Islanders at Oilers
Little has gone right for the New York Islanders this season, and that trend continued at Wednesday's trade deadline when they traded left wing Thomas Vanek to Montreal for prospect Sebastian Collberg and a conditional second-round pick in a deal widely panned by observers. New York makes the second stop on a four-game road trip when it visits the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. The Oilers swung a pair of deals Wednesday, sending Ales Hemsky to Ottawa and defenseman Nick Schultz to Columbus.
Islanders general manager Garth Snow, faced with the prospect of losing Vanek to free agency, defended the move with the knowledge he was not dealing from a position of strength. “Collberg has the potential to be a top-six forward,” said Snow, calling it a good day "under trying circumstances with where our team is in the standings.” Prior to trading away franchise stalwart Hemsky and Schultz, Edmonton dealt goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to Minnesota on Tuesday after acquiring netminder Viktor Fasth from Anaheim.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), RSN West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (24-32-8): New York continued its superb play on the road, improving to 11-3-0 in its last 14 games away from home following Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory at Winnipeg. The departure of Vanek and a season-ending knee injury to captain John Tavares during the Olympics leaves New York without two of its three top scorers, but rookie Anders Lee is attempting to fill some of the void with three goals in four games since his promotion from the minors. Michael Grabner also has scored three times in the last four, including the overtime game-winner against Winnipeg.
ABOUT THE OILERS (21-34-8): Hemsky spent his entire career with Edmonton and may have punched his ticket out of town when he scored twice in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over visiting Ottawa. Less than 24 hours later, the Oilers traded Hemsky to the Senators for a pair of draft picks - a fifth-rounder in 2014 and a third-round selection in 2015 - ending a tenure that saw him produce 142 goals and 477 points in 11 seasons. "He doesn't get enough credit for what he's done for this city," forward Jordan Eberle said of Hemsky after Tuesday's game. "For him to come out and put up a performance like that, it's awesome."
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders have won three of the last four meetings, including a 3-2 home triumph on Oct. 17.
2. Oilers RW David Perron has three goals in five career games against New York.
3. Collberg, a second-round pick of Montreal in 2012, has three goals and nine points in 40 games this season for Frolunda in the Swedish League.