Islanders at Blue Jackets
Despite struggling on the road for much of the season, the New York Islanders have looked right at home in the first two stops of their franchise-record nine-game trek. The Islanders hope their recent level of play travels with them as they vie for their fourth win overall and ninth in the last 11 encounters with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet at Nationwide Arena.
Captain John Tavares extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and his point total to 25 (12 goals, 13 assists) in his last 21 games following Thursday's 3-0 victory over Montreal. The 26-year-old has tormented Columbus this season with a goal in a 6-2 loss on Dec. 10 before setting up a pair in New York's 4-2 win on Jan. 24, improving the Islanders to 8-0-2 in their last 10 meetings with the Blue Jackets. Columbus returns from its league-mandated break hoping to find some consistency, as the club has lost 12 of 22 contests (10-11-1) on the heels of its franchise-best 16-game winning streak. Cam Atkinson (team-leading 27 goals, 50 points) was limited to just one assist in his last four games prior to the break, but could heat up versus a New York team he has shredded for nine goals and 17 points in 15 career encounters.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New York), FSN Ohio (Columbus), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (29-21-10): Tavares isn't the only one with the golden touch as fellow linemates Anders Lee and Josh Bailey have also seen their offensive performances flourish of late. Lee has recorded 19 points in his last 19 games, highlighted by a nine-goal stretch that has him tied with Tavares for the team lead with 23 tallies. The 27-year-old Bailey, who has scored in each contest against Columbus this season, has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in his past 21 games after setting up a pair of tallies versus the Canadiens to establish a career high in both assists (31) and points (43). "It's been a clinic by them for six, seven weeks," interim coach Doug Weight told Newsday. "They're really confident right now, and I'm confident in them, the team's feeding off their play as well."
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (37-16-5): Columbus exits the break by playing the finale of its seven-game homestand as part of nine contests over the next two weeks. "It's different for the whole league," coach John Tortorella said. "This hasn't been done before in the middle of the year, and you can see how teams have struggled. Hopefully, we'll try to find a way to scrap away here and get our game back as quickly as possible after the break." Former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky showed signs of fatigue heading into the break by yielding three goals or more in seven of his last 10 starts.
OVERTIME
1. New York G Thomas Greiss has allowed two goals or fewer in 17 of his last 23 games (14-6-3 with three shutouts).
2. Columbus second-year C Alexander Wennberg has recorded four of his team-leading 38 assists in the last three contests.
3. The Islanders are 12-4-2 under Weight after posting a 17-17-8 mark with Jack Capuano.