UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs. Canadiens

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (18-20-6) VS MONTREAL CANADIENS (9-33-7)2 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETSWATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050 AM
The New York Islanders look to keep their winning momentum going as they host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon.
The Islanders enter the matchup on a positive note after getting back in the win column and snapping a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Boston on Thursday night. Jean-Gabriel Pageau (power play), Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson (empty net) found the back of the net. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 27 shots in the win.

In their most-recent win, the Canadiens snapped a seven-game winless skid as they mounted a 3-2 comeback win over St. Louis on Thursday night. The win also marked the first for the team's Interim Head Coach Martin St-Louis. After trailing 2-1, Cole Caulfield scored the game-tying goal to send the game into overtime and then, the overtime winner. Paul Byron scored the game's opening goal as he played in his 500th-career game. Sam Montembeault made 25 saves on 27 shots in the win.
The Islanders and Habs last met on Nov. 4, where Nelson powered the Islanders' 6-2 victory with his four-goal outing.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his seventh goal of the season and second PPG of the season. Through 42 games this season, Pageau has posted 15 points (7G, 8A).
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• Dobson posted a two-point (1G, 1A) performance as he scored his eighth goal of the season and extended his point streak to three games with four points (2G, 2A) during that stretch. The 22-year-old blueliner leads the Islanders' blueline in scoring with 22 points (8G, 14A).
• Mathew Barzal had a two-point (1G, 1A) outing and scored his 12th goal of the season and extended his point streak to three games where he's totaled four points (1G, 3A) in that span. Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring with 33 points (12G, 21A) through 41 games.
• Nelson scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Through 35 games, Nelson has registered 25 points (16G, 9A).
• Ilya Sorokin made his 31st start of the season while his record improved to 15-11-5. The Russian netminder has a 2.46 GAA, a .921 SV% and four shutouts this season.
• Kieffer Bellows returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 25 and earned an assist. Through 21 games, the winger has produced 10 points (3G, 7A).
• Josh Bailey was sidelined with an upper body injury, but joined the team for practice on Saturday.
• Sebastian Aho played his second-straight game as Andy Greene was a healthy scratch for the second-consecutive game.
• With a power-play goal, the Islanders' power play now ranks 22nd in the league at 18.6% and are 9-6-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-14-2 when they do not.
• The Islanders killed both Boston power plays and have now killed 15 of 18 over the last twelve games. They have also held the opposition to two or fewer power plays in a franchise-record of 12-consecutive games.
• The Islanders allowed the first goal of the game in 10 of their last 11 games. The Islanders are 13-4-4 when scoring first and are 5-16-2 when allowing the opening goal.
• Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz coached his 250th regular season game behind the Islander bench, joining Al Arbour and Jack Capuano as the only coaches in franchise history to do so.
• Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov returned to Long Island on Saturday but remains in COVID-19 Protocol where he was originally placed in Calgary on Feb. 12.
• Oliver Wahlstrom is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

CANADIENS NOTES:

• Byron scored his first goal of the season as he skated in his 500th-career NHL game. The winger now has two points (1G, 1A) through six games since returning to the lineup from offseason hip surgery.
• Caufield buried his fourth and fifth goals of the season and now has four goals in as many games. Through 34 games, the winger has totaled 12 points (5G, 7A).
• Defenseman Jeff Petry recorded two assists in the Habs' win. Petry now has nine points (2G, 7A) through 42 games.
• Montembeault made his 16th start of the season and improved his record to 3-10-4. He also has a 3.81 GAA and a .895 SV%.
• Montreal's other netminder Jake Allen is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Allen owns a 5-16-2 record through 24 starts, a 3.15 GAA, a .901 SV% and two shutouts.
• Nick Suzuki leads Montreal in scoring with 28 points (9G, 19A) through 49 games.
• Suzuki's nine goals are tied with Josh Anderson for the most among the team. Anderson also has 17 points (9G, 8A) through 38 games.
• Against St. Louis, the Canadiens relinquished a shorthanded goal against which marked the sixth time this season they have done so. They are tied with the Islanders, San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers for third-most shorthanded goals against this season in the NHL.
• Montreal's special teams rank towards the bottom of the league. Their power play checks in at 31st in the NHL at 13.0%, while their PK ranks 30th at 73.8%.
• The Habs' 3.94 goals against per game is the highest in the NHL, while they average 2.20 goals for which ranks the fewest in the league.
• Montreal has been hit with injuries as Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Joel Edmundson (back), Ben Chiarot (lower body), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Mathieu Perreault (lower body) are all on injured reserve in addition to Allen. According to St-Louis following Saturday's practice, Chiarot could return to the lineup against the Islanders.
• Defenseman Corey Schueneman entered the COVID-19 protocol and will not travel with the team to New York.
• Goaltender Andrew Hammond will make his Canadiens debut against the Islanders. Through 56-career games played, Hammond owns a 27-15-6 overall record, a 2.31 GAA, a .923 SV% and four shutouts.