Avalanche at Islanders
One day after wasting an opportunity to move closer to the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference, the New York Islanders get another chance Sunday as they host the league-worst Colorado Avalanche. New York was blanked 3-0 in Ottawa on Saturday and remained three points behind Toronto, which hosts a showdown between the clubs on Tuesday.
Despite the setback, the Islanders have gone an impressive 7-2-2 under interim coach Doug Weight, who took over for the fired Jack Capuano on Jan. 17. Colorado's season-high five-game road trip got off to a disappointing start Saturday, as the team squandered a third-period lead against the New York Rangers and suffered a 4-2 setback. The Avalanche have gone 0-7-1 away from home since topping Chicago in overtime on Dec. 23. Nathan MacKinnon, who scored the overtime winner against the Islanders at home on Jan. 6, is riding a four-game point streak after notching an assist Saturday for his team-leading 38th point.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (15-35-2): Colorado received just one power-play opportunity Saturday and failed to cash in, ending a three-game streak during which it went 3-for-7 with the man advantage. Andreas Martinsen recorded four hits in the loss to the Rangers, raising his season total to 123 - second behind defenseman Nikita Zadorov (140) for the team lead. Matt Duchene is first on the team with 15 goals but is in the midst of a nine-game drought.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (24-19-10): Captain John Tavares, who leads the team with 44 points, needs one assist to overtake Derek King (288) for sole possession of 10th place on the franchise list. Cal Clutterbuck is one goal shy of 100 for his career while Josh Bailey's next tally will be his 105th as an Islander, which will tie him with Ed Westfall and Benoit Hogue for 26th in team history. The Islanders have had tremendous success against Colorado at home of late, winning eight of their nine meetings since Oct. 10, 1999.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders have earned at least one point in eight straight home games (6-0-2) since dropping a 2-1 decision to Florida on Jan. 11.
2. Colorado RW Jarome Iginla is tied for the team lead with four power-play goals and needs four more to pull even with Brian Bellows (198) for 19th place on the all-time list.
3. The Islanders are 7-11-4 on the road, where they play 19 of their final 28 games of the season.