The New York Islanders return to UBS Arena on Saturday with a problem they did not have a day earlier: Ryan Pulock will not play against the Edmonton Oilers because of an upper-body injury. The game starts at 2 p.m., and it comes less than 48 hours after the Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime.
That win was powered by Matthew Schaefer, who scored 33 seconds into the extra period and finished with three points. Bo Horvat scored on the power play, Adam Pelech added his first goal of the season, and Schaefer’s six-game point streak has reached eight points. The Islanders now sit at 7-4-2 and have earned at least one point in seven of their last eight games, keeping them tied in points with the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division.
The Oilers bring a different kind of pressure. They arrive at 9-2-2 and lead the Pacific Division, with Connor McDavid driving the attack at a rate few teams can match. McDavid leads the NHL with 36 points in 13 games, has 28 assists and has not gone a game without one this season. Leon Draisaitl is tied for second in the league with 24 points and leads the NHL with six power play goals, giving Edmonton two scorers who can turn a game quickly.
Pulock’s absence sharpens the challenge for the Islanders because the matchup now asks their defense to absorb one of the league’s most dangerous offenses without one of its regular pieces. Isaiah George was recalled from Hamilton in a corresponding move, but he will not play Saturday, leaving the Islanders to manage the night without the blueliner they lost in Thursday’s win. The homecoming also comes with a festive edge: fans are being encouraged to wear costumes for the Halloween Celebration, with trick-or-treating at The Park on the Plaza, a maze at Belmont Park Village and a scavenger hunt at the arena.
It is the Islanders’ first matinee game of the season at UBS Arena, and it lands as the second of three straight games against teams in first place in their divisions. For a club trying to build on its early momentum, Saturday is less about the costumes than the test in front of it.
