Islanders at Predators
The Nashville Predators have secured at least a point in 15 of their last 16 games (10-1-5), but the Music City representatives have hit a sour note of late when facing the New York Islanders. The Predators return from a five-game road trip and look to snap a four-game winless skid versus the Islanders on Thursday when the clubs meet at Bridgestone Arena.
James Neal scored in Nashville's 4-3 loss to New York on Oct. 15 and recorded a hat trick in his team's 3-2 victory over Edmonton on Monday. "It was good to pull out a big win (on Monday), because points are so crucial at this point in the season, you have to play good hockey," Neal said. New York had been playing pretty well in its own right, but the team followed an 11-2-1 run by suffering its third loss in four games with Tuesday's 2-1 shootout setback to Pittsburgh. The Islanders are engaged in a spirited three-team battle with the Rangers and Penguins for the final two guaranteed playoff spots in the Metropolitan Division while the Predators have a comfortable hold on the top wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New York), FSN Tennessee (Nashville), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (38-21-9): Kyle Okposo has scored in back-to-back games and also tallied in the first encounter with Nashville for his sixth point (two goals, four assists) in as many career meetings. The 27-year-old Okposo has been on a tear with nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last eight games overall to lead the team with 36 assists and share the top spot in points (55) with captain John Tavares. Anders Lee set up Okposo's tally against the Penguins and joined Tavares with a goal and an assist in the first meeting with the Predators.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (35-22-13): Coach Peter Laviolette was quick to warn his club about getting ahead of itself despite playing eight of the final 12 games of the season at Bridgestone Arena. "Coming home and thinking things are going to happen because we're in front of our fans and on home ice (won’t equate to wins)," Laviolette said. "We actually have to go out there and work for it and our guys have been pretty good with that." The Predators have recorded at least one point in six straight home games (3-0-3) to improve to 17-10-6 on the season.
OVERTIME
1. New York G Thomas Greiss, who is 8-1-2 in his last 11 starts, made a season-high 44 saves in the first encounter with Nashville.
2. The Predators are 0-for-16 on the power play in their last five contests and failed on both opportunities with the man advantage in their previous meeting with the Islanders.
3. New York is 9-2-1 against Central Division representatives this season.