PREVIEW: Red Wings host Islanders for Hockey Fights Cancer Game, presented by Comerica, on Thursday
New York improved to 5-1-0 on its current seven-game road trek with a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Tuesday. Overall, the Islanders are 7-4-1 away from UBS Arena.
Owning a team-high 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) is Bo Horvat, who has picked up six on two goals and four helpers in his last five contests. Kyle Palmieri ranks second on the club in scoring with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists), while rookie Matthew Schaefer (seven goals, eight assists) and Mathew Barzal (five goals, 10 assists) are tied for third with 15 points apiece.
“He’s a pretty dynamic player,” McLellan said about Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. “They’re pretty fortunate to have him as a club, but as a community, to be able to watch him play night in and night out for a lot of years,” McLellan said.
Netminder Ilya Sorokin has a 6-5-2 record, 2.91 goals-against average, .898 save percentage and one shutout in 13 games. He backed up David Rittich in the most recent outing between these Eastern Conference foes on Oct. 23, when Detroit dropped a 7-2 decision on Long Island.
“They’re a stingy defensive team, but they’re also a sneaky offensive team,” McLellan said about the Islanders. “When I look at the game we played in their building, it led to us coming back from that road trip and spending a good chunk of time – two good practices – working on sort-outs coming into our end because they drilled us in that area. Their entries are as good as anybody in the League.”
