New York @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 5, 2019 ) Ottawa 1, NY Islanders 4

The New York Islanders haven't had many bright spots during their four-game winless skid (0-2-2), but they received a victory of sorts after learning defenseman Johnny Boychuk escaped serious injury following a harrowing exchange in their last outing. The Islanders aim to get back on track Thursday when they visit the Ottawa Senators.

Boychuk received 90 stitches to close a wound along his eyelid after he was hit by a skate blade in the third period of New York's 6-2 setback to Montreal on Tuesday. "He had quite a night," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said Wednesday. "... He'll be fine. It's just a matter of time with the eye opening up and him feeling good." While New York has a tenuous hold on a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference following a 2-6-2 stretch, Ottawa lost any semblance of a grip on that long ago after losing 22 of 29 games (7-14-8) following the Christmas break. "We're going to play another desperate team in the Islanders and we've got to be willing to get in the battle," Senators coach D.J. Smith said Wednesday.

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: MSG-Plus, TSN5, RDS2

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (35-22-8): Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in each of his first two games with New York to pay immediate dividends since signing a six-year, $30 million contract following a trade deadline deal with Ottawa. Pageau, who endured a nightmare by finishing with a disastrous minus-5 rating against the Canadiens, told reporters Wednesday that he hopes to keep it in check in his return to hometown. "There's going to be a lot of emotions," the 27-year-old said. "My main focus will be on what we have to do as a team here to be better, to come out and play hard and win all of our battles. Going back to your hometown to play and dressing on the other side is going to be different, but it's a new chapter now. My main focus is with this team and I want to win."

ABOUT THE SENATORS (23-32-12): Colin White has made the most of his additional playing time over the last two games, scoring a goal in Monday's 4-3 overtime loss at Columbus before setting up a pair of tallies the following night in a 7-3 shellacking by Pittsburgh. "It's good for him," Smith said of the 23-year-old. "We need him to get confidence at the end of the year, we need him to get some minutes." Smith was optimistic that Anthony Duclair would return from a one-game absence due to an ankle injury, but he said that decision would ultimately be made on Thursday.

OVERTIME

1. New York is 0-4-1 in its last five road games.

2. Ottawa has lost six in a row in the series.

3. The Islanders converted a penalty shot in both a 4-2 victory in Ottawa on Oct. 25 and a 4-1 victory over the Senators 11 nights later.

PREDICTION: Islanders 3, Senators 2