Game Preview: Islanders at Blue Jackets

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (44-25-7) AT COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (41-30-4)
7 PM | NATIONWIDE ARENA
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | NHL.TV
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GAME NOTES | MORNING SKATE UPDATES
SEASON SERIES: NYI LEADS 3-0-0
New York and Columbus are slated to meet for the second time this month as the Isles look to sweep the season series over their Metropolitan Division rivals.
The Islanders have shut out the Blue Jackets in their previous two meetings, 2-0 at NYCB Live on March 11, as well as 3-0 at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 14. Thomas Greiss was in net for both shutouts, stopping 31 shots in each game. The Islanders also beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Dec. 1 at the Coliseum.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

Andrew Ladd will miss the rest of the regular season with a torn ACL.](https://www.nhl.com/islanders/news/isles-day-to-day-ladd-out-for-season/c-306151396)
- The Islanders begin a two-game road trip in Columbus with their final regular season meeting against the Blue Jackets. The Isles wrap up their trip on Thursday in Winnipeg.
- After back-to-back shutout losses to Boston and Montreal and surrendering nine goals in the process, the Islanders bounced back with a 4-2 win over Philadelphia on Saturday and a 2-0 win against Arizona on Sunday.
- With a goal vs Arizona, Brock Nelson reached the 50-point (24G, 26A) mark for the first time in his career. Nelson is two goals shy from his career high (26 goals). The 27-year-old is riding a two-game scoring streak.
- Robin Lehner made 31 saves and earned his fifth shutout of the season. Greiss also has five shutouts this season. The combined 10 shutouts are tied with the club record set in 1975-76.
- With Valtteri Filppula out for four weeks with a lower-body injury, the Islanders called up Tanner Fritz on March 20. The 27-year-old has assumed Filppula's vacancy centering the Isles third line. Fritz earned an applause from the crowd on Sunday afternoon after an impressive shift against Arizona's power play. Fritz logged 11:53 on the ice, including 44 seconds on the penalty kill and had two shots on goal and three hits.
- The win put the Islanders (95 points) within one point of first place of the Metropolitan Division, which is currently occupied by Washington (96 points). The Islanders are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (95 points), but hold a game in hand over the Pens.
- According to Eric Hornick, the Isles magic number to clinch a playoff spot is five. That number can go as low as one if the Islanders score a regulation win over the Blue Jackets.
- The Islanders power play is 1-for-37 since Feb. 22.
- Coach Barry Trotz coached his 1600th NHL game on Sunday and 2,000th professional game (AHL and NHL). Trotz trails Ken Hitchcock in wins and boasts an NHL record of 806-593-60-141.
- The Islanders continue to lead the league in goals against per game at 2.36. The league average is 2.98.
- The Isles are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.

BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

• The Blue Jackets broke out of a three-game losing skid (0-2-1) with a 5-0 victory over Vancouver on Sunday.
  - Josh Anderson (2G, 1A) opened and closed out scoring for Columbus. Anderson has nine points (4G, 5A) in his past six games.
  - Pierre-Luc DuBois snapped an 11-game point drought with his 24th goal of the season on Sunday. DuBois is third in the Blue Jackets leaderboard behind Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson. DuBois has 56 points (24G, 32A) through 75 games played in his sophomore season.
  - Centerman Ryan Dzingel and right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand each also had a goal against Vancouver.
  - Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves. The Russian netminder recorded his seventh shutout of the season and 31st of his NHL career.
  - Defenseman Seth Jones is third in the NHL behind Minnesota's Ryan Suter and Los Angeles Drew Doughty for TOI/GP. Seth Jones is averaging 25:56 of ice time and has played 68 games this season.
  - The Blue Jackets penalty kill (84.5%) is ranked third in the NHL behind Tampa and Arizona. Against the Canucks, the PK went 3-for-3 and has killed 80-of-88 attempts (90.9%) since Dec. 31.
  - Forward Nick Foligno missed his fourth straight game on personal leave. UPDATE: Foligno is back in the Blue Jackets lineup on Tuesday.
  - The Blue Jackets continue their push for an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot. Columbus (86 points) is currently two points out of a playoff spot behind Montreal (88 points).