Islanders Haul Their Road Woes Into Music City
New York and Nashville sit level in the standings, and each side has been leaking more chances than it creates.
Written before the game
The Islanders and Predators arrive at this game level on 12 points, and both have been living on thin ice. Over their last 10 games, each club has allowed better scoring chances than it has created.
The Islanders show the bigger gap. Their own looks have been worth 2.83 expected goals a game, while their opponents' looks have been worth 3.37. Expected goals are the number of goals a team's chances would usually produce. Nashville has come closer to breaking even on chance quality, but it has been outshot more heavily on attempts. The Predators average 54.8 shot attempts for and 61.7 against.
The venue matters for both teams. New York is 4-1-1 at home but only 1-3-1 on the road, and it comes in off a loss. Nashville is 3-2-1 at home and enters on a one-game winning streak.
The standings stakes are real. The Islanders are fifth in the Metropolitan and hold the East's sixth wild-card position. The Predators are fifth in the Central and ninth in the West. A win would move either club ahead of the other in points.