Possibly the best chance for the Islanders to snap their losing streak comes Sunday against the Blackhawks.
The good news: the Islanders have earned points in consecutive games.
The bad news: the losing streak is still on and has now reached 10 in a row.
The Islanders have another chance to right the ship on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
This will be New York’s best chance to earn a win since their losings streak began. The Blackhawks have been much better since firing Jeremy Colliton, but are still one of the worst teams in the NHL.
They’re the worst team the Islanders will have faced since beginning the losing streak. Now that the Islanders have most of their players back, this will be a huge opportunity for them to get going.
They’re coming off their best game in weeks, too. Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings was the first time the Islanders scored more than one goal in nine games and the team has earned points in back-to-back matchups.
The Islanders are the worst offensive team in the NHL and the Blackhawks aren’t much better. The Islanders are also the worst team in the league on the man-advantage while the Blackhawks are below-average, but not as bad.
Defensively, the Islanders are still one of the best in the league while the Blackhawks are below-average. They both have above-average penalty kills, but Chicago’s is slightly better.
The Blackhawks have some of the worst goaltending in the league and New York’s is about average.
The Islanders did just play on Saturday, but the good news is that the Blackhawks did, as well. The Islanders’ first win of the season came against the Blackhawks and today would be a great time for them to get their second.
Blackhawks players to watch:
RHD Seth Jones
Last 5 games: 1 G, 6 PTS
This season: 23 GP, 3 G, 21 PTS
RW Patrick Kane
This season: 19 GP, 7 G, 21 PTS
Career vs. NYI: 18 GP, 11 G, 23 PTS
G Marc-André Fleury
Last 5 games: 0.941 SV%, 1.80 GAA
Career vs. NYI: 46 GP, .918 SV%, 2.46 GAA
C Jonathan Toews
Career vs. NYI: 18 GP, 6 G, 16 PTS
Islanders player to watch:
G Semyon Varlamov
Career vs. CHI: 25 GP, .934 SV%, 2.27 GAA
