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Isles hope to avoid 14th straight loss, host Blue Jackets

Nov 24, 2010 - 4:16 PM (Sports Network) - It's been over a month since the New York Islanders last celebrated a victory. They'll try to change that tonight at Nassau Coliseum against a Columbus Blue Jackets' club that has won in each of its last four trips to the ice.

The Islanders have lost 13 in a row since last winning at Tampa Bay on Oct. 21 and the 0-11-2 stretch marks the longest losing streak in club history. New York did suffer through a 15-game winless streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 23, 1999, but that drought featured three ties.

New York's most recent setback came in heart-breaking fashion, as Dustin Byfuglien scored 90 seconds into overtime to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to a 2-1 victory Sunday at Philips Arena.

In the extra session, Byfuglien received a pass from Tobias Enstrom in the high slot, glided to the mid slot and snapped a wrister past Rick DiPietro for the win. DiPietro stopped 33 shots in the loss and Michael Grabner scored the lone goal for the Islanders.

"A loss is a loss. We're doing things better and the effort is there, but it's very frustrating to lose," DiPietro said.

The loss dropped New York to 0-2-1 under interim head coach Jack Capuano, who took over after Scott Gordon was fired last week.

Tonight marks the start of a three-game homestand for the Isles, who have lost four straight at the Coliseum. New York is just 2-4-1 as the host this season.

Isles center Doug Weight missed his second straight game with back spasms on Sunday and he is questionable for tonight's game. Defenseman Mike Mottau will be sidelined indefinitely after getting hit in the eye with the puck against the Thrashers. Mottau was taken to the hospital and was released on Tuesday.

The Blue Jackets picked up their fourth consecutive victory on Monday night and posted their second straight shutout in the process. Columbus posted a 3-0 victory in San Jose on Saturday and then recorded a 2-0 decision Monday against visiting Nashville.

Mathieu Garon stopped 35 shots to blank the Sharks while Steve Mason made 27 saves on the Predators to record his first shutout of the season. It was the first time in team history that Columbus recorded back-to-back shutouts with different goaltenders.

"Obviously a shutout is a total team effort and tonight, much like we have had in our past couple of games, the defensemen have been great -- a lot of big blocked shots -- and they are really making both goaltender's jobs easier," Mason said.

It's unclear if head coach Scott Arniel will go with Garon or Mason tonight.

Rick Nash extended his points steak to nine games with a goal in Monday's victory at Nationwide Arena. Nash also has recorded goals in six straight games, posting nine markers over that stretch.

R.J. Umberger, Nikita Filatov, Jakub Voracek and Derick Brassard each recorded assists in the win. Umberger has one goal and six helpers during a six-game point streak.

Columbus has been terrific on the road this season, going 7-1-0 away from the Buckeye State. The Blue Jackets have won their last three as the guest.

The Isles won both meetings with the Blue Jackets last season past regulation and New York has taken four of the last five matchups in the series. Columbus has lost three straight on Long Island.