COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS 12/23/2019 LIVE 7:00 PM ET

No matter what happens at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Monday night, the New York Islanders will be well-positioned to make a playoff run following the new year.

The host Islanders will be looking to take a page from the book of the Columbus Blue Jackets when the two teams play the final game before the NHL's holiday break.

Both teams were off Sunday after playing on the previous night. The Islanders fell to the visiting Anaheim Ducks 6-5 in a shootout, while the host Blue Jackets ran their winning streak to four consecutive games by cruising past the New Jersey Devils 5-1.

The loss to the Ducks marked the second time in three games the normally stingy Islanders gave up at least six goals. New York fell to the Nashville Predators 8-3 on Tuesday.

The Islanders have allowed an NHL-low goal total this season after surrendering the fewest tallies in league in 2018-19. They yielded more than five goals just twice in second-year head coach Barry Trotz's first 113 regular-season games at the helm.

Trotz was more displeased with how the Islanders performed Saturday, when they squandered a pair of one-goal leads, than on Tuesday, when the Predators collected just 24 shots on net but scored the game's final seven goals.

"The Nashville game, it's an outlier, it was whatever we did, it just ended up in the back of the net," Trotz said Saturday afternoon. "This was just a lot on us, where we could manage it better. We didn't manage it as well as we could."

Despite the recent rough stretch, the Islanders are still third in the Eastern Conference in points (49).

Even with their four-game winning streak, the Blue Jackets are facing an uphill climb to get back into the playoff hunt. Columbus reside seven points behind the holder of the second wild-card spot, the Philadelphia Flyers.

But the Blue Jackets have played a sustainable brand of hockey over the last four games, during which they have outscored the Devils, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings by a combined 16-6 margin.

Columbus hasn't allowed more than three goals in any of the wins.

"We have a great confidence," Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov said following Saturday's game.

The Blue Jackets have heated up even as they've suffered a spate of injuries. Eight players have been injured this month, including right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scored twice Saturday before suffering a back injury in the third period. Head coach John Tortorella had no update on Bjorkstrand following the game.

"Obviously we're down guys, but it's not excuse in the NHL," Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said Saturday. "Teams go through injuries. You have to find a way at the end of the day. Every guy that has come up here has played well for us. It's all you can ask for."

The Islanders absorbed a long-term loss Thursday, when right winger Cal Clutterbuck was cut on his wrist by a skate during a game against the Boston Bruins and required surgery. Clutterbuck traveled back with the team but is out indefinitely.