Islanders at Hurricanes
The New York Islanders attempt to post their longest winning streak in more than two months when they go for their fourth straight victory Saturday against the Metropolitan Division-rival Carolina Hurricanes. New York, which has not won four in a row since Nov. 28-Dec. 4, is clinging to third place in the division with a one-point lead over Pittsburgh.
Captain John Tavares has had the hot hand of late, collecting 12 points over his last eight contests - including three goals and four assists during his current four-game streak. Carolina has earned points in five of its last six games to climb within five points of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but is coming off back-to-back 2-1 shootout losses, including Friday's setback against the Penguins in the opener of its three-game homestand. The Hurricanes hope to have their scoring leader back in the lineup as defenseman Justin Faulk missed Friday's contest with an undisclosed injury. Carolina won the opener of the four-game season series, posting a 3-2 overtime victory at New York on Oct. 29.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (29-18-6): Tavares' goal in Thursday's victory over Los Angeles was his 20th of the season, tying him with Brock Nelson for the team lead. The 25-year-old has reached the plateau in each of his seven NHL seasons, making him the first Islander with that many 20-goal campaigns since Brent Sutter, and passed Tomas Jonsson for 14th place on the franchise assist list with 250 and Billy Harris for 12th on the club's points list with 444. Frans Nielsen is two goals shy of tying Ray Ferraro (116) for 24th in Islanders history.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (24-21-10): Defenseman Brett Pesce (lower body) was activated from injured reserve Friday and replaced Faulk in the lineup, recording two shots and blocking four while posting a plus-1 rating in 19 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time. Andrej Nestrasil's goal on Friday was his career-best eighth of the season and third in three games. Jeff Skinner is one tally shy of the fourth 20-goal campaign of his career.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders are 11-0-0 when Tavares records a multi-point performance.
2. Carolina has scored fewer than two goals in each of its last five losses.
3. New York has netted a total of 12 tallies in its last 11 defeats (0-10-1).