While the New York Islanders continue to jockey for playoff position, the Ottawa Senators are doing their best to remain relevant in the postseason chase.
Eyeing a fourth straight road win, the Islanders will look to hand the Senators a second straight loss on Thursday, something Ottawa hasn’t experienced in nearly two months.
A year removed from missing the playoffs, New York (39-24-5, 83 points) sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins but just two points ahead of the surging Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Islanders have been relatively consistent of late, going 12-5-0 since Jan. 26. They have won eight of their past 11 on the road, yielding an average of 2.5 goals in those 11 contests.
“Everyone’s winning games, including us,” said New York center Mathew Barzal, who notched three assists on Tuesday during the Islanders’ 3-1 victory at Toronto. “So that’s just the race it is this year, and we just got to keep pace and hopefully push the pace.
“That’s the best part about this, this time of year, every game means a little more. And, every play means a little more.”
Barzal has totaled 35 of his team-leading 63 points in 36 road games this season. He produced six points in the Islanders’ past two contests away from home.
Barzal earned an assist while captain Anders Lee scored a goal and set up two others during the Islanders’ 5-4 away victory against the Senators on Oct. 18. New York has won four straight at Ottawa and is 14-3-1 there since Nov. 1, 2013.
The Senators (34-24-9, 77 points) enter the Thursday contest five points out of a playoff spot. They were riding a 14-4-4 surge prior to losing 4-1 at Washington on Wednesday. It was a potentially costly setback for Ottawa, which had won its previous two contests.
Ottawa last dropped two in a row on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
“This time of the year, this point of the season, it’s that playoff mindset,” Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “We (didn’t like) our game (Wednesday), but we get a chance to go right back at it (Thursday). It’s a big one for us, and we’ve got to respond like we’ve been doing.”
Ottawa should remain confident at home, where it’s amid a 6-2-2 stretch.
After scoring his team-high 31st goal on Wednesday, Senators center Tim Stutzle has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in the past 17 games.
Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark (2.79 goals-against average) made 21 saves against the Capitals during his fourth consecutive start. Backup James Reimer is 4-3-1 with a 2.53 GAA in eight starts since joining the Senators in mid-January. Reimer stopped all 16 shots he faced in his most recent action, a 2-0 victory at Vancouver on March. 9.
New York’s Ilya Sorokin (2.49 GAA) made 26 saves on Tuesday at Toronto, and he stopped 28 of 32 shots at Ottawa earlier this season. Teammate David Rittich has a 2.66 GAA in 26 starts, but he has allowed 11 goals while losing his last three road starts in regulation.
Lee recorded five goals and four assists in his past six games vs. Ottawa. However, he enters the matchup mired in a six-game point drought.
