Preview: Detroit Red Wings at New York Islanders

The Detroit Red Wings will be looking to add to their modest one game winning streak tonight when they travel to play the New York Islanders.  The Islanders are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and 16-12-4 on home ice this season.

Game time is 7:30 PM ET tonight at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY.

Player Profile: Givani Smith

Givani Smith is making quite a name for himself as an enforcer with the Red Wings.  On Tuesday, Smith got into two fights and helped set the tone as the Red Wings defeated Philadelphia 6-3.

Smith is currently second in the NHL with 108 PM in 46 games.  For his career, Smith has accumulated 138 PM in 83 games.  Statistically this season, Smith has four goals, three assists, seven points, and a -6 rating with 50 shots on goal.

Smith is currently in the first year of his two-year contract extension with Detroit.  He currently has a cap hit of $750,000 and will be a RFA at the end of the 2023 season.

Red Wings Notes

• Detroit are currently 5th in the Atlantic Division with a 26-30-7 record
• The Red Wings are currently 26th in PP (18.1%) and 29th in PK (74.3%)
• Dylan Larkin leads Detroit with 27 goals and 61 points in 58 games
• Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings with 37 assists in 63 games
• Seider leads all Detroit defensemen in scoring with 42 points
• Lucas Raymond remains 2nd in NHL rookie scoring with 48 points in 63 games
• Defenseman Marc Staal leads the Red Wings with a +11 rating
• Goaltender Thomas Greiss is expected to start and has an 8-10-1 record, 3.77 GAA, and an .887 SV%, in 24 games
• Center Chase Pearson has been recalled to Detroit and is expected to play his first NHL game tonight.  The Red Wings have two callups remaining during this regular season

Detroit Projected Lineup

Forwards

Jakub Vrana – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Joe Veleno – Pius Suter – Tyler Bertuzzi

Taro Hirose – Michael Rasmussen – Oskar Sundqvist

Adam Erne – Chase Pearson – Sam Gagner

Defensemen

Jordan Oesterle – Moritz Seider

Marc Staal – Filip Hronek

Jake Walman – Gustav Lindstrom

Goaltenders

Thomas Greiss (starter)

Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: Olli Juolevi

Injured: Robby Fabbri (lower body), Carter Rowney (lower body), Mitchell Stephens (lower body), Danny DeKeyser (upper body), Givani Smith (undisclosed), Filip Zadina (illness)

Islanders Notes

• New York are currently 6th in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-25-9 record
• The Islanders special teams are currently 19th in PP (19.6%) and 6th in PK (83.1%)
• Brock Nelson leads New York with 27 goals and 42 points in 52 games
• Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders with 28 assists in 52 games
• Noah Dobson leads all New York defensemen in scoring with 36 points
• Defenceman Adam Pelech all Islanders players with a +23 rating
• Ilya Sorokin is expected to start and has a 21-13-7 record, 2.29 GAA, a .926 SV% and six SO in 41 games

New York Projected Lineup

Forwards

Anders Lee – Brock Nelson – Anthony Beauvillier

Zach Parise – Mathew Barzal – Oliver Wahlstrom

Josh Bailey – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Kyle Palmieri

Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Kieffer Bellows

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara – Noah Dobson

Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock

Sebastian Aho – Andy Greene

Goaltenders

Ilya Sorokin (starting)

Semyon Varlamov

Scratched: Ross Johnston, Scott Mayfield

Injured: Cal Clutterbuck (undisclosed)