Anaheim (23-20-5) at NY Islanders (12-29-5), 7:00 pm EST
UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- After shutting down goaltender
Rick DiPietro for the rest of the season, the Islanders will
hope to end their latest embarrassing losing streak when they
host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
After posting a 2-10-2 record last month, the Islanders are
threatening to go winless in January with only three games left.
New York did manage to pick up its first point of the month,
suffering a 2-1 overtime setback to the Washington Capitals on
Monday.
Rookie Kyle Okposo netted a power-play goal as the Islanders
lost their eight straight. This slide doesn't even mark the
club's longest losing skid of the season -- the Isles dropped 10
in a row to start December.
Due to DiPietro's knee injury and Joey MacDonald's struggles,
Yann Denis has made three consecutive starts. He has yet to
record his first career win, posting an 0-5-1 record with a 3.53
goals-against average and .887 save percentage.
The Ducks, who are on a five-game road swing, did not enjoy
their first stop in the New York-Metropolitan area. Rookie
Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry each scored their 14th goal of the
season in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
After the All-Star break, Anaheim wraps up the trip in Phoenix
on Tuesday.
The Ducks will have three starters at the midseason gala as Ryan
Getzlaf, defenseman Scott Niedermayer and Jean-Sebastien Giguere
were all voted into the festivities in Montreal.