The New York Islanders have struggled of late winning only two of their last 10 match-ups. With nothing but four games left of the regular season it's imperative that they start improving their play for the upcoming playoffs, and the hosts are presented with a golden opportunity to break their luck here against the league-worst Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo gave the Blackhawks a run for their money in a 4-3 loss last night, but it must have taken its toll to keep that a close game and I expect the Islanders to run over an exhausted Sabres team at Nassau tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. The Islanders Tough Schedule - We've already been over how the Islanders have struggled to get the results of late, but if we look at their schedule it's not all that surprising. They've been matched up against teams fighting tooth and nail to make it to the playoffs while the Islanders themselves have had it all but wrapped up for a while now. Tonight will be a whole different situation as they'll be up against a Sabres team who's own fans don't even want it to win.

2. Goaltending - Anders Lindback tended the goal last night and has made three straight starts for the Sabres, but we can expect Matt Hackett to get the nod tonight to wrap up the back-to-back set. He's 0-4-1 with a 4.32 GAA over five appearances on the season and will be matched up against Jaroslav Halak who has owned the Sabres over recent seasons, winning four straight meetings behind a 1.25 GAA.

3. X-Factor - John Tavares has one goal and four assists over his last two outings and has scored twice while assisting one over the first two meetings with the Sabres on the season.

Selection: This is a play on the New York Islanders -1.5 (10*)