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Lowly Islanders looking to end slide vs. Ducks

Jan 21, 2009 - 11:28 AM 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.