NEW YORK ISLANDERS (35-18-6) AT EDMONTON OILERS (24-29-6)
9 PM | ROGERS PLACE
So we are coming off a game that we did not play well and that it took us too long to get our legs under us. I was very concerned about this game coming off a long rest, being the 1st game out West against the best of the 3 teams we will face on the trip. The 3 rd goal was horrible and the 4th one was a killer. Time to move on, we need this victory tonight. I believe we will get it. Oilers played us tough last week but we should be very hungry tonight. We are 9-0 in the last 9 games we have played on the back end of back to back games.
ISLANDERS NOTES:
- The Islanders are looking to bounce back after a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. The loss snapped the Isles' two-game winning streak and marked the first time since Jan. 8 that the Islanders had allowed four goals in game.
- The Islanders are playing in the second night of a back to back on Thursday. The Islanders are a franchise record 9-0-0 on the second night of back to backs this season.
- Casey Cizikas scored his 16th goal of the season on Wednesday, giving the Islanders forward four goals in his last four games.
- Anders Lee scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season on Wednesday, marking the third straight season he's hit the 20-goal benchmark and the fourth time in five NHL seasons he's hit that mark.
- Robin Lehner is likely to start on Thursday as Barry Trotz tends to split his goalies during back-to-back situations. Lehner is 14-3-1 in his last 18 games.
- The Islanders (76 points) remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division and are three points ahead of the Washington Capitals (73 points) and five points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (71 points).
OILERS NOTES:
- Connor McDavid missed Tuesday's game against Arizona with an illness. McDavid, the Oilers captain and leading scorer with 83 points (31G, 52A), also missed practice on Wednesday, raising doubts about his status for Thursday.
- Andrej Sekera made his season debut on Tuesday after missing 58 games with an Achilles injury. Sekera played 17:33 TOI in his season debut. Prior to his injury, Sekera had played 197 games for the Oilers, racking up 73 points (14G, 59A) over that span.
- The Oilers are 0-4-1 in their last five games and are 1-6-3 in their last 10 games. Edmonton (54 points) is seventh in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the LA Kings (52 points). The Oilers are seven points back of the second wild card berth.
Special teams
Oilers: PP- 38-175 21.7 percent (11th). PK-44-184 76.1 percent (29th)
Islanders: PP-28-173 16.2 percent (24th). PK- 32-162 80.2 percent (18th)
Connor McDavid did not play Tuesday night due to the flu and he was not part of the Oilers morning skate. The belief is he got sick after appearing at an autograph signing on Monday.
The Edmonton Oilers are:
•6-20 in their last 26 overall
•2-12 in their last 14 home games
•0-7 in their last seven games against the Eastern Conference
The New York Islanders are:
•21-8 in their last 29 overall
•11-5 in their last 16 road games
•4-1 in their last five games against the Western Conference
The Edmonton Oilers have lost a ridiculous 11 of their last 12 games–and five in a row–as they prepare to host the New York Islanders at Rogers Place on Thursday night. Edmonton’s woes most recently continued with a shootout loss to Arizona on Tuesday. The Islanders are playing the second game of a back-to-back situation following Wednesday’s date with Calgary.
Hungry for more
The Islanders have already matched last season’s win total (35) and they are four shy of their final 2017-18 point mark (80). New York is a winner of five of its last six overall while sporting a 21-6-2 record in its last 29 contests. Still, that does not mean that is a team that will be resting on its laurels.
“It’s a complete opposite,” defenseman Ryan Pulock of any possible complacency. “If you look at our defensive game from last year to this year and just the way we find a way to win tight games compared to last year. When you’re comfortable in those positions, it makes it a lot easier.”
The Islanders, who are leading the Metropolitan Division, boast an 8-2-2 mark in one-goal games since Dec. 15. Captain Anders Lee scored his team-leading 19th goal and first in 12 games in last Saturday’s 5-2 win over Edmonton. The Islanders may have been idle since that contest, but they were busy on Tuesday by recalling left wing Andrew Ladd and defenseman Thomas Hickey from their two-game conditioning stints with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. Ladd, who has been sidelined since Nov. 13 with a lower-body issue, delivered five points (one goal, four assists) for the Sound Tigers; Hickey had two goals and as many assists after missing 26 games with a head injury.
Don’t get discouraged
Edmonton has been outscored 16-6 during its four-game losing streak and it is 1-8-2 in its last 11 contests, falling to 14th place in the Western Conference. The Oilers recently faced these same Islanders this past weekend and suffered a 5-2 road loss in New York.
“For us, it’s important not to get discouraged,” defenseman Darnell Nurse said following that contest. “Bring that hard-working attitude each and every day. We need to limit, obviously, the chances that we give up and find a way to get on the right side of the score sheet. We’re doing a lot of things right, but at the same time, we’re not getting the results.”
Let's Go get this one. Go Isles!!!
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The Islanders didn't deserve to be in that game in the 3rd period last night with how sloppy they played, so the end result was fair. But they need the two points tonight so they had better gotten it out of their system last night.
Better hang on to the point.