The Montreal Canadiens will face the New York Islanders tonight, and here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
The Olympic break is finally over, and Martin St-Louis and his men will get back in action tonight when the Montreal Canadiens host the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre. The two teams have yet to play one another this season, meaning we’ll get three duels between the two of the top rookies in the league this season, the Habs’ Ivan Demidov and the Isles’ Matthew Schaefer.
The visitors are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points, holding a two-point lead over the Washington Capitals and a four-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Patrick Roy’s men have a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 games and won their last two duels before the break. Meanwhile, the Habs are in second place in the Atlantic Division with 72 points (they have a game in hand on the Buffalo Sabres), have a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games, and won their last match before the break, beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-1. They have not lost in regulation in their last five games.
With Alex Newhook’s return monopolizing the attention on Wednesday, St-Louis wasn’t even asked who would start in net against the Jets, but he did say on Tuesday that his goalies will split the two starts this week. Samuel Montembeault has a very good record against the Isles; he’s 4-2-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage, while Jakub Dobes has never faced them. We’ll likely know who starts after Thursday’s morning skate, which is scheduled for 10:30.
The Islanders haven’t confirmed their goaltender either, but both usually play really well against the Habs. David Rittich is 2-3-1 with a 2.47 GAA and a .924 SV, while Ilya Sorokin has never lost in regulation to Montreal. He’s 5-0-2 with a 1.67 GAA, a .945 SV and one shutout.
Up front, St-Louis has confirmed that Newhook would be back in the lineup, and if the lines at practice yesterday are what he elects to go for, Joe Veleno and Zachary Bolduc will be healthy scratches while Patrik Laine still hasn’t been cleared to return. Newhook was skating on a line with Jake Evans and Alexandre Texier and taking repetitions on the second power play unit.
Brendan Gallagher is the Canadiens’ most productive player against the Isles with 19 points in 31 games, followed by captain Nick Suzuki, who has 16 points in just 14 games and Mike Matheson, who has 15 points in 30 games. It’s also worth noting that Cole Caufield has nine points in as many games against the visitors. The Habs had quite a few active point streaks before the break; Noah Dobson had points in his last five games (1-6-7), Kirby Dach (2-3-5) and Lane Hutson (1-4-5) in their last four.
Ondrej Palat is the Islanders’ points leader against the Canadiens with 24 points in 36 games, Bo Horvat comes in second place with 22 points in 30 games, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau has 19 points in 36 games, including three shorthanded goals and three game winners.
Thursday night’s tilt will also be Dobson’s and Emil Heineman’s first game against their former team. The two players were part of the swap that saw the Canadiens send their two first-round picks at the last draft to New York. The right-shot rearguard has 38 points in 57 games with the Canadiens, while the sophomore has 23 points in 58 games with the Isles. The youngster already has 15 goals to his name and skates on the Islanders’ second line, and on both special teams, the top unit on the penalty kill and the second on the power play. It will also be Islanders' GM Mathieu Darche's first game against his former team.
The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on RDS, TSN2, and MSGSN. TJ Luxmore and Eric Furlatt will be the referees, while Jeremy Faucher and Steve Barton will be the linemen.
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