Islanders at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks hope a return to familiar surroundings and a struggling opponent spell the end to their own troubles as they host the New York Islanders on Tuesday. San Jose returns home after a four-game road trip that began with a victory in Toronto. That was the only contest the Sharks would win on the trek, however, as they suffered defeats of two goals or more in Pittsburgh, Carolina and Minnesota.
San Jose mustered just one goal in two of the three setbacks while allowing a total of 13. New York has more serious issues as it has lost 10 consecutive overall contests (0-8-2) and a franchise-record 10 in a row on the road. The Islanders' lastest defeat came on Monday, when they dropped a 5-2 decision in Anaheim to fall to 0-3-0 on their five-game road trip.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (8-18-5): A lack of offense has been a main reason for the team's struggles, as it hasn't scored more than three goals during its slide and hit the plateau of three tallies just once. "We generate a lot, we can't score," coach Jack Capuano said. "I don't know what to tell you." One player who won't be contributing is Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who was placed on waivers Monday after recording four goals and five assists in 28 games. The veteran center notched just one assist over his last 10 contests.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (19-6-5): San Jose went 0-for-4 on the power play against Minnesota on Sunday and is scoreless on nine opportunities during its losing streak. "The power play was awful," coach Todd McLellan said Sunday. "I don't know if, in six years that I've been as disappointed with the power play as I am right now." Captain Joe Thornton was kept off the scoresheet by the Wild, ending his eight-game point streak.
OVERTIME
1. New York has not won since posting a 5-4 shootout victory over Detroit on Nov. 16.
2. Thornton's next assist will be the 815th of his career, which will move him past Gilbert Perreault for sole possession of 26th place on the all-time list.
3. The Islanders are 0-2-2 in their last four overall meetings with the Sharks and 0-3-1 in their last four visits to San Jose.