Isles try to shake rare losing skid against Canucks

A rare losing streak for the New York Islanders has removed most of their margin for error in the pursuit of the franchise's first division title in more than three decades. But yet another losing streak for the Vancouver Canucks has done little to decrease their odds in the mad scramble for the last Western Conference wild-card spot.

A pair of teams on different ends of the playoff race will face each other Saturday night, when the Islanders hope to salvage the finale of a three-game road trip when they visit the Canucks.

Both squads were off Friday after absorbing overtime defeats Thursday. The Islanders squandered a late third-period lead and fell to the host Edmonton Oilers 4-3. The Canucks scored in the waning minutes of the third to force the extra session before losing to the visiting Arizona Coyotes 3-2.

The loss ended an impressive streak for the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders, who dropped the second game of a back-to-back set for the first time in 10 tries this year, and created just their second losing streak in the last two months.

The Islanders, who fell to the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Wednesday, have lost consecutive games just one other time since Dec. 15, a span in which they have gone 21-6-3. New York fell to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout in the final game before the All-Star break on Jan. 22 before resuming play with a 1-0 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 1.

The back-to-back losses have come at an inopportune time for the Islanders, whose lead over the Washington Capitals dwindled to two points after the Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday. New York is seeking its first division title since the 1987-88 season, when it won the Patrick Division.

The Islanders have lost three straight games just once this season -- an 0-2-1 stretch from Nov. 5-10.

"We haven't lost too many times, three or four games in a row," Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said following Thursday's game. "We've just got to stop the bleeding. Get the next game. The next game's the most important. That's how we have to look at it."

The Canucks, meanwhile, can't seem to fall out of the Western Conference playoff race no matter how many wounds they absorb. Vancouver has four losing streaks of at least two games since New Year's Day -- a span in which it has won back-to-back games just once while going 7-8-4.

But that's been enough to hang around in a Western Conference wild-card race nobody seems willing to win, even if Thursday's result allowed the Coyotes (61 points) to move a point ahead of the Canucks.

Entering Friday, Vancouver was two points behind the Minnesota Wild, who occupied the second wild-card spot at 62 points despite going 2-6-3 this month heading into their game Friday against the Detroit Red Wings.

"It's disappointing that you don't get two points right now," Canucks head coach Travis Green said Thursday night. "Two teams that are battling to get points."

--Field Level Media