Islanders at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are involved in the tightest division race in the NHL, with the top five teams in the Pacific entering the weekend separated by five points. The New York Islanders are a similar situation in the clustered Metropolitan Division as they resume a four-game road trip with a visit to the Golden Knights on Saturday night.
Vegas halted a two-game slide by rallying for an overtime victory over reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis to forge a three-way tie for second in the Pacific. “We know the position we’re in. We know we’re battling for our lives,” forward Max Pacioretty said after the Golden Knights opened a five-game homestand by erasing a two-goal deficit in a 6-5 victory over the Blues on Thursday. The Islanders had won two in a row before they were dismantled at Nashville 5-0 in the opener of their four-game trek to fall to 5-2-1 in their last eight. "It's not a good effort, it's not representative of who we want to be, so we'll learn from it for sure, regroup here and figure a couple of things out and be ready for Vegas," captain Anders Lee said.
TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain, MSG-Plus
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (33-17-6): New York had scored at least four goals in four of the previous five games before absorbing its third shutout Thursday, but the Islanders have a chance to get back on track against an opponent that has been pierced for 14 goals in the past three contests. Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov, who replaced an ineffective Thomas Greiss on Thursday, made 31 saves in a 3-2 victory over Vegas on Dec. 5. The Islanders have had only seven power-play opportunities in the past five games, converting once.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (29-22-8): The power play has been in a rut for Vegas since Peter DeBoer replaced the fired Gerard Gallant, converting on only 3 of 26 chances in nine games. The Golden Knights managed only four shots on four power plays in Tuesday's 4-0 loss at Minnesota but erupted for four goals with the extra skater versus the Blues. “Sometimes there’s good days, sometimes there’s bad days,” said forward Jonathan Marchessault, who notched the winning goal with the man advantage in OT. “It’s all about making the right plays."
OVERTIME
1. Golden Knights F Alex Tuch underwent testing Friday after he was forced to exit Thursday's game with an injury to his left leg.
2. New York has won only three of nine games (3-3-3) against Pacific Division foes.
3. Pacioretty has five goals in his last four games to boost his team-high total to 26.