Devils at Islanders
Jaromir Jagr looks to become the seventh NHL player to record his 700th goal when he leads the New Jersey Devils against the host New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon. The 42-year-old inched within one of the milestone by scoring his team-leading 18th tally and 32nd point in Thursday's 5-2 triumph over Columbus. With 60 goals in his career against the Islanders, Jagr would love to net another and give fellow future Hall-of-Famer - and Saturday's confirmed starter - Martin Brodeur some offensive support.
Speaking of offense, New York certainly found some while playing its first contest since captain John Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Winter Olympics. Michael Grabner scored a pair of short-handed goals in a 48-second span and Anders Lee tallied twice in his season debut as the Islanders skated to a 5-4 shootout victory over Toronto on Thursday. Grabner collected two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win at New Jersey on Oct. 4 before being held off the scoresheet in New York's 2-1 setback on Dec. 28.
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ABOUT THE DEVILS (25-22-13): Adam Henrique scored in the teams' meeting on Dec. 28 and also tallied twice versus Columbus. The offensive production certainly was welcome for the 24-year-old, who mustered just one point - an assist - in his previous seven games. Steve Bernier likely will take the place of the injured Damien Brunner, who did not make the short trip to Long Island after exiting Thursday's contest with a lower-body ailment.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (23-30-8): In addition to Lee, 2011 first-round selection Ryan Strome and Mike Halmo also made their presence felt with Frans Nielsen (broken hand) and Matt Martin (lower body) sidelined due to injury. Recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League, Strome notched an assist on Lee's late third-period goal and Halmo stamped his arrival by sending Toronto stud Phil Kessel to the ice with a brutal check. "It was fun to see," Grabner said. "We definitely fed off those guys tonight."
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey captain Bryce Salvador is expected to play in Saturday's contest after taking Columbus D Jack Johnson's slap shot to the collarbone late in the third period Thursday.
2. The Islanders have scored three power-play goals in their last two games after failing to tally on 30 opportunities in their previous seven contests.
3. The Devils failed to score on all three of their power-play opportunities against New York this season but went 2-for-3 with the man advantage and netted a short-handed goal versus Columbus.