Anaheim Ducks — New York Islanders 2:6: result, scoring and stats

The Anaheim Ducks bring the Western Conference’s most potent power play and a point to prove on home ice, while the New York Islanders arrive at Honda Center having finally snapped a four-game winless skid and hoping to build something sustainable on the California swing. It is a meeting of contrasting styles: Anaheim’s high-octane attack against an Islanders side that leans heavily on Ilya Sorokin and a suddenly healthier blue line.

Anaheim’s scoring surge meets a goaltending question

The Ducks are 10-8-1 overall but just 3-5-1 at home, a split that underlines their inconsistency in their own building. Their five-game winning streak earlier in the month, powered by Cutter Gauthier’s remarkable run of 11 goals in five games, showed what this group can do when the transition game clicks. Leo Carlsson has been the engine, with six goals and 20 assists, and Anaheim lead the Western Conference with 25 power-play goals. The concern is in the crease: Lukas Dostal has struggled to a .866 save percentage and a 3.76 goals-against average, and Laurent Brossoit, who won four of his first five starts, was reassigned to the AHL, leaving Dostal and Ville Husso to share the workload.

The Islanders find a foothold

New York snapped an 0-2-2 skid with a 5-2 win over Los Angeles, a game in which five different players scored and the defense blocked a season-high 23 shots. Bo Horvat leads the team with eight goals and ten assists, while Victor Eklund has six goals and two assists over his last ten games. The victory was a reminder of what the Islanders can be when they defend with structure and get timely saves. Sorokin has been outstanding over his last three starts, and his .909 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average are a significant upgrade on Anaheim’s current numbers. The challenge for New York is consistency: they have not won consecutive games since late October, and their road record of 3-3-2 reflects a team still searching for an identity under head coach Peter DeBoer.

Special teams could tilt the evening

Anaheim’s power play operates at 36.1 percent, an elite figure that gives them a chance to change a game in a single shift. New York’s penalty kill, at 85.7 percent, is built to withstand exactly that kind of pressure. Conversely, the Islanders’ own power play sits at just 14.6 percent, while the Ducks’ penalty kill is a vulnerable 73.5 percent. If New York can generate opportunities with the man advantage and avoid taking the undisciplined penalties that have plagued them — they average 4.7 penalties per game — they can keep the game at five-on-five, where their defensive structure has been more reliable.

The health picture and the first meeting

The Ducks are without A.J. Greer, Ryan Poehling and Ian Moore, all out with upper- or lower-body injuries. Troy Terry, who returned from hip surgery earlier in the week, is still working his way back to full minutes and may not be at his sharpest. For New York, Mathew Barzal remains day to day with a knee issue and has yet to make his season debut, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau is also day to day with a lower-body concern. Ryan Pulock and Matias Maccelli returned to the lineup against Los Angeles, giving the Islanders their healthiest blue line in weeks. The first meeting between these clubs went New York’s way, a 3-2 win at UBS Arena on Oct. 20 in which the Islanders scored three first-period goals and held off a late Anaheim push.

The chances and the expected shape

The chances are rated about even, with Anaheim at 40 percent and New York at 38 percent, while a level score after regulation time carries a 22 percent chance and would send the game to overtime or a shootout. The most likely score after sixty minutes is 3-3. The Ducks will look to impose their pace early and use the power play to build a lead, while the Islanders will try to slow the game down, protect the middle of the ice and let Sorokin be the difference. Anaheim’s home record and defensive frailties make this a difficult game to control, and New York’s recent win offers a template for how to compete on the road. A tight, back-and-forth contest seems the natural expectation, with the team that manages its discipline and gets the better goaltending likely to take the extra point.

Preview prepared from the match data · 14 November