Islanders at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings attempt to halt their slide when they continue their four-game homestand against the New York Islanders on Friday. Detroit's skid reached four contests (0-1-3) Tuesday as it suffered a 1-0 shootout loss to Columbus in the opener of its stretch at home. The Red Wings hope to avoid extra time against the Islanders as the setback dropped them to 3-8 in games that go beyond regulation.
New York appears to be back on track following a brief two-game slide as it is coming off back-to-back 3-2 home triumphs over Chicago and New Jersey. The Islanders trailed by two goals after one period against the Devils on Monday but rallied to tie it before Josh Bailey netted the decisive tally in the fifth round of the bonus format. New York has yet to lose a game that extends beyond regulation, going 6-0 in shootouts and 3-0 in overtime contests.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (21-10-0): New York's worst-ranked penalty-killing unit figures to get some much-needed help as defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic are expected to return either Friday or Saturday versus Tampa Bay. Boychuk has missed nine games while Hamonic has been sidelined for six, both with upper-body injuries. Michael Grabner's return from offseason hernia surgery lasted only five games as the Austrian is back on the shelf with a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (17-7-8): Detroit hopes to have Johan Franzen in the lineup against New York after the power forward missed Tuesday's loss due to an illness. "I've just been battling flus, stomach flus, regular flus, for the last few weeks," said Frazen, who participated in Thursday's practice. "I just haven't been able to get healthy. Beginning of this week, I just felt really, really awful, like no energy, nothing." The Red Wings are averaging 11.5 goals over every four-game block this season but have scored a total of four during their current four-game skid.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders have lost four of their last six road games.
2. Detroit has dropped three straight at home - each in an shootout - and four consecutive meetings with New York at Joe Louis Arena.
3. The Islanders' worst-ranked penalty kill is just 10-for-18 over the last six contests.