Blackhawks at Islanders
THE STORY: The New York Islanders are suddenly red hot. After dropping 14 of 16 games from Oct. 20-Nov. 25, the Islanders have turned a corner with four wins over the last five games. The last two have been the most impressive, with Matt Moulson totaling five goals and six points as New York has exploded for a total of 10 tallies against the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning. Moulson has found the net in five straight games, totaling 10 points in that span. Of course, the only team to beat the Islanders in that stretch was the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-4 shootout last Friday. The Blackhawks will try to do it again when they visit New York on Thursday. Chicago has struggled on the blue line and in net lately, allowing four or more goals in six of the last nine games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSCH (Chicago), MSG+ (New York)
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (16-8-4): Top goaltender Corey Crawford had to be pulled after allowing three goals in 21:08 against Phoenix on Monday and has watched his goals-against average spike to an even 3.00 after being replaced in two of his last three starts. The Chicago offense has tried to bail Crawford out, battling back to force a shootout on Monday and winning the 5-4 shootout against the Islanders on Friday. Jonathan Toews has been a bright spot, recording three points on Monday for his third straight multi-point game.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (9-11-5): New York had been languishing near the bottom of the NHL in scoring until Moulson started to heat up. The Ontario native exploded for four goals in the 5-4 win at Dallas on Saturday and has bumped his season total to 14 tallies with his recent surge. Linemate John Tavares has helped with seven points in the last three games. The Islanders are leaning on goaltender Al Montoya, who took over for an injured Rick DiPietro in Dallas and stopped 23 shots in Tuesday’s 5-1 triumph.
OVERTIME:
1. The Blackhawks snuck four tallies past Montoya in last week’s meeting.
2. Moulson recorded a goal and an assist in that matchup and has three points in three career games against Chicago.
3. New York has taken the last three meetings between the teams on Long Island.