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A pair of Metropolitan Division rivals return to action following U.S. Thanksgiving to face off Friday afternoon when the New Jersey Devils host the New York Islanders at Prudential Center.It is the second meeting this season between the teams Adidas Jaroslav Halak Jersey , who are separated by 16 miles, a pair of rivers and only two points in the standings. Back on Nov. 3, the Islanders (10-8-2) beat the Devils (9-9-2) 3-0 behind Thomas Greiss‘ 35-save shutout.Since then, the Islanders stumbled, winning just two of seven games. They come off Wednesday’s 5-0 road loss at Madison Square Garden to the New York Rangers, allowing 11 goals in consecutive defeats and 16 goals in the last three contests.Article continues below ...“The last two games have been awful,” Islanders captain Anders Lee told Newsday.One of the NHL’s biggest surprises the first quarter of the season, the Islanders are showing some cracks in their overall game, and coach Barry Trotz held a detailed practice on Thanksgiving to prepare his listing club for the important division clash against the Devils.Trotz reunited both of his top two lines on Thursday after some recent experimentation. Mathew Barzal centered Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier, while Brock Nelson was back between Jordan Eberle and Lee.In addition, rugged bottom-six wingers Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin both practiced. Clutterbuck missed the game against the Rangers due to an illness and Martin is on injured reserve, having missed the previous eight games.“Some guys who have played well, have slipped a little bit Adidas Steven Kampfer Jersey ,” Trotz told reporters. “We’ve got to get back on the rails here.”The Islanders could be without defenseman Ryan Pulock, who injured his arm against the Rangers and did not practice Thursday.Since losing to the Islanders earlier in the month the streaky Devils are 4-4-1. New Jersey beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Wednesday night following two consecutive defeats and is now an impressive 7-1-2 on home ice.“Any win is good right now, but it’s great to get those home wins, and as long as we get those home wins, we put ourselves in a good spot,” Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid told reporters.Kinkaid made 24 saves in Wednesday’s victory, while Nico Hischier scored in his return following a four-game injury absence. Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and a rejuvenated Pavel Zacha scored twice, giving him four goals in his last three games.“I’m happy they’re going in for me right now,” said Zacha. “Before, I had a lot of chances, but they weren’t going in. They’re finally going in for me now.”The Devils, who seek to win consecutive games for only the second time since winning their first four games of the season Adidas Zach Bogosian Jersey , are 4-3-0 within the Metropolitan Division. They won three straight division games before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Sunday.One of the team’s strengths through the first quarter of the season is the penalty kill. New Jersey did not surrender a power play goal in its last four games and surrendered only one in its last 19 times short-handed, covering seven games. The Devils are fourth in the league with a penalty kill success rate of 84.5 percent.“Special teams are so important in this league, and our penalty kill can be a game-changer for us,” said Devils forward Blake Coleman.The Devils won both games against the Islanders played at Prudential Center a year ago and have four wins in their six games on home ice against New York covering the last three seasons. CHICAGO — Corey Crawford last took the ice in game action with the Chicago Blackhawks 10 months ago before what was revealed to be a concussion has kept him sidelined ever since.That is expected to change on Thursday when Crawford will likely make his first start since December against the Arizona Coyotes at the United Center. Crawford has been working out with the Blackhawks for the past few weeks but has not be ready to return to the net in a starting role since December.Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters on Wednesday that as long as Crawford continues to feel good at Thursday’s morning skate, he will start. The decision will be up to Crawford.Article continues below ...“He looks good in the net,” Quenneville told reporters on Wednesday, according to The Athletic. “He’s been off for a long, long time — is there rust? Do we expect rust? I think the way he’s competing and practicing and finding pucks, he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.”While Crawford is set to return, veteran forward Brandon Saad could be a healthy scratch for Thursday’s game. Saad was recently demoted to the fourth line and has been wearing a practice jersey designated for healthy scratches all week in practice. Quenneville has said repeatedly that he needs to see more from Saad. Asked Wednesday if Saad will play against Arizona, Quenneville replied, “We’ll see.”The Blackhawks (3-0-2) have had all five of their games this season decided in overtime. Chicago has not played since Saturday, when they beat the St. Louis Blues Joakim Nordstrom Jersey Womens , 4-3, in overtime when Alex DeBrincat scored with nine seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Blackhawks. Cam Ward made 35 saves in the win, which was expected to be Chicago’s final game without Crawford in the lineup.“Practices have been great,” Crawford told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve been getting the timing a little bit more, getting up to speed and reading shots and all of that. We’re still going to wait until (Thursday) morning (to decide) but right now, I’m feeling good.”Meanwhile, the Coyotes (1-4) enter Thursday’s game in a season-long scoring slump. Arizona dropped a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night and has not scored more than one goal in each of their four losses. The Coyotes have been shut out in three of their four losses and have tallied just four goals in five games.In Tuesday’s loss, Arizona netted its only goal on a first-period power-play goal by Brendan Perlini, who gave the Coyotes an early lead. The Coyotes have now been outscored 11-3 this season, which has caused continual frustration for a team looking to get its offense rolling.“Once again, we scored one goal. We’ve got to score some goals,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet told reporters after Tuesday’s loss, according to the Coyotes’ official website. “We had some opportunities there (Tuesday) Christopher Tanev Jersey , a couple point-blankers and we didn’t put them in. … There’s some empty nets there. I don’t know what else to say. I mean, the play is there, put (the puck) in, you put it in. There’s no secret.”Despite the lack of scoring, Perlini believes Arizona will find a way to turn things around.“We’re doing good things,” Perlini told reporters Tuesday. “A lot of good chances out there, sometimes, it’s just the odd bounce here and there. I know it sounds funny, but as long as you keep at it, we’re going to start scoring in big numbers so I think it will flip around the other way.”