[6:00 PM] Ducks @ Islanders

Who will WIN this matchup?

Anaheim Ducks (0-2-0)

@ New York Islanders (0-2-0)

 

Starting Goalies:

John Gibson (ANA): Likely

Jaroslav Halak (NYI): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

Anaheim Ducks: (+105)

New York Islanders: (-125)

 

• Two teams seeking their first victory of the season face off Sunday as the New York Islanders take on the Anaheim Ducks in their home opener. New York began the campaign with a road loss to the cross-town Rangers on Thursday and dropped a 2-1 decision at Washington two nights later, while Anaheim has fallen in Dallas and Pittsburgh during its season-opening five-game road trip.

• Anaheim signed Rickard Rakell to a six-year contract extension on Friday, but the 23-year-old center likely won’t be in the lineup for a week or two as he is recovering from abdominal surgery and still needs to obtain a work visa. Rakell scored a career-high 20 goals last season while leading the team in game-winners (seven) and overtime tallies (two). Emerson Etem, who was claimed off waivers from Vancouver on Thursday, hopes to be in the lineup against New York as he was unable to play versus Pittsburgh because his equipment did not arrive.

• Mathew Barzal’s NHL debut on Saturday got off to a rough start, as the 19-year-old committed a slashing penalty on his first shift and was called for interference just three seconds after exiting the penalty box. The 2015 first-round draft pick finished with six penalty minutes and lost four of his six faceoffs while seeing 10 minutes, 10 seconds of ice time. New York swept the two-game series against Anaheim last season and went 12-0-2 at home against Western Conference opponents.

• The Islanders are expected to have G Jaroslav Halak in net after G Thomas Greiss played in Saturday’s loss.

• Anaheim D Simon Despres is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

• New York hasn’t started 0-2-0 since 2006-07, when it dropped its first three contests of the season

StreakSmarts Pick: New York Islanders

Confidence: 5/10

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