Okay, the Associated Press posted Red Wings-Islanders preview ahead of tomorrow’s game between the 13-12-and-3 Red Wings and the 7-11-and-5 New York Islanders (7:30 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG+/97.1 FM), and Field Level Media posted another Wings-Islanders preview this afternoon:
The New York Islanders are showing signs of life after an 11-game winless streak. They have won two of their last three heading into their road game against Detroit on Tuesday.
The Islanders ended the long drought with a 5-3 triumph in Ottawa on Tuesday. Following a one-goal loss to Nashville on Thursday, they defeated New Jersey 4-2 on Saturday. The most recent victory had historical significance — it was their first at new UBS Arena.
“I’ll give the fans the credit for the win,” head coach Barry Trotz said. “They stuck with us through the whole game. They stuck with us through the last six or seven games. I was sitting in the office here and you could hear the thunder of the fans in the locker room, in the coaches’ room, that’s fantastic. … We’re going to dig ourselves out of this and try to make some noise.”
Mathew Barzal contributed a pair of assists against the Devils, extending his personal point streak to six games. He has a goal and eight assists in that span. Barzal sees signs that the team is starting to believe in itself again.
“When you lose a couple late like we have recently at home, that confidence, that championship mentality that we had the last couple of years, it seemed like it wasn’t there for a little bit,” he said. “I really thought (Saturday) we got it back.”
Oliver Wahlstrom also had two assists, giving him six points over his last three games.
“He’s playing a straight-line game and he’s using people,” Trotz said of Wahlstrom. “He’s got his head up, his awareness is getting better. Right now, we’ve got some people who are good players, who aren’t playing. This is the back pressure that you have when you have an almost healthy or healthy lineup. Wahlstrom will have to continue producing and playing well, as will some other guys.”
Continued; the Wings beat the Islanders 3-2 in an overtime decision late last month.
