New York @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2019 ) NY Islanders 4, Ottawa 2

The New York Islanders shook off an uneven start to their season and will try for their sixth consecutive victory when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Friday. The Islanders dropped three of their first four games, including two at home, but have allowed a total of nine goals during a five-game winning streak that was extended with Thursday's 4-2 triumph over Arizona.

Brock Nelson recorded a pair of assists to take over the team scoring lead with nine points and Josh Bailey netted one tally while setting up another in the victory for New York, which allowed a season low-tying 23 shots. The Islanders have won the last four meetings - including all three last season - with the Senators, who posted their second win of the campaign on Wednesday with a solid 5-2 victory over Detroit that kicked off a three-game homestand. Anthony Duclair scored twice while defenseman Thomas Chabot and Chris Tierney each notched two points as Ottawa snapped a four-game slide during which it recorded a total of just five goals. “You watch that game and maybe they’re a little tired on the back-to-back, but we just kind of smothered them,” Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki told the Ottawa Sun after scoring a goal on Wednesday. “That’s the type of hockey we have to play to be successful, and we’re going to slowly figure that out. If we can bring that kind of effort from everyone, we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus2 (New York), TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa)

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (6-3-0): Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury and registered one shot along with three hits in 14 minutes, 10 seconds of ice time. Captain Anders Lee recorded his third goal of the season Thursday, but Mathew Barzal saw his four-game point streak end against Arizona after collecting four goals and two assists during the run. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 21 shots on Thursday for his third win, which could mean Thomas Greiss (3-1-0, .930 save percentage) gets the start against Ottawa in the second contest of its back-to-back set.

ABOUT THE SENATORS (2-6-1): Vladislav Namestnikov has registered a team-best four goals and seven points, which ties him for the club lead with Chabot and Connor Brown (seven assists) after being acquired from the New York Rangers. With centers Colin White (hip flexor) and Artem Anisimov (lower body) out, former first-round draft pick Logan Brown was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League and saw 12 minutes, 9 seconds of ice time on Wednesday while J.C. Beaudin registered one shot in 6:39 of action in his NHL debut. Anders Nilsson (1-2-1, .935 save percentage) could make his third straight start after giving up two goals in each of the last two.

OVERTIME

1. Senators LW Brady Tkachuk has registered 36 shots, eight more than anyone else on the team, but has scored just twice.

2. New York C Leo Komarov (three assists) missed Thursday’s game due to illness and is not expected to make the trip to Ottawa.

3. Ottawa has scored just once on 27 power-play attempts over its first nine games of the campaign.

PREDICTION: Senators 4, Islanders 3