The Vancouver Canucks will play their third game in a five game Eastern Conference road trip at Nassau Coliseum in New York. The Isles played at Washington yesterday afternoon, picking up a point in a shootout loss to the Caps. Vancouver is coming off a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday, and this looks like another tough spot for the visitors.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Home Cookin' - The Isles boast a home record of 21-7, and their last home game was a convincing 5-2 win over the league leading Nashville Predators. The Canucks have more wins on the road than they do at home, but New York has won nine of it's last 11 home games versus teams with a winning road record.

2. Vancouver Blueline - The Canucks have some serious injuries in their defense corps, with regulars Chris Tanev, Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler all out with various ailments.

3. X-Factor - This will be the Isles second game of a back-to-back, but they've won six of their last seven on no rest.

Selection: This is a play on the New York Islanders (8*)