Ottawa @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2018 ) NY Islanders 4, Ottawa 3

There’s been no bigger improvement for the New York Islanders this season than their performance in the defensive zone and they hope to continue that trend when the struggling Ottawa Senators pay a visit to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday night. The Islanders were last in the league in goals-against (3.57 per game) in 2017-18, but went into the Christmas break third in the NHL (2.71) this season after a 3-1 victory at Dallas on Sunday.

“We stayed to the game plan,” New York’s first-year coach Barry Trotz told reporters after the victory. “We stayed to the details and commitment you need to win and I thought we won as a team (Sunday). We took a high-octane type of team and shut them down for the most part.” The Islanders allowed one goal each in the three wins on their four-game road trip before the break and look to take advantage of the fading Senators, who are last in the league in goals-against (3.89) after giving up nine while losing the last two games. Ottawa is 3-6-1 since capping a three-game winning streak by beating San Jose on Dec. 1 and will be without No. 1 goalie Craig Anderson indefinitely after he suffered a concussion before the break. “We’re a young team, we’re inexperienced and we’re still learning to get better. Consistency is going to be something we’re going to battle with,” Senators center Matt Duchene told reporters. “But it’s the challenge and it’s the thing we should be shooting for with consistency in our effort and how we’re playing.”

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

ABOUT THE SENATORS (15-18-4): Right wing Mark Stone has been a consistent force offensively this season and leads the team with 16 goals and 40 points, including five tallies and seven assists in 11 December games. Thomas Chabot went into the break second in the league in scoring for defensemen with 37 points while Duchene has 36 and needs two assists to reach 300 in his career. Mike McKenna (1-3-1, .902 save percentage) will likely get the bulk of the work between the pipes with Anderson out and Ottawa recalled goalie Marcus Hogberg from Belleville of the American Hockey League.

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (18-13-4): Center Casey Cizikas scored Sunday to match his career high of nine goals (2014-15) in 28 games this season. “You’ve got to love Casey,” Trotz told reporters. “You talk about an Islander identity, that’s it. You put his picture right (next to) the Islander identity. He comes to work every night and he plays hard. I think he’s gotten better and better every year.” New York needs more production from its top scorers as Mathew Barzal leads the team with 29 points - one better than fellow forward Josh Bailey, who owns six assists in the last eight contests but has no goals in 13 games.

OVERTIME

1. New York RW Jordan Eberle was held out of practice because of stiffness and will be re-evaluated Friday.

2. Ottawa D Cody Ceci (four goals, nine points) is slated to play his 400th NHL contest Friday.

3. Islanders D Johnny Boychuk, who missed Sunday’s game for the birth of his child, is expected back in the lineup Friday.

PREDICTION: Islanders 5, Senators 2