The Edmonton Oilers return to Rogers Place after beating the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 7-3 on Saturday night. The Oilers have struggled at home to a 2-5-1 record so far this season but will look to get back on track against the New York Islanders. The Islanders have a similar home record to the Oilers but have found success on the road, with four of their six wins coming outside of Long Island.

1. Kris Knoblauch’s first game in charge as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers was against the New York Islanders back on November 13th, 2023. Mathew Barzal scored 40 seconds into the game, however, the Oilers scored four unanswered goals to beat the Islanders 4-1. Leon Draisaitl led the way with a goal and two assists in that win.

Since then, Knoblauch has coached 84 games for the Oilers and has a record of 53-25-6, which is the fifth-best points percentage during that span. The Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers have better percentages, while the Dallas Stars are tied with the Oilers at .667%.

2. Over the past three seasons, the Oilers and Islanders have met six times, and neither team has lost at home. The last team either of them one a road game against the other was in 2019 when the Oilers won 5-2 in Long Island. James Neal scored four goals that night with the other goal going to Zack Kassian. Mikko Koskinen was between the pipes and secured the victory against his former team with a 25-save performance.

3. The only active Oilers above a point per game against the Islanders since 2020 are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid has seven points in six games and Draisaitl has four goals and nine points in six games. Only Zach Hyman (3) and Draisaitl have more than one goal against New York.

4. It’s unconfirmed who will start between the pipes for the Oilers but, either way, both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have experience against the Islanders. Skinner has played them twice and has a 1-1-0 record with a 0.926SV% along with a 2.04 goals against average. Pickard’s numbers aren’t as glowing as he’s faced them three times with a save percentage of 0.875 and a goals-against average of 3.74.

On the flip side, Ilya Sorokin has great numbers against Edmonton with a 0.908 SV%, a 2.17 GAA and a shutout. Semyon Varlamov has the most experience with 24 games versus the Oilers, after spending time with the Colorado Avalanche. In those 24 games, Varlamov has a 0.902 SV% and a 3.16 GAA. However, since joining the Islanders in 2019, he’s only played them once and he was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots. That was the same game Neal scored four goals.

5. The Islanders have had a good start to November. They grab points in four of five games, winning three of them, with there only loss coming against the New York Rangers. Only the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Florida Panthers have collected more points than them this month.

They’ve struggled on special teams all season ranking 30th on the penalty kill (65.6%) and 28th on the powerplay (13%). Varlamov has been especially poor on the penalty kill with a 0.583SV% in six games, with only Pickard having a worse percentage for a goalie who has played more than five games.

6. While the Oilers’ special teams aren’t where it needs to be, the power play has shown signs of life. In November, their power play is clicking at 25% which ranks 14th in the NHL. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman each have a pair of points during this stretch and McDavid and Draisaitl one each.

Evan Bouchard is struggling to contribute with the man advantage right now, with only one power play point this season. He’s currently on an eight-game streak without a power play point, in comparison, his longest stretch last season was seven. He finished the 2023-24 season with 35 power play points which was 14th in the NHL and third amongst defencemen.

7. The Islanders will be without many key players tomorrow night, including Barzal. The team’s star forward suffered an upper-body injury that’ll keep him out for four-to-six weeks. Adam Pelech and Anthony Duclair are also sidelined.

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