MattMartin
Killer Instinct™
Preview
The New York Islanders are off to a fast start, and they're in position to hand the Chicago Blackhawks their first three-game winless streak since February 2012 when the teams meet at the United Center on Friday night.
Hart Trophy finalist John Tavares scored his first two goals of the season as he joined a balanced Islanders attack. Four New York players have at least four points, and nine have scored goals.
Michael Grabner leads the way with two goals and four assists, three of which came against Phoenix. He had five assists in 45 games last season.
Chicago (1-1-1) last went three games without a victory during a three-game losing streak Feb. 23-26, 2012. It's on the verge of matching that slide after a 3-2 defeat at St. Louis on Wednesday.
The Blackhawks are 4 for 11 on the power play while the Islanders are 3 for 10. New York, though, has killed off 6 of 7 short-handed situations while Chicago has killed just 4 of 9 after allowing a league-low 18 power-play goals during the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
The Blackhawks have won the past three matchups with the Islanders, getting four goals and two assists from Patrick Sharp. The teams last met Dec. 8, 2011 at Nassau Coliseum, a 3-2 Blackhawks win in which Sharp had two goals and an assist.
Nabokov has struggled in his last six games against Chicago, going 1-2-3 with a 4.00 goals-against average.
Useful links
http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/
http://www.tsn.ca/
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/islanders/
http://www.nypost.com/sports/islanders/islanders.htm
http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/
http://www.islesinfo.com/main.html
Blues Brothers - 'Sweet Home Chicago'
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