GDT: - New York Islanders @ Ottawa, 7:30PM SNET/TSN1200

SpezDispenser wrote:Now's not the time to trade Anderson IMO.  This summer perhaps, but not yet, unless the piece coming back makes it impossible to say no.

tim1_2 wrote:Where's the downvote button when you need it??

shabbs wrote:GAME DAY!

Last 10: New York 3-5-2; Ottawa 3-6-1

Season series: They'll meet this one time and not again until a home-and-home the first week in April. The Ottawa Senators went 2-0-1 against the New York Islanders last season and are 5-0-3 in the past eight games between the teams.

Big story: Each team finds itself in similar straits, taking a solid step forward only to suffer frustrating setbacks. The Islanders' road win against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Friday was their most emotional victory of the season, but home losses to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers undid any benefits from that game. The Senators scored a season-high six goals against the Detroit Red Wings last Wednesday, but three straight losses since then make that 6-1 road win a distant memory.
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wprager wrote:"Berth"

Who's Hot

NY ISLANDERS

Thomas Hickey (D) 2 pts in last 3 GP
Andrew MacDonald (D) 3 pts in last 5 GP
Frans Nielsen (C) 7 pts in last 4 GP
Kyle Okposo (RW) 8 pts in last 6 GP
John Tavares (C) 13 pts in last 11 GP

OTTAWA

Erik Karlsson (D) 3 pts in last 2 GP
Kyle Turris (C) 3 pts in last 2 GP
Jason Spezza (C) 10 pts in last 7 GP
Clarke MacArthur (LW) 5 pts in last 5 GP
Milan Michalek (LW/RW) 3 pts in last 3 GP
Mika Zibanejad (W/C) 3 pts in last 4 GP

Who's Cold

NY ISLANDERS

Michael Grabner (LW) 0 pts in last 3 GP
Kevin Poulin (G) 0-2-0, 3.53, .881 in last 2 GPI

OTTAWA

Colin Greening (LW) 0 pts in last 6 GP
Craig Anderson (G) 0-2-0, 5.55, .841 in last 2 GPI

Injuries

NY ISLANDERS

Lubomir Visnovsky (D) Concussion (Injured reserve)
Brian Strait (D) Upper body injury (Day-to-day)

OTTAWA
No Injured Players

The New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators are struggling to stop opponents.

Friday night's contest in Ottawa could be a high-scoring affair as New York seeks just its second win in seven meetings.

Both have lost four of five, with the Islanders (4-5-3) allowing at least three goals in each and the Senators (4-6-2) surrendering 11 goals over back-to-back losses. Each club permits 3.1 goals per game, ranking near the bottom of the league.

New York's penalty kill has been lacking, allowing opponents to convert 3 of 7 chances in consecutive defeats, including two goals on four opportunities in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers. The Islanders also went scoreless on six power plays in those two losses after going 7 for 18 in their previous five games.

"I don't think there's been a team that's killed every penalty in a season or a team that's scored on every power play," defenseman Travis Hamonic, who scored his first goal of the season Tuesday, told the team's official website. "Special teams have been a strength and hopefully we get back to where we feel they should be. We have the personnel in here to be in the top of the league in both categories."

Mediocre goaltending lately from Craig Anderson has hurt the Senators. He's allowed 11 goals on 69 shots in losses to San Jose and Chicago, including a hat trick to Jonathan Toews in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to the Blackhawks.

But Anderson, who had gone 4-2-2 with a .930 save percentage in his first eight starts, also pointed to the defense in front of him. The Senators surrendered 40 shots to the Blackhawks, and are allowing an NHL-worst 37.0 per game.

"We scored five goals, we should win the game," said Anderson, who is 3-0-1 with a 0.99 goals-against average in his last four starts versus New York. "We need to take a little bit more pride and keep the puck out of our net and play a little tougher in front of our net."

Seeking his first goal as an Islander will be Thomas Vanek, who didn't record a point against the Rangers after being acquired from Buffalo on Sunday in exchange for Matt Moulson and two draft picks. Vanek was slotted on the team's top line alongside Kyle Okposo and John Tavares, who had a 10-game point streak snapped.

Vanek is without a point in his last five meetings with Ottawa.

"I think we've just got to try to go play," Tavares told the team's website. "At times we tried to be a little too cute or we should have simplified things. When we did that we started to get more pucks to the net. We'll get used to each other and play on our instincts with confidence and feed off each other."

Jason Spezza has eight points in his last six games against the Islanders.

The Senators are 8 for 20 on power plays during their current 5-1-0 stretch in the series, while the Islanders are 1 for 22.

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:GAME DAY!

So are you going to do a GDT or do we transform this one into a GDT?

Flo The Action wrote:

wprager wrote:"Berth"

ya ya ya.... try studying 12 hours a day and then not make any mistakes typing.

Ev wrote:Over/under on wprager ref complaints: 5.5