Islanders Battle Flames in Game 4 of Their Road Trip

The Calgary Flames are in fourth place in the National Hockey League’s Pacific Division. The Flames are tied in points with the Vancouver Canacks, though Vancouver has played one fewer game. The Islanders will play them at 10 p.m. Eastern in a late game in Calgary on November 19. Calgary has scored 49 goals and allowed 51, so they are just slightly below par. Interestingly, Calgary is led in scoring by a defenseman with only eleven points. The scoring for the Calgary Flames is balanced, with eleven players having at least seven points.

The Islanders scored points in five games in a row before losing the last game in Seattle 3-2. The Islanders are still missing two of their biggest stars due to injury, Mat Barzal and Anthony DuClair. They are also missing three of their top six defensemen. With all these injuries, the Islanders need to keep getting points in each game, which is why the last game was so disappointing.

Flames: Get at Least a Point

The Calgary Flames are one of six Canadian teams in the National Hockey League. Oddly, there are so few Canadian teams in the league when there are so many Canadian players in the league. The Islanders need not have their customary third-period collapse in this game. They must keep progressing through the schedule until their injured players return. The Islanders have suffered extreme injuries, but in a silver lining, they have developed great depth, which will serve them well come spring. The Islanders are in game four of five in this marathon road trip. They just need to hang in there.

Getting a point is also important for the Islanders to keep pace in the Metropolitan Division. The other teams in this difficult division will not wait for the injured Islanders. In the Eastern Conference, the Islanders are currently tied for ninth place. Losing the game in Seattle cost the Islanders a place in the conference standings and knocked them out of a playoff spot. The Islanders need to start a new point-scoring streak against the Flames.

Flames Roster

The Calgary are 9-6-3 and are a slightly better team than the Islanders. The Flames won their last game against the Nashville Predators but lost the game before that to the Vancouver Canucks, so they are hot and cold. Calgary has Jonathan Huberdeau, Connor Zary, and Yegor Sharangovich on the first line. Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund, and Matt Coronato are on the second line for the Flames. The third line is Martin Pospisil, Nazem Kadri, and Andrei Kuzmenko. The fourth line has Ryan Lomberg, Justin Kirkland, and Kevin Rooney. 

The defensive pairings for the Flames are led by Kevin Bahl and Rasmus Andersson. MacKenzie Weegar and Daniil Miromanov form the second defensive pairing. And Jake Bean pairs with Brayden Pachalon on the third defensive unit. In goal, the Flames have Dustin Wolf and Daniel Vladar. Both goaltenders have played nine games for Calgary. Wolf played in the last game against Nashville. The Calgary Flames rotate their goalies, so it is reasonable to expect Daniel Vladar to start in the net ain’t the Islanders.

Conclusion

The tough Islanders would do well to win against the Flames in Calgary. That would be a good win and pair nicely with their success on this road trip, where they already have five points. The New York Islanders continue their West Coast trip after this game. The Islanders’ next game is in Detroit against the Red Wings on November 21, another winnable game. A nine-point road trip would be excellent. The Islanders come home, finally, to host the St. Louis Blues on November 23. They then play host to both Detroit and Boston.