The San Jose Sharks will look to right the ship after a disappointing loss on Thursday with a victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in.

- The Sharks are in eighth place in the Pacific Division with 34 points and a record of 14-27-6. San Jose is 1-4-0 in their last five games. - Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks in assists (25) and points (37) in his second season with San Jose.

When the New York Islanders relieved Barry Trotz of his duties as head coach following the 2021-22 NHL season, his assistant coach, Lane Lambert, was hired in his place. Lambert elected to hire Doug Houda, his former Detroit Red Wings teammate who had been an assistant with Detroit since 2016 and an NHL assistant since 2006.

A perfect three-game road trip convinced the New York Islanders they were on the verge of mounting another midseason push for a playoff berth. But losses

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders look to stop their three-game home slide with a victory against the San Jose Sharks. New York is 17-20-7 overall and 7-11-2 in home games. The Islanders have a -20 scoring differential, with 115 total goals scored and 135 allowed.

Utah gets two days off before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Canadiens have been among the league’s hottest teams the last few weeks, beating teams like the Washington Capitals, the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.

With the puck inside the Columbus zone, a shot attempt by Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta was blocked by Zach Werenski, who raced up the ice with the puck, carried it into the Sharks’ zone, and sent it over to Fantilli, who beat Georgiev for his 11th goal of the season at the 12:11 mark.

The Sharks could trade defenseman Cody Ceci and Mario Ferraro at the NHL trade deadline amid another rough season.

Game Preview, 1/11: Utah Hockey Club vs. New York Islanders WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL News Radio 1160 AM, NHL App

Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist, Travis Konecny added three assists and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Islanders 5-3 on Thursday night. Morgan Frost, Garnet Hathaway, Cam York and Noah Cates also scored for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson made 26 saves as the Flyers won for the third time in four games.

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks returned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on Monday morning before leaving for a five-game road trip.