The week ahead for the New York Islanders includes more opportunities to bank points at home as part of a home-heavy October opening to the season. But the opponents, they aren’t so simple.
Tuesday, 8 p.m.: First up is the Colorado Avalanche, who are off to a 5-0 start and have a +13 goal differential. The 2022 Cup champs may be over their hangover and ready to ride, even if captain Gabriel Landeskog remains in dry dock. They’re coming off a 6-4 win at home over the Hurricanes.
Note, this one is a later start, 8:00 p.m. EDT. Also note: Devon Toews has signed for life there, in case no one has mentioned it. He was a good defenseman the Isles felt they needed to deal for cap reasons, FYI.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.: Two days later, Julien Gauthier’s Ottawa Senators come to town, bringing a 3-2 record with them. The Sens host the Sabres on Tuesday night, so both teams will have the same amount of rest, albeit the visitors have nominally international travel thrown in.
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.: The final game of the week is Saturday in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets are not, and have never been, coached by Mike Babcock, why do you ask? The BJ’s are idle this week until playing Thursday in Montreal. They’ll carry a 3-2 record into that meeting.
Injury Front
The main issue of concern, health-wise, right now is Scott Mayfield, who’s missed the past two-plus games, including an ugly run of power play goals allowed against the Devils. He was practicing with the team so it seems a decent bet that he’d be back in this week.