Game Preview: Islanders vs Senators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (43-31-5) VS OTTAWA SENATORS (42-27-10)

1:00 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN

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The New York Islanders host the Ottawa Senators in a high-stakes matinee matchup at UBS Arena on Saturday.

The Pete DeBoer era began with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, snapping a four-game losing skid in the process. Cal Ritchie (1G, 1A), Brayden Schenn, JG Pageau, Matthew Schaefer and Emil Heineman scored New York’s goals, while Ilya Sorokin denied 13 of 16 shots in the win.

The Isles (91 points) are in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers (92 points) for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. They are tied with the Detroit Red Wings (91 points), but are three points behind the Ottawa Senators (94 points) for the second Wild Card spot, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets (90 points) and two points in front of the Washington Capitals (89 points).

PROJECTED LINES

Here is how the Islanders lined up at practice on Friday, albeit without Matthew Schaefer, Max Shabanov and Ilya Sorokin who are all expected to play. See below for projected lines with Schaefer and Shabanov, but check back closer to Saturday’s puck drop (1PM) for any updates to the lineup.

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

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

Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich

SCHAEFER, SHABANOV AND SOROKIN TAKE MAINTENANCE DAY

Matthew Schaefer, Max Shabanov and Ilya Sorokin all missed Islanders’ Friday practice after taking maintenance days, but all three are expected to play on Saturday.

Schaefer ranks second on the Isles with 59 points (23G, 36A) and Shabanov has 18 points (5G, 13A) this season.

SOROKIN EXPECTED TO START AGAINST THE SENS

Sorokin is expected to start between the pipes against the Senators on Saturday afternoon. He is 1-1-0 with a 3.50 GAA and .881 SV% against Ottawa this season. Sorokin is 29-22-2 with a 2.66 GAA, .908 SV% and a league-leading seven shutouts.

SCHAEFER TIES NHL RECORD

Schaefer scored the 23rd goal of his rookie campaign against the Maple Leafs on Thursday night, which tied Brian Leetch (23) for the most goals by a rookie defenseman in a single-season in NHL history. Leetch set that record with the New York Rangers in the 1988-89 season.

Schaefer already owns the Islanders franchise record for most points by a rookie defenseman and the NHL record for most points by an 18-year-old defenseman.

SCHENN KNOWS SCORING

Schenn found the back of the net for the fourth time in his last six games. It was his sixth goal since joining the Islanders at the trade deadline, which is the second most tallies among players who were moved at the NHL trade deadline this season, according to NHL Stats.

The 34-year-old has 11 points (6G, 5A) in 16 games with the Isles and 39 points (18G, 21A) in total this season.

POWERING UP THE POWER-PLAY

New York capitalized on the power-play twice in DeBoer’s first game as Head Coach of the team. It was the eighth time this season and first time since Mar. 21 that the Islanders have scored two power-play goals in the same game.

“There's been some signs, prior to me getting here, of it starting to turn and go the right way,” DeBoer said. "Like any of your systems, you need to be rewarded in order to build on the belief.”

The Isles own the 29^th ranked power-play (17.2%) in the NHL this season but went two-for-five against the Maple Leafs.

SEASON SERIES

This is the third and final regular season meetings between the Isles and Senators this year. New York is 1-1-0 in the season series, with a 3-2 defeat in the most recent game between the two teams on Mar. 19. Both games this season have been decided by one goal.

SENATORS NOTES

The Senators enter Saturday afternoon on a three-game win streak, with the most recent being a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Fabian Zetterlund (2G), Drake Batherson, Artem Zub and Claude Giroux were the Sens goal scorers, while Linus Ullmark made 22 saves on 23 shots in the win.

Ottawa (94 points) is in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are two points behind the Boston Bruins (96 points) for the first Wild Card spot, and three points clear of the Red Wings (91 points) and the Islanders (91 points).

Tim Stutzle was held in check against the Panthers, but has six points (2G, 4A) in his last four games. He has two points (1G, 1A) against the Islanders this season, with both coming in the first meeting on Oct. 18. Stutzle leads the Sens with 82 points (34G, 48A) this year.

Brady Tkachuk has points in his last three outings, with seven points (2G, 5A) in that span. He didn’t play in the first game between Ottawa and New York, but scored the game-winning tally with 13 seconds remaining on Mar. 19. Tkachuk ranks third on the team with 59 points (22G, 37A) in the same number of games this campaign.

Batherson earned a point for the fourth straight game on Thursday night, and has five points (2G, 3A) in that stretch. He ranks second on the Sens with 69 points (32G, 37A), which is a new single-season career high for the 27-year-old, this season.

Zetterlund recorded a multi-goal game for the second this season last time out. He is riding a three-game point streak, with four points (3G, 1A) over this stretch. Zetterlund has 31 points (16G, 15A) in his first full season with the Canadian squad.

Ottawa is no stranger to physical games, as they have thrown the third most hits (1,883) this season. Dylan Cozens leads the way with 208 hits, which is tied for the 15^th most among skaters in the NHL this year.

The Senators’ power-play (23.5%) ranks eighth in the NHL this season and has capitalized five times on this three-game win streak.

Ottawa's penalty kill (75.0%) ranks 29^th in the league but jumps to a tie for ninth leaguewide at 87.5% since the start of the month.