Islanders at Canucks
The New York Islanders continue their season-high seven-game road trip Tuesday, when they face off against the Canucks in Vancouver. New York began its trek with victories at Winnipeg and Calgary before suffering a 5-2 loss in Edmonton on Sunday. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk registered a power-play goal and an assist as he returned to his hometown, but the Islanders allowed three straight tallies in the third period as their four-game point streak came to an end.
Vancouver resumes its five-game homestand after splitting the first two contests. The Canucks dropped a 3-2 decision to Los Angeles on Thursday before skating past Detroit 4-1 two nights later for their first victory over the Red Wings since Dec. 21, 2011. Captain Henrik Sedin broke open a close contest with a pair of empty-net goals and added an assist as Vancouver improved to 4-1-1 since enduring a five-game slide.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), RSN Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (26-12-1): Captain John Tavares continued his strong offensive play Sunday, registering two assists to give him nine points (five goals) over his last seven games. His first assist versus Edmonton was the 350th point of his career. The 24-year-old has performed well against Vancouver, collecting three goals and five assists in four meetings.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (22-12-3): Sedin is averaging a point per game (13 in 13) versus the Islanders while brother Daniel has performed even better, notching 12 points (three goals) in 11 meetings. Radim Vrbata enters Tuesday with a three-game goal-scoring streak, his third such run of the season. The 33-year-old Czech, who leads the team with 16 tallies, began his first campaign as a Canuck with a goal in three straight contests and produced another three-game run from Nov. 19-23.
OVERTIME
1. Henrik Sedin's first empty-net tally on Saturday was the 200th goal of his career.
2. New York C Brock Nelson scored his 15th goal of the season Sunday, eclipsing his total in 72 games as a rookie last campaign.
3. Vrbata is the only member of the Canucks to reach double digits in goals.