Ducks at Islanders
The Islanders are struggling to score goals lately while the Anaheim Ducks are struggling to score - period - as the teams meet in New York on Monday. The Islanders, who are third in the Metropolitan Division behind Washington and the New York Rangers, limp home with a three-game losing streak following a 1-0 loss at Arizona on Saturday and have scored twice during their slide while Anaheim is last in the NHL at 1.84 goals per game.
"You just understand it’s a long season,” New York defenseman Thomas Hickey told reporters. “There’ll be times where you are doing really well and things are going your way and there’s times where they are not. I don’t want to say we’re in a funk or a lull, but it’s not coming easy right now.” The Islanders will be without Kyle Okposo (team bests of 26 points and 18 assists) for a second straight game because of a lingering lower-body injury and they don't play again until Sunday. The Ducks, who are last in the Pacific Division but only five points behind second-place San Jose, snapped a two-game slide in which it was outscored 8-1 with a 2-1 victory in New Jersey on Saturday. "We knew these two points were huge," Anaheim's Ryan Kesler told reporters. "The next game, the points are huge again. We need to go into this break as close to a playoff spot as we can. After the break, we’re going to claw our way in."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN West (Anaheim), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (12-14-5): Kesler is off to a poor start with four goals and a team-worst minus-12 rating, but scored Friday for his first tally in eight games since scoring in back-to-back contests Nov. 24-25. Chris Stewart also scored Friday - his sixth of the season which matches Rickard Rakell for second-most on the club behind Corey Perry (10). Frederik Anderson (5-7-4, 2.46 goals-against average, .915 save percentage) was solid in a 21-save performance Saturday in his first start since Nov. 21 after John Gibson (4-4-1, 1.90, .927) started the previous eight contests.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (18-11-5): Anders Lee, who hasn't scored in 13 games, replaced Okposo on the top line with John Tavares and Josh Bailey. "They had the one shift in the second period where they could have one, maybe two, but we have to find a way for our top players to perform at a level that is going to help us win,” New York coach Jack Capuano told reporters Saturday. Tavares has a team-best 13 goals to go along with 23 points, but has only scored twice in nine December games.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim has been held to fewer than two goals in 15 of 31 games this season.
2. The Islanders haven't allowed a power-play goal in 12 games (28 kills).
3. The road team has won the last four meetings after Frans Nielsen's two third-period goals lifted New York to a 4-1 victory Nov. 13.