Game Preview: Islanders vs Canadiens

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (43-32-5) VS MONTREAL CANADIENS (47-23-10) 

6:00 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS 

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN 

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP 

With their season on the line, the New York Islanders face the Montreal Canadiens in the penultimate game of the regular season at UBS Arena on Sunday night.

After a 3-0 shutout loss to the Ottawa Senators – and the Philadelphia Flyers 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets – on Saturday, the Islanders (91 points) find themselves three points back of a playoff spot with two games remaining. A regulation loss would eliminate them from postseason contention.

The full picture is a crowded one.

The Isles (91 points) are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the third-place Philadelphia Flyers (94 points) for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. They are one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (92 points) and tied with the Washington Capitals (91 points). The Capitals currently hold the tiebreaker over the Isles, should both teams remain tied at the end of the season.

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up against the Senators on Saturday afternoon. Check back closer to puck drop (6PM) for any updates to Pete DeBoer’s squad.

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

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

Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich

STARTING GOALTENDER

While the starter for Sunday night’s game is not yet confirmed, DeBoer hinted at a Sorokin start in both Saturday and Sunday’s games this weekend at Friday’s practice.

“In a perfect world, if we're playing in November in the regular season, that would be a split automatically for us,” DeBoer said. “But we're not in the middle of November and it's a different situation. All bets are off at this point in the year.”

If that is the case, it will be Sorokin’s fourth time starting both games in a back-to-back set this season. He is 1-2-0 with a 2.41 GAA, .929 SV% and one shutout with zero days of rest between contests this year. Sorokin is 1-1-0 with a 4.83 GAA and .842 SV% against Montreal, while he is 29-22-2 with a 2.66 GAA, .908 SV% and seven shutouts overall this season.

SEASON SERIES

This is the third and final regular season meetings between the Isles and Canadiens this year. New York is 1-1-0 in the season series, with a 4-3 overtime win back on Feb. 26 and a 7-3 defeat most recently on Mar. 21.

CANADIENS NOTES

The Canadiens are also playing the back end of a back-to-back set and fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Saturday night. Cole Caulfield and Josh Anderson scored the Canadiens’ goals, while Jakub Dobes made 28 saves in the defeat.

Montreal (104 points) is third place in the Atlantic Division and tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning (104 points). They trail the Buffalo Sabres (106 points) for first place in the Atlantic. The Canadiens have already clinched a playoff berth.

Caufield comes into Sunday night as the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer, as his 51 tallies are one back of Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead. It’s Caufield’s first-career 50-goal season. The winger is on a three-game point streak, with three points (2G, 1A) in that stretch.  Caufield recorded five points (3G, 2A) in the Mar. 21 meeting against the Isles, ranks second on Montreal with 88 points (51G, 37A) in 79 games this season.

His linemate, Nick Suzuki, is also riding a three-game point streak, with four points (1G, 3A) in that span. He tallied four helpers the last time out against the Islanders. Suzuki is tied for seventh in the NHL with 99 points (28G, 71A) this season.

Lane Hutson has just three points (1G, 2A) in six games this month and was kept off the scoresheet last time against the Islanders but is ranked fourth among NHL defensemen with 76 points (12G, 64A) this campaign.

Noah Dobson was expected to make his return to Long Island for the first time since being dealt at the NHL Draft, but his status is up in the air after leaving Saturday’s game with reported thumb injury. Dobson played six seasons for the Islanders, racking up 230 points (50G, 180A) in 388 games.

Montreal leads the league with 1,311 blocked shots this season. They also take great care of the puck and have conceded the fewest giveaways (1,073) of any team this year.

The Canadiens' power play (23.2%) is ranked 10^th in the NHL this season.

Montreal’s penalty kill (78.0%) ranks 20^th in the league.