Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the New York islanders (4-5-3, 11 points) and Ottawa Senators (4-6-3, 11 points) faceoff in the first of three meetings this season live from the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all the action on WRHU 88.7 FM while Ottawa fans can do the same on TSN TEAM 1200
The Islanders enter play in third place in the Metropolitan Division and seven points behind the division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins while the Senators come into the contest in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, 10 points shy of the first place Toronto Maple Leafs.
New York has shown some grit thus far this season while also going through some frustrating set-backs. The latest frustration came when the team lost 3-2 at home to the rival New York Rangers Tuesday, with the game-winning goal against it coming with just over six minutes left in the third period. The team is 2-4-2 in its last eight.
"You have to stay positive," Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Newsday in light of his team's recent stretch. "These guys know what we need to be doing and they have to stick with it. There's no time for panic or being overly critical. They know."
The Senators also endured a frustrating night Tuesday, blowing a 4-3 lead in the third frame on the road against Chicago and eventually falling 6-5 to the Blackhawks. Coach Paul MacLean tried to experiment with different line combinations in practice this week.
"We haven't tried the ones that we had today," MacLean told the Senators website after a practice. "We're trying to find a way to play better, we haven't played a consistent [game]."
Frans Nielsen has led the Islanders in goals (7) and points (15) while adding eight assists and captain John Tavares has put up a team-high nine assists and added four goals for 13 points while Kyle Okposo has four goals and eight assists for 12 points. Newly acquired forward Thomas Vanek is fourth on the team with nine points off of four tallies and five helpers as he enters his second game with the club.
The Senators, meanwhile, have been paced by Jason Spezza (7-5-12), Erik Karlsson (3-8-11), Kyle Turris (2-9-11) and Bobby Ryan (6-4-10).
The Senators turn to Craig Anderson between the pipes most nights, and he's posted a 4-4-2 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Evgeni Nabokov has backstopped the Islanders in 10 out of their 12 games and is 4-3-3 with a 2.84 GAA and a .906 save percentage.
Two teams with recent struggles hope to break out the offense tonight when the Islanders and Senators square off and the lights come on at Canadian Tire Center tonight in Ottawa.
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