Islanders vs. Avalanche Preview/Game Thread: Angling for that home rebound

After being shutout Saturday afternoon in Ottawa, the New York Islanders return home Sunday to host the Colorado Avalanche with a few different looks in their forward lines.

Cal Clutterbuck and Travis Hamonic remain out with injuries, and the blueline stays the same, but Stephen Gionta will slot into the lineup for center Alan Quine.

That means Anthony Beauvillier drops off Once and Future Kid Line to take Quine’s spot at center between Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera.

Gionta goes into the Clutterbuck spot next to Casey Cizikas and Nikolay Kulemin, and Shane Prince moves next to Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome.

In goal, Jean-Francois Berube starts after Thomas Greiss played yesterday in Ottawa.

#HereComeTheAvs

The Avalanche are in the middle of a dog-down season, and their 2-7-1 in their last 10 to make for a league-worst 15-35-2 record.

To add to their struggles, they’re still without Erik Johnson, Semyon Varlamov and Rene Bourque — though Varlamov must’ve been playing with the injury that ultimately ended his season, as his numbers were awful.

But, of course, a month ago they still beat the Islanders in overtime. On any given Sunday, and all that.

Coverage

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