Islanders at Red Wings
The New York Islanders haven't fared well away from the Barclays Center this season, but they better get used to life on the road Tuesday when they open a franchise-high nine-game trek against the Detroit Red Wings. The Islanders, who have dropped four of their last five away from home and own a disastrous 7-13-4 mark outside of Brooklyn, will hit the road over a 19-day stretch due to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament at Barclays Center.
"There's not a good feeling, not a good vibe on the road right now," interim coach Doug Weight told Newsday on the heels of New York posting a 6-4 victory over visiting New Jersey on Sunday to salvage a split of a home-and-home series. Veteran Andrew Ladd scored in that contest and has eight goals in his last 12 - including a goal in the Islanders' 5-4 setback to the Red Wings on Feb. 3. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who has three goals this season, came up large in that game by scoring the go-ahead goal with 28 seconds left and also tallied in overtime to give Detroit a 4-3 win over New York on Dec. 4. The Red Wings have answered a disastrous 2-6-4 stretch by knocking off Eastern Conference powers Washington and Pittsburgh over the weekend and will begin the league-mandated bye after Tuesday's tilt.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NHL.TV, MSG-Plus2 (New York), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (27-21-10): Captain John Tavares (team-leading 49 points) continued his offensive surge by scoring a goal on Sunday, increasing his point total to 27 (12 goals, 15 assists) in his last 21 games. Tavares has scored a goal and set up two others versus Detroit this season and gouged the Red Wings for 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 14 career encounters. Fellow forward Josh Bailey has scored a goal in each contest against Detroit this season, but has just one point - an assist - in his last seven games overall.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (24-25-10): Captain Henrik Zetterberg isn't willing to see Detroit's pronounced postseason streak go by the boards, as the veteran set up a pair of goals and netted the shootout winner in Saturday's 3-2 win against the Capitals and added a pair of assists in Sunday's 5-2 win versus the Penguins. "When we're playing good, we're playing good. We just have to have the consistency to stay at this level," said Zetterberg, who has 14 (four goals, 10 assists) of his team-leading 45 points in his past 13 games. "We have one more game here before the bye and if we get two points there, we can enjoy our break."
OVERTIME
1. Detroit LW Thomas Vanek, who has scored three goals and set up two others in his last five games, has notched an assist in each meeting with his former club this season.
2. New York C Ryan Strome recorded his second career two-goal performance and added an assist on Sunday to increase his point total to 11 (five goals, six assists) in his last 11 contests.
3. The Red Wings have won three straight encounters versus the Islanders at Joe Louis Arena.