Game Preview: Islanders at Senators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (10-11-7) AT OTTAWA SENATORS (12-12-2)

5 PM | CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE

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The New York Islanders are taking on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in the second half of a back-to-back set on Sunday.

The Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday night at UBS Arena on the strength of a four-goal second period where JG Pageau (1G, 2A), Oliver Wahlstrom, Max Tsyplakov (1G, 1A) and Bo Horvat (1G, 1A) found the back of the net. Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves on 31 shots in his fourth straight start for a win that snapped a two-game winless skid.

“We were on a mission tonight to win the game,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy. “When we made some mistakes in the third period, Ilya was outstanding. He’s one of the best in the game and he showed us why. That was a solid performance from the entire team tonight.”

The Senators picked up their second straight win on Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on home ice. Jacob Bernard-Docker, Claude Giroux and Nick Cousins led the way offensively for Ottawa while Linus Ullmark turned aside 37 of 38 shots faced.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders lead the season series 1-0-0 after a 4-2 win in Canada’s capital on Nov. 7. Bo Horvat had three points (1G, 2A) in the while, while Anders Lee, JG Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom each scored. The Islanders are 8-2-0 in their last 10 trips to Ottawa.

ISLES NOTES

- Ilya Sorokin is expected to make his fifth consecutive start on Sunday even though he played in the front of the back-to-back set on Saturday. Semyon Varlamov (day to day, lower body) missed the last four games and Marcus Hogberg backed up on Saturday against Carolina.

Sorokin is 4-3-0 when playing on no day's rest, and most recently played both ends of a back-to-back set in Minnesota and Winnipeg on Jan. 15-16, 2024. The Islanders fell 4-2 to Winnipeg in that scenario, but Sorokin stopped 40-of-43.

- With a goal and two assists on Saturday night, JG Pageau recorded his first three-point game of the season and first since Dec. 29, 2023.

- Bo Horvat snapped a 13-game goalless drought on Saturday to extend the Isles lead to 4-2. Horvat has 20 points (6G, 14A) on the season.

“It was one of those things where it finally went in for me,” Horvat said following Saturday’s win. “As long as my linemates keep scoring and we keep getting wins, I’ll keep passing the puck to them.”

- Max Tsyplakov has goals in consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career. The Russian forward played on a line with Horvat and Pageau and the line combined for three goals and four assists.

“He’s a good playmaker,” Roy said of Tsyplakov. “He’s protecting the puck very well and he’s doing a lot of good things offensively. I think he’s a good fit for Bo. He’s capable of moving that puck well in those give-and-go situations, and same thing for [Pageau]. That line really clicked well.”

- The Isles established a season-high 32 blocked shots against the Hurricanes on Saturday, surpassing their previous high of 24 on Nov. 19 against the Calgary Flames. Isaiah George’s six blocked shots are the most recorded in a game by any rookie in the NHL this season.

- Oliver Wahlstrom netted his second goal of the season on Saturday and his previous goal came against the Senators in the first meeting of the season series on Nov. 7. The winger has 7 points (5G, 2A) in eight career appearances against Ottawa, which ties the New Jersey Devils for his career highest point total against any opponent (three goals and four assists in 15 games played).

- The Islanders are 5-5-5 on the road this season. Though their PK ranks 32nd in the league, they have put up better numbers on the road with their shorthanded unit going 76.5% away from UBS Arena.

- The Islanders have struggled on the man advantage on the road in particular this season with a conversion rate of 7.9%. The Islanders haven’t scored a power play goal since Nov. 14 in Vancouver and are 2-for-30 in their last 11 road games.

- The Isles are 1-2-0 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season, as they got their first win on the back half this season on Nov. 30 with a 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on home ice.

SENS NOTES

- With Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Predators, The Senators have improved to the NHL-.500 with a record of 12-12-2. Ottawa is 4-1-1 in their last six games.

- With Linus Ullmark getting the start on Saturday against the Predators, Anton Forsberg is the expected starter against the Isles on Sunday. The 32-year-old is 4-5-0 this season along with a .896 SV% and a 2.93 GAA. The Isles have presented a challenge for Forsberg historically, as the netminder is 2-7-0 lifetime with a .890 SV and a 3.63 GAA.

- The Senators will have two representatives in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off in Brady Tkachuk and Linus Ullmark. Tkachuk will be teammates with Brock Nelson on Team USA, while Ullmark is on the roster for Team Sweden.

- Tim Stützle is atop the Sens leaderboard in scoring with 32 points (10G, 22A) this season, while Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 13 goals. Stutzle recorded his 39th multi-assist game of his career on Saturday night, tying Wade Redden for the fifth most in franchise history.

- Drake Batherson's season long eight-game point streak (2G, 9A) came to an end on Saturday. The 26-year-old has 27 points (9G, 18A) through his first 26 games this season.

- Ottawa is 8-5-1 on home ice this season.

- The Senators own the NHL’s eighth-best power play (25.6%).