Game Preview: Islanders at Senators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (7-6-5) AT OTTAWA SENATORS (8-7-0)

7:30 PM | CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE

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The Islanders are heading up north to take on the Ottawa Senators in the first half of a back-to-back set on Friday. 

The Islanders picked up their second consecutive win on Wednesday night with a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena. Anders Lee and Brock Nelson (2G) powered the offense for the Islanders, while Cam York and Joel Farabee scored for Philly. Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves in the win. The feat extended the Islanders point streak to four games (2-0-2) and marked their first regulation win since Oct. 28. 

“I think we did a good job tonight,” Anders Lee said on Wednesday. “The [Flyers] pushed hard but we got in their way and didn’t give them much.”

The Senators picked up their third consecutive win with a shootout victory against the Minnesota Wild in Stockholm, SWE on Saturday. Erik Brannstrom scored for Ottawa in regulation, while Marco Rossi found the back of the net for Minnesota. Josh Norris netted the game-deciding goal in the shootout in the third round. Anton Forsberg made 24 saves between the pipes in the win. Ottawa picked up all four points in their two-game Global Series in Sweden. 

The Islanders lead the season series 1-0 after a 3-2 win on Oct. 26 at UBS Arena. Bo Horvat (1G, 1A), Cal Clutterbuck and Noah Dobson (1G, 1A) scored in the win, while Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves. Overall, the Isles are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games with the Sens and have won six of their last eight games in Ottawa.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

- Matt Martin did not travel with the team and will miss his fourth-straight game.

- Semyon Varlamov was the first goalie off the ice for the Islanders at the team's morning skate, suggesting he'll start against Ottawa. Varlamov is 2-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA, a .934 SV% and two shutouts this season. He is 0-2-1 in his last three starts.

- Anton Forsberg is the expected starter for the Senators, as Joonas Korpisalo deals with soreness and is considered day-to-day. The Sens recalled Mads Sogaard from AHL Belleville. Forsberg is 3-3-0 this season with a 3.21 GAA and a .860 SV%.

ISLANDERS NOTES 

- Cal Clutterbuck skated in his 1000th NHL game on Wednesday and added two hits to his career total of 3,800. He has played 654 games through 11 seasons for Long Island and became the 11th player in club history to reach the 1000th game milestone as an Islander.

“I’ve been treated with nothing but respect in this place, on this Island,” Clutterbuck said after playing in his 1000th NHL game on Wednesday. “I’m just grateful I was able to do it here in front of the fans because they’ve supported us, myself and my family for the last decade. They made it home for us and I’m very grateful.”

- Brock Nelson scored two goals in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Flyers, which accounted for his 250th and 251st goals, becoming the eighth player in franchise history to score over 250 goals. Nelson leads the Islanders with 10 goals and is riding a four-game point streak (4G, 2A).

- Anders Lee is heating up offensively for the Islanders, netting two goals in his last three games.

- Matt Martin missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury. The veteran winger has two points (1G,1A) through 14 games this season.

- The Islanders took one penalty on Wednesday night to match a season low.

- Julien Gauthier played for the Senators last season, recording three goals and two assists through 17 games.

SENATORS NOTES

- The Senators had five days off between games after they were participants in the NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden. Ottawa picked up a pair of wins in the overseas trip, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 16 and edging out the Minnesota Wild in a shootout with a 2-1 decision on Saturday.

- The Senators won four of their last five games. Ottawa ranks eighth in the Atlantic Division with 16 points through 15 games played, but they have at least two games in-hand over every divisional opponent.

- Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 10 goals in his sixth season with the Senators. His goals have come in bunches this season, with five multi-goal games.

- Tim Stützle is the team leader in points (20) and assists (16). The German forward led the Senators last season with 90 points (39G, 51A) in his third season with the club.

- Claude Giroux is averaging over a point-per-game with five goals and 11 assists through 15 games this season. The veteran forward is in his second season with the Senators and his 18-year career includes parts of 15 seasons with the Flyers. Giroux has seen a lot of the Islanders in his career, recording 73 points (26G, 47A) through 68 games against the Islanders.

- The Senators own the league’s fourth best GF/GP average with 3.73.

- Defenseman Thomas Chabot will not play on Friday, as the defenseman is still recovering from a fractured hand, suffered the last time the teams met. Chabot, who routinely averages between 25 and 26 minutes per game, has missed eight games. He practiced with the Senators in a non-contact jersey on Thursday, but is slated to miss at least two more games due to his (LTIR) Long Term Injured Reserve designation.

- The Senators made a major change in their front office since the teams last met. General Manager Pierre Dorion was relieved on Nov. 1 after eight years with the club and is being replaced by President of Hockey Operations Steve Staios on an interim basis.

- Erik Brannstrom has been back in the Senators lineup since Nov. 11 after missing five games. The Swedish defenseman suffered a concussion after hitting his head off the ice against the Islanders on Oct. 26, a scary incident that required him to be stretchered off the ice. Since returning, Brannstrom has one goal in three games.