Islanders at Canucks
THE STORY: A three-game road trip hasn't yielded much for the New York Islanders to date. Sunday may not be that generous, either, as the Islanders wrap up their brief trek with a visit to Vancouver. New York has surrendered 10 goals through the first two games of the trip, securing a single point in a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. With just two wins in their last 10 games overall, the Islanders have sunk to last place in the Atlantic Division. Vancouver's struggles are in no way comparable, but still have Canucks fans a little nervous. The defending Western Conference champions remain stuck at .500 for the season following a 4-3 loss in Anaheim on Friday. That concluded a 3-3-0 road swing for the Canucks, who now play three straight home games before embarking on another trip.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG+, Rogers Sportsnet Pacific
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (4-6-3): New York has yet to win away from Nassau Coliseum this season, going 0-3-2 following a heartbreaking loss to the Avalanche. That leaves the Isles just one point ahead of their pace from last season, when they finished with the second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference. "We don't want to look back at the beginning of last year. We want to remember the way we finished the year," said Islanders defenseman Mark Streit. "We didn't find our groove yet. I'm positive we're going to get there."
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (8-8-1): Vancouver returns home to fans that would undoubtedly like to see a better effort on the defensive end. After finishing with the fewest goals allowed a season ago, the Canucks find themselves surrendering the third-most in the conference through 17 games. The offense remains a strong suit, ranked second in the conference behind the Chicago Blackhawks, the goal scorers nearly bailed the club out of a 4-0 deficit in its last game before ultimately falling short.
OVERTIME:
1. Vancouver won the only meeting between the teams, pulling out a 4-3 overtime victory on Jan. 11. The clubs have split their last 10 encounters since 2001, with eight of them decided by a goal.
2. Evgeni Nabokov will start in goal for the Islanders on Sunday. He's no stranger to Vancouver, compiling a 14-6-1-2 record with a 2.26 goals-against average in 25 career games.