Blue Jackets at Islanders
The New York Islanders return "home" to face the surging Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday as Nassau Coliseum opens its doors to an NHL regular-season game for the first time since 2015. New York, which has called Brooklyn's Barclays Center home since the start of the 2015-16 season, will play 20 of its remaining 30 home games this year on Long Island - where they won four Stanley Cups (1980-83) - with more to come as its new arena at Belmont Park is scheduled for a 2021 opening.
“I love that building. I love playing there,” Islanders forward Josh Bailey told reporters about the Coliseum. “It seemed to get a bad rap from people once in a while because it was a little older. But the atmosphere that goes in that rink, I think, is unmatched around the league.” Columbus doesn't seem care where it plays, seeing as it owns the best road record in the Metropolitan Division at 8-4-1 and is 8-2-1 in its last 11 overall following Thursday's 4-2 victory over Minnesota. New York, meanwhile, hopes a return to its old haunts will give it a boost as the Metropolitan is shaping up to be the most competitive division in the league. “I think you have to understand that’s the parity of this league, that’s the NHL,” New York's Anders Lee told reporters after scoring in Thursday's 2-1 shootout loss at Boston. “It comes down to an inch or two or a bounce. You just keep your head up, keep focused. Understand it’s a long year.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (15-8-2): Artemi Panarin has scored in his last two games, giving him nine points in his last six contests and raising his club-high total to 27. Cam Atkinson (299 career points, 26 this season) also scored Thursday and has 10 of his team-most 16 goals over the last nine games. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists versus Minnesota, giving him two goals and three assists in the last two games and 12 of each this season while defenseman Zach Werenski has an assist in two straight contests, giving him 99 career points.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (12-9-3): Josh Bailey, who shares the team lead with 21 points, has been kept off the scoresheet in five of the last six games - the club is 1-3-1 in those contests - and is two shy of 400 for his career. Mathew Barzal (club-most 18 assists, 21 points) has two goals and seven assists in his last 10 games but is a team-worst minus-10 this season. Lee has scored five of his eight goals on the power play while all nine of Brock Nelson's club-high nine goals have come at even strength.
OVERTIME
1. New York is 0-for-12 on the power play over its last six games and has killed only 3-of-6 penalties over the past three contests.
2. Columbus coach John Tortorella told reporters that LW Anthony Duclair (eight goals), who missed Thursday's game, is "dinged up" and day-to-day.
3. The Blue Jackets have won three of four games in each of the last two season series with Atkinson and Dubois scoring three goals apiece in 2017-18, giving Atkinson 13 goals and 23 points in 21 games versus the Islanders.