Favourites Ottawa Senators travel to play New York Islanders – NHL Preview
The present three-game road trip is yielding all the benefits it can for the Ottawa Senators and they would certainly want end it on a positive note as they take on New York Islanders on Monday, February 20, 2012, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale,
New York.
The Islanders, on the other hand, are inconsistent and find it difficult to perform well under pressure.
Let’s have a look at both the teams.
Senators
The Senators entered this month carrying a four-game losing streak, which stretched to seven games in the first week.
However, they have done quite well after snapping the skid.
Out of the last four games, Senators have won three and are currently on a two-game winning streak.
In their last game, they crushed the Florida Panthers in what became a one-sided game after the first period.
Both the teams scored a goal each in the first period, but Senators got three goals in the second and two in the third to overpower the Panthers, who only scored two goals in the game.
Senators’ coach, Paul MacLean, said of the team’s performance:
"You don't score six in a game, you don't continue to win if you don't get contributions from everybody."
Senators are ranked at seventh place in National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference with 68 points after 60 games.
Islanders
The Islanders have set a unique trend of winning and losing games at regular intervals in this month and have failed to maintain either the winning or a losing streak.
They are ranked at 12th spot in the Eastern Conference with 58 points after 58 games.
Their last victory came against Carolina Hurricanes in which they scored the only goal of the final minute to get the victory.
Before that, both the teams had scored a goal each in the first period and two apiece in the second.
Islanders think that they are still very much in the playoff contention and can reach the safe zone if they maintain a winning run.
Islanders’ centre, John Tavares, said:
“Obviously, it's been up and down, but we're battling and we're still in this thing. We just need to keep it going and find way to (win) a couple in a row here."
Predictions
Senators have an edge over Islanders.
The sum of goals scored by both the teams will exceed six.
In case of Islanders’ victory, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
Tags: