging the fewest goals-against per game (2.33) while averaging the third-most goals-per-game (3.49).

- The Jets were recently also the hottest team in the NHL, rattling off 11 straight wins from Jan. 22 to Feb. 26, but have gone winless in their last two games.

- Scheifele leads the Jets with 34 goals and is second on the team with 67 points. Scheifele has points in nine of his last 11 games with 13 points (6G, 7A) over that span.

- Kyle Connor leads the Jets with 43 assists and 74 points. Connor has 14 points (5G, 9A) in the last 11 games.

- The Jets boast a league-leading power play, converting at 30.5% this season.

- Connor Hellebuyck is 36-7-3 this season with a 1.99 GAA, a .927 SV% and a league-leading six shutouts.