Islanders at Sabres
After seeing their four-game winning streak come to an end in their last contest, the New York Islanders look to get back on track when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Kyle Okposo scored his team's lone goal in New York's 3-1 loss to Montreal on Tuesday. Okposo, who has three goals and two assists in his last six games overall, netted a tally and set up another in the Islanders 4-3 shootout victory over Buffalo on April 13.
As for the Sabres, they've dropped four in a row following an impressive 10-3-0 surge. Buffalo saw a two-goal advantage go by the boards in a disheartening 6-3 setback to Detroit on Tuesday, matching a season worst for offense allowed. "Playing a good team, you have to play smart with a two-goal lead," coach Ted Nolan said. "We took a stupid penalty and the rest is history."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (23-11-0): New York has received only two goals from its defensemen over the last 10 games, and coach Jack Capuano was pretty direct in wanting more. "We want our guys to be a defense-first team, but at the same time, we need some guys to generate more," he told Newsday. "Some guys need to get it going, and they know who they are." While the coach did not single out any specific player, Nick Leddy has a team-high five goals among blue-liners but none in his last 15 games.
ABOUT THE SABRES (13-19-3): Chris Stewart scored a goal to extend his point streak to three games while notching a point in four of his last five. Jhonas Enroth has yielded four goals in each of his last three starts and is 0-3-0 in three career outings versus the Islanders. Michal Neuvirth has dropped six of seven decisions (1-5-1) but owns a 5-1-0 career mark with a 1.71 goals-against average versus New York.
OVERTIME
1. New York G Jaroslav Halak did not dress for Tuesday's tilt versus the Canadiens, and Capuano said the team would know more about his condition prior to its game-day flight to Buffalo.
2. The Sabres have permitted seven goals in their last 14 times short-handed.
3. The Islanders have scored on just one of their last 17 power-play opportunities.