Some late heroics have the Ducks riding a four-game winning streak. Anaheim will look to deal the slumping New York Islanders an eighth straight loss this evening at Honda Center.
Although the Islanders are 0-7 in their last seven games, there have been some signs of improvement. The Islanders looked much better against the Flyers in their last contest, and have shown some positives.
The Islanders, who started off the year so hot, are currently colder than ice, and can't seem to find any secondary scoring. Matt Moulson, John Tavares and Josh Bailey haven't been lighting the lamp. And the defense has let their respective goalies hang to dry.
This game starts a three-game road stand for the Islanders.
The Ducks concluded a three-game homestand with a perfect record on Sunday thanks to defenseman Paul Mara's goal with just 1.7 seconds left in regulation for a 5-4 victory over the Predators. It was fellow blueliner Lubomir Visnovsky's turn on Tuesday as he notched the game-winner with 32.6 ticks left in overtime to give his team a 3-2 triumph over the Sharks.
Jonas Hiller finished with 39 saves, including 21 in the third period, and Corey Perry and Jason Blake scored in regulation for the Ducks, who hadn't won back-to-back games this season prior to this winning streak. Anaheim guns for a fifth straight victory tonight for the first time since Jan. 5-13.
"We found a way to play together. We didn't play at our best, but we found a way to win," Hiller said.
Anaheim returns home for two straight and is 5-1-1 as the host this season.
Home ice hasn't helped the Ducks lately versus the Islanders, who are 2-0-1 with a tie in their last for trips to the Honda Center. New York is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall, but did lose a 5-4 overtime decision in Anaheim on March 19. Saku Koivu had the game-winner 14 seconds into OT and Visnovsky scored twice.
Curtis McElhinney got the win in relief of Hiller, who allowed three goals on 17 shots. McElhinney made 13 saves in his first ever appearance against the Islanders.
New York heads out west for three straight games and is slated to make stops in Anaheim, San Jose and Los Angeles. The Islanders have been held to two goals or less in each of their last five games and have been outscored 31-12 on their seven-game slide.
(The Sports Network contributed to this report)
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