Islanders at Flames
The Calgary Flames registered five of six possible points on their recent road trip and look to gain more ground in the playoff race when they start a three-game homestand against the struggling New York Islanders on Sunday. The Flames earned a point in Pittsburgh before knocking off Buffalo along with Ottawa to end the trip and sit two points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
“Every game is a must-win, so to pick up five of six on this road trip, that’s huge for our squad,” Calgary forward Sam Bennett, who has scored in back-to-back games, told reporters after the 2-1 victory at Ottawa on Friday. “We’re all feeling good and we’re going to continue to roll with our momentum right now.” The Flames play eight of their last 13 games at home where they are only 14-15-4 and take on an Islanders’ squad that has lost eight consecutive games (0-4-4). New York sits nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after losing the first two contests on its four-game trip in overtime and falling 2-1 in a shootout Thursday at Edmonton. “Good teams find a way to close those games out,” Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey told reporters. “We’re trying to be a good team. It’s that hump you have to get over.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), Sportsnet (Calgary)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (29-29-10): Rookie Mathew Barzal has cooled off with two of his team-leading 69 points in the last four games while captain John Tavares posted three in the past three contests and recorded 14 shots in the last two. Christopher Gibson has made quite an impact in his first two starts of the season in net, turning aside 82 of the 86 shots he faced to earn points in both. “It’s been a long and hard path, to be honest. It hasn’t been easy,” Gibson, a former second round pick of Los Angeles in 2011, told reporters. “That’s why I cherish every single moment that I’m here.”
ABOUT THE FLAMES (34-25-10): All-Star goalie Mike Smith (23-16-6, .921 save percentage) has been fully practicing and could return to the lineup in the next few contests. “He’s progressing at a real good rate,” Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters of Smith, who has been out since Feb. 11 with a lower-body injury. “We’re hoping it’s someday soon. We’re day-to-day.” Leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau notched an assist Friday to push his total to 77 points, one shy of his career-best in 2014-15, while Sean Monahan is one short of his career-high goal total (31) in that same season.
OVERTIME
1. Both teams are struggling on the power play as the Islanders are 2-for-21 the last nine games and the Flames 1-for-20 in the past six.
2. New York F Anders Lee is tied with Tavares for the team lead with 31 goals, but managed only two in the last 12 contests.
3. Calgary has earned at least a point in four straight meetings, including a 3-2 win Feb. 11 in New York with two goals from F Matthew Tkachuk.