Game Preview: Islanders at Senators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (39-24-5) AT OTTAWA SENATORS (34-24-9)

7:00 PM | CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE 

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The New York Islanders continue their Canada road trip with a Thursday night showdown against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.  

New York knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Tuesday night. Brayden Schenn, Cal Ritchie (1G, 1A) and Emil Heineman were the Isles’ goal scorers in the win. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 27 shots. 

The win was the Islanders second straight and fourth in their last five games. 

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Check back after Thursday’s morning skate for any updates to the lineup. 

Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Mathew Barzal 
Anthony Duclair – Brayden Schenn – Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee – JG Pageau – Cal Ritchie
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Ondrej Palat  

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield

SOROKIN EARNS 150TH CAREER WIN 

Ilya Sorokin eclipsed his 150th career win in dominant, Sorokin-like fashion on Tuesday night. The Russian goaltender ranks third all-time in wins among Islanders goaltenders and seven away from tying Chico Resch (157) for second place.  

Sorokin also earned with 25th win of the season for the fifth straight year, which places him five wins away from an Islanders record third 30-win season.  

The 30-year-old is 25-15-2 with a 2.49 GAA, .914 SV% and a league-leading six shutouts this season.  

HEINEMAN HEATER 

Emil Heineman scored again in Tuesday’s 3-1 win and has tallied four goals in his last six outings. Heineman ranks second on the team with 21 shots-on-goal in this six-game stretch.  

Heineman has 27 points (19G, 8A) in his third NHL season and is one goal away from notching his first career 20-goal season.  

POWER UP POWER PLAY 

The Islanders have scored four power-play goals over their last four games and capitalized on the man-advantage twice against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.  

Schenn scored his first as an Islanders and Ritchie netted his second power-play goal of the month in New York’s most recent win. 

Though they own a season power-play percentage of 16.4%, they have surged to the fifth best percentage (28.6%) in the NHL since Mar. 10. 

SEASON SERIES AND STANDINGS 

This is the second of three regular season meetings between the Isles and Senators this year. New York topped Ottawa 5-4 in Canada’s capital back on Oct. 18. 

The Islanders (83 points) sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division and are one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (84 points) for second in the Metropolitan Division. The Columbus Blue Jackets (81 points) are right behind with one game in-hand.  

The Senators (77 points) currently sit sixth in the Atlantic Division and five points out of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but are still very much in the hunt. The Sens have one game in-hand on the Isles.

SENATORS NOTES 

- Ottawa enters Thursday off a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and just their third defeat in their last 16 games (11-3-2). Tim Stutzle scored the Senators’ lone tally in the loss. 

- James Reimer is expected to start in net for Ottawa on Thursday night. Reimer is 4-3-1 with a 2.53 GAA, .882 SV% and one shutout this season. The 38-year-old netminder is 9-4-2 with a 2.78 GAA, .913 SV% and one shutout in 14 career games against the Isles. 

- Stutzle has one point (1G) in his last three outings but strung together a 14-game point streak from Jan. 24 to Mar. 11. Stutzle leads the team in points (71), goals (31) and assists (40) in 67 games this season. He is three points shy of reaching 400 career points. 

- Drake Batherson has eight goals in his last nine games. He has four multi-goal games in that stretch, including back-to-back games of such performances against the Maple Leafs on Feb. 28 and the Edmonton Oilers on Mar. 3. Batherson ranks second on the Senators with 59 points (27G, 32A) this season. 

- Jake Sanderson (upper-body) is considered week-to-week and hasn’t played since Mar. 7 against the Seattle Kraken. Sanderson leads all Ottawa defensemen with 48 points (11G, 37A) and all Senators skaters with 116 blocked shots and 29 takeaways this season. 

- Nick Jensen (lower-body) will also be unavailable against the Islanders as he is undergoing meniscus surgery, Head Coach Travis Green told NHL.com. Jensen ranked fifth among Sens defensemen with 17 points (4G, 13A) and fifth on the team with 65 blocked shots this season. 

- The Senators own the seventh best power-play unit (23.0%) but the 29th ranked penalty kill (73.6%) in the NHL this season.