The Habs are 2-0-0 against Patrick Roy’s Islanders this season, having posted 5-3 and 4-3 wins at the Bell Centre earlier this year. Tonight is the first game between the rivals of the 70’s at UBS Arena in 2023-24.
2. You gotta fight… for your right… to clinch a postseason berth, and that is exactly what the Islanders are doing these days. New York currently occupies the third position in the Metropolitan Division but are just three points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, both on the outside looking in in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Islanders have increased their odds of admission to the postseason with the help of their current five-game winning streak, during which they’ve conceded just eight goals.
Matt Barzal paces the Isles’ offense with 80 points in 77 games, followed by Noah Dobson (70 in 78), Bo Horvat (68 in 77) and Brock Nelson (62 in 78), who have all helped the New Yorkers to a 19-10-10 record on home ice this season.
3. Slafkovsky’s impressive sophomore campaign peaked on Tuesday, but the 20-year-old is poised to finish strong. As the old saying goes, “It’s not how you start that’s important, but how you finish.” After posting just 18 points in the Canadiens’ first 47 games, Slafkovsky caught fire and has collected 30 (13G, 17A) in his last 31 outings dating back to Jan. 24. Since that time, the Slovak forward has tallied the third most points in the NHL among players 22 or younger, trailing Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars (34 points) and Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild (31 points).
4. The Habs came flying out of the gates in each of their two meetings with the Isles this season, building 4-0 and 3-0 leads, respectively. New York showed resilience both times, however, bringing the first game back to as close as 4-3, and regaining level ground in their second matchup, before Montreal won it late off the stick of Sean Monahan.
Both the Canadiens and the Islanders are accustomed to playing in close games, as evidenced by their top-3 rankings for overtime games played this season. New York is second with 24, nine of which they ended up winning. Meanwhile, Montreal sits tied for third having participated in 22 overtime games, 10 of which they secured the extra point.
5. The Canadiens did not practice on Wednesday and are not scheduled for a pregame skate at UBS Arena on Thursday. Any potential changes to the lineup and a starting goalie could be known when Martin St-Louis addresses the media around 12:00 p.m. E.T. The press conference will be streamed live on the team’s X, Facebook and YouTube accounts. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the action on TSN2 and RDS, or listen in on the radio on TSN 690 and 98.5 fm.
