Game Preview: Islanders at Blue Jackets

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (37-27-8) AT BLUE JACKETS (22-41-7)
7 PM ET | NATIONWIDE ARENA
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The New York Islanders head to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Friday night in hopes of earning two points for their fourth consecutive win.
The Islanders are coming off an explosive 7-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. Zach Parise, Hudson Fasching, Cal Clutterbuck (2G, 1A), Simon Holmstrom, Noah Dobson (ENG, 1A) and Anders Lee (1G, 1A) scored to match the Islanders' highest goal total of the season. Sam Lafferty and Mitch Marner netted a pair for Toronto. Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for his 26th win of the season.

The Blue Jackets are also coming off a high-scoring victory, winning a 7-6 OT thriller against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. Seven players had multi-point nights in the win: Johnny Gaudreau (2A), Adam Boqvist (2G), Patrik Laine (2A), Eric Robinson (1G, 1A), Emil Bemstrom (1G, 1A), Johnson Kent (2A) and Jack Roslovic (2G).
The Islanders lead the season series 3-0 against Columbus with their most recent win coming on Dec. 29 in a 2-1 victory at UBS Arena. Every result of the series has been a one-goal decision, with prior wins on Nov. 25 (3-2) and Nov. 12 (4-3 OT). The Islanders are 11-2-1 against the Blue Jackets over their last 14 matchups.
The Islanders (82 points) are holding onto the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference as the regular season winds down with 10 games remaining. The Pittsburgh Penguins (80 points) lost 3-2 to Dallas in regulation on Thursday night, while the Florida Panthers (79 points) also dropped a 6-2 decision to Toronto. The Penguins are holding onto the second wild card spot and the Panthers chase by one point, with both teams matching the Islanders with 72 games played. The Islanders have the most regulation wins (37) which holds as the first factor in any tie-breaking scenerio.
"We're playing important hockey and winning some games," Matt Martin said on Thursday after practice. "Our destiny is completely in our control and we just have to take care of business. Things can change so quicky in the standings."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders are riding a three-game win streak and are 10 games over the NHL-.500 for the first time this season.
  - Brock Nelson was a full participant in Thursday's practice after leaving in the first period of Tuesday's 7-2 win over Toronto.
  "He always seems to come right back, which is good," Martin said of his teammate. "We need him out there and I think everyone was pretty relieved that he's okay."
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  - Sebastian Aho not skate with the team on Thursday and is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury. According to Head Coach Lane Lambert, Mathew Barzal is also not skating yet and has no timeline for his return. Despite these injuries, the Islanders are stepping up as a team to find ways to stay competitive in the absence of injured players.
  "Losing a guy like Barzal hurts," Brock Nelson said. "But I think everybody from that point on took hold of more ice time and opportunity [to] try and fill that void. With that said, we put ourselves in a good spot and hopefully [Barzal] is close to coming back."
  - Samuel Bolduc slotted into the lineup and skated on a pairing with Noah Dobson and skated 15:59 TOI.
  - Hudson Fasching has eight points (4G, 4A) over his last 10 games, raising his point total to 17 on the season. The 27-year-old winger has eight goals and nine assists through 39 games played since his call-up from Bridgeport on Dec. 4.
  "He's giving himself an opportunity," Lambert said of Fasching. "I like his game. He has poise with the puck. You always want somebody like that to come in and make it very hard to take him out of the lineup. He's done a really good job with that."
  - Cal Clutterbuck recorded his first career three-point night on Tuesday, with a pair of goals and a helper in the 7-2 win.
  "It's nice to be able to chip in and help out," Cal Clutterbuck said. "Especially when [the team] needs a lift, I'm happy to provide it."
  - Zach Parise is riding a three-game goal streak and has four points (3G, 1A) over that span. The veteran winger has 19 goals on the season, most since 2019-20. Parise recorded 22 points (14G, 8A) in 27 career games against Columbus, including the OT winner on Nov. 12.
  - Jean-Gabriel Pageau has six points (2G, 4A) in his last four games since returning from injury.
  - With his 239th goal for the Islanders on Tuesday, Anders Lee took sole possession of eighth on the all-time list. The captain is one goal shy of tying last season's goal total (28).
  - Lou Lamoriello became the second GM in NHL history with 1,400 wins on Tuesday night.

BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

• The Blue Jackets rank last in the Metropolitan Division and were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday for the third consecutive season.
  - The Blue Jackets loaned Cole Sillinger to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters on Thursday. The 19-year-old center collected 11 points (3G, 8A) through 64 games played in his second NHL season and has not previously dressed for the Monsters in his career. The Blue Jackets' 2021 first round pick (12th overall) is expected to give the team a boost in their push for the Calder Cup.
  "This is a great opportunity for Cole to join the Monsters as they continue to push for a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs," Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen said on Thursday. "Taking on additional responsibilities and playing games with playoff implications is hugely important for the development of a young player like Cole."
  - Goaltender Daniil Tarasov was also loaned to Cleveland on Thursday. The 23-year-old posted a 4-11-1 record through 16 starts, along with a 3.91 GAA and .892 SV%.
  - Columbus signed Hunter McKown to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday. He spent three seasons playing NCAA hockey for Colorado College, tallying 28 points (21G, 7A) through 38 games in his junior season, leading the NCAA with 14 power play goals this season. McKown, 20, went undrafted in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Islanders might face him on Friday if the young center makes his NHL debut.
  - Johnny Gaudreau put up 65 points (17G, 48A) in his first season in Columbus, which leads the team in assists and points. The 29-year-old winger spent parts of nine seasons in Calgary prior to joining the Blue Jackets.
  - Sean Kuraly participated in Thursday's practice and has been cleared to play after suffering a lower-body injury in practice on Mar. 2. The 30-year-old collected 17 points (10G, 7A) through 59 games played in his second season with Columbus.
  - Jack Roslovic had a two-goal performance on Tuesday night, netting the overtime winner against Washington, marking the third multi-goal outing of the season for the 26-year-old.
  - The Blue Jackets are without Zach Werenski, who is out for the season with an upper-body injury and has not been in the lineup since Nov. 10.