Devils at Islanders
The New York Islanders believe they've weathered the storm despite residing in the cellar in the Metropolitan Division and one slot up from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Islanders look to improve their standing on Saturday, when they host the rival New Jersey Devils. New York followed a dreadful 2-13-2 stretch by posting a 3-2-2 mark, highlighted by Monday's 3-0 triumph over Detroit.
"We've hung around in games against some good teams," Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Newsday. "Even though we've lost some of those, we won a couple recently and that should give us some confidence going forward here." New Jersey could use a confidence boost after falling for the sixth time in as many shootouts this season with a 2-1 setback to Columbus on Friday. Adam Henrique scored the lone goal for the Devils, who have dropped three of their last four contests (1-1-2).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), MSG Plus 2 (New York)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (15-16-8): Martin Brodeur was quick to the point when asked how to solve his team's troubles in the bonus format. "Win in regulation. That's the solution," the future Hall-of-Famer said. Brodeur added another impressive quip when asked if he was starting Saturday's contest. "Are you kidding? I'm 41 years old," he said. Coach Peter DeBoer confirmed that Cory Schneider will get the nod against New York.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (11-20-7): Captain John Tavares missed practice on Friday and is considered day-to-day as he nurses a back injury. Newsday reported that the injury is not believed to be a long-term issue for Tavares, who has yet to miss a game this season and logged just over 19 1/2 minutes on Monday. Evgeni Nabokov was the star of that contest, turning aside 23 shots for his 56th career shutout while improving to 2-1-2 with a 1.96 goals-against average since returning from a groin injury.
OVERTIME
1. New York RW Michael Grabner has scored three goals in his last three contests while also tallying in his team's 4-3 shootout win against New Jersey on Oct. 4.
2. Devils LW Ryane Clowe registered a game-high four hits in his return to the ice on Friday after being sidelined since Oct. 13 with a concussion.
3. Islanders C Frans Nielsen, who scored in the previous meeting, is riding a four-game point streak.