Edmonton @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2018 ) NY Islanders 1, Edmonton 2

The first-place New York Islanders host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday as the NHL's stingiest defense continues to stymie opponents. New York has won four of its last five games after Thursday's 3-0 road victory over Metropolitan Division-rival Columbus, allowing eight goals during that span and prompting Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella to tell reporters: "Give them credit. They have the No. 1 defensive team for a reason."

The Islanders have gone from the worst defensive team in the league (3.57 goals allowed in 2017-18) to the best this season (2.30) with a fresh approach under first-year coach Barry Trotz. Robin Lehner (31 games) and Thomas Greiss (30) have backboned the defense - combining to play all but 20 minutes in goal this season, with the latter making 31 saves on Thursday for his third shutout in six starts. "They've both been good, and we've been keeping them fresh," Trotz told reporters. "Both have responded, so there's no reason to sort of ride one when we can probably ride both of them. We'll see." The Oilers have lost three straight and nine of their last 10 games (1-7-2) after Friday's 3-1 setback at Carolina left them seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific (Edmonton), MSG Plus (New York)

ABOUT THE OILERS (24-28-5): Captain Connor McDavid (31 goals, team-high 82 points - third in the league) had his nine-game point streak snapped Friday as he was kept off the scoresheet for only the seventh time this season. Leon Draisaitl scored his club-high 34th goal of the season versus Carolina, giving him seven in his last six contests. Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves on Friday in losing his fifth straight decision and could yield the net to Anthony Stolarz, whom Edmonton acquired late Friday night from Philadelphia for Cam Talbot.

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (34-17-6): All-star center Mathew Barzal (team-high 49 points) recorded an assist on Thursday after being kept off the scoresheet in the previous three games while Casey Cizikas has scored three of his 15 goals in the last two contests after tallying twice against Columbus. Josh Bailey (42 points) recorded a goal and an assist versus the Blue Jackets, giving him two of his 13 goals and two assists in the last four games. Anders Lee, who played his 400th career game on Thursday, leads the club with 18 goals but hasn't scored in his last 11 contests.

OVERTIME

1. Greiss is 4-0-1 with a .987 save percentage in his last five games.

2. New York has killed 15-of-16 penalties over its last eight games, while Edmonton hasn't scored a power-play goal (0-for-5) or allowed one (0-for-3) in its last two contests.

3. Edmonton has won four of the last five meetings, including a pair of 2-1 victories last season - one in overtime and the other in a shootout.

PREDICTION: Islanders 3, Oilers 2