Early look The full preview opens on Monday 4 January, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

New York Islanders at Calgary Flames: game preview

Puck drop7 Jan · 8:00 PM ET
VenueScotiabank Saddledome
All-time meetings83 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Fourteen points apart last season

NY Islanders finished last season 19th in the league on 91 points. Calgary finished 29th on 77.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 84

Across 83 completed games, Calgary lead the head-to-head 46-29-8.

All-time record46-29-8Calgary's record in the series
Meetings played83This is number 84
2025-26 series—
Last 54-1Calgary
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
14 Mar 2026CGY 2 – NYI 3——NYI
17 Jan 2026NYI 2 – CGY 4——CGY
22 Mar 2025CGY 4 – NYI 3 OT——CGY
19 Nov 2024NYI 1 – CGY 2 SO——CGY
10 Feb 2024CGY 5 – NYI 2——CGY
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateNY IslandersCalgary
17 Jan 202626-17-5 · 57 pts11th21-23-4 · 46 pts29th
14 Mar 202638-24-5 · 81 pts9th26-33-7 · 59 pts31st

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 17 Jan 2026, NY Islanders were 11th in the league and Calgary 29th. By 14 Mar 2026 it was 9th and 31st.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

NY Islanders out-attempted Calgary 124 to 118

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

New York Islanders

124 att · 57 on goal · 5 G · 8.8%
Crease13 att · 0 G
Slot39 att · 3 G
Wing46 att · 2 G
Point25 att · 0 G
Neutral zone1 att · 0 G

Calgary Flames

118 att · 51 on goal · 6 G · 11.8%
Crease10 att · 2 G
Slot43 att · 3 G
Wing32 att · 1 G
Point26 att · 0 G
Neutral zone7 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

NY Islanders have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

NY IslandersCalgary
2.90xG for per game2.54
3.70xG against per game3.38
44.0%xG share42.9%
+0.3FinishingGoals minus expected goals−4.6
+4.1GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−5.9

This season: 3 games for NY Islanders, 3 for Calgary. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

NY Islanders

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2718.2%
Power play · 2025-2616.5% · 30th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2783.3%
Penalty kill · 2025-2680.8% · 10th
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.1% · 81/165
Drawn · 2026-2711 (3.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2712 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Calgary

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2740.0%
Power play · 2025-2616.2% · 31st
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2790.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2680.4% · 12th
Faceoffs · 2026-2750.3% · 90/179
Drawn · 2026-275 (1.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
10Brayden Schenn31341.33
14Bo Horvat32131.00
53Casey Cizikas31120.67
86Joel Farabee30220.67
22Ryan Strome31010.33
16Morgan Frost31010.33
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
8Logan Stanley30220.67
3Adam Pelech30110.33
19Zayne Parekh30110.33
44Joel Hanley10000.00
55Jake Middleton30000.00
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 5 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 5 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

NY Islanders crease

NYI · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 4 Jan

Ilya Sorokin.9682 GP · 1-1-0 · GSAx +4.1
Semyon Varlamov.8641 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx +0.4

No appearances against Calgary in the last meetings.

Calgary crease

CGY · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 4 Jan

Dustin Wolf.7972 GP · 0-2-0 · GSAx −5.5
Devin Cooley.8801 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −0.1

No appearances against NY Islanders in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 5.8 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

14 Mar 20265 · CGY 2–3 NYI
17 Jan 20266 · NYI 2–4 CGY
22 Mar 20257 · CGY 4–3 NYI
19 Nov 20243 · NYI 1–2 CGY
10 Feb 20247 · CGY 5–2 NYI

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
NY Islanders3.002.332.842.94
Calgary1.005.332.593.16

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest5.8Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings5.6Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

3 on the injury lists

NY Islanders · injuries

Alexander RomanovUndisclosedDay-to-dayReturn8 Oct
Mathew BarzalKneeIRReturn10 Oct

Calgary · injuries

Jonathan HuberdeauHipIRReturn10 Oct
27 Sep · NYI

Agreed to terms with LD Logan Stanley on a 1-Year contract worth $1.5M. Placed G Vitek Vanecek on waivers with the intention of sending to Hamilton (AHL)

26 Sep · NYI

Waived Fs Tanner Fritz, Matt Luff and Nathan Chaffee. Waived Fs Dylan Foudy and Hudson Kuefler for the purpose of sending to Hamilton (AHL).

24 Jul 2026 · NYI

Signed F Alex Jefferies to a one-year contract.

5 Oct · CGY

Placed D Brayden Pachal and C Connor Zary on waivers.

26 Sep · CGY

Waived F Alex Nylander.

25 Sep · CGY

Assigned Fs Andrew Basha, Will Dineen and Tyson Gross, Ds Hunter Brzustewicz and Axel Hurtig and G Arsenii Sergeev to Calgary (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Calgary Fs Dryden Hunt, Ben Jones, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton and William Stromgren and Ds Michael Benning, Andreas Englund and Jake Livingstone.

Injury report

NY Islanders · 2026 draft

See all: NY Islanders · 2026 draft →
#13Malte GustafssonRound 1 · Hv71D
#109Lincoln KuehneRound 4 · Arizona StateD
#141Vladimir DraveckyRound 5 · BrantfordD
#173Artyom MatyukRound 6 · Nizhny Novgorod Jr.C
Full draft
#6Carson CarelsRound 1 · Prince GeorgeD
#30Jack HextallRound 1 · YoungstownC
#36Chase HarringtonRound 2 · SpokaneLW
#42Tobias TrejbalRound 2 · YoungstownG
Full draft

Updated after every final