With their four-game road trip behind them, the New York Islanders (29-22-14) play the first of back-to-back matinees against the Ottawa Senators (27-33-4).
With their four-game road trip behind them, the New York Islanders (29-22-14) play the first of back-to-back matinees against the Ottawa Senators (27-33-4).
Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
While New York dropped the final game of the trip in Buffalo, the Islanders enter Saturday's game in a playoff spot by virtue of a game in hand on the Detroit Red Wings; they face the Sabres in a matinee of their own on Saturday.
The Islanders have two wins in as many games against the Senators this season. In their last meeting on Nov. 24, Sebastian Aho and Adam Pelech both went down due to injury, but the Islanders held their own. New York got goals from five different forwards, including three goals in three minutes of the second period, to pull out a 5-3 win.
Where They've Been:
The Senators enter Saturday's game off a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner opened the scoring 15 seconds into the game, and the goal stood alone for 45 minutes of play. Alex Nylander got Columbus' lead to 2-0 in the third, but Claude Giroux and Tim Stützle helped Ottawa rally to force overtime. After a scoreless extra session, Giroux scored the game-winner in the third round of the shootout to put the Senators in the win column.
Players to Watch:
Patrick Roy confirmed on Friday that Semyon Varlamov will start the front end of the weekend's back-to-back; Saturday marks his 19th start of the season (7-7-3, 2.80 GAA, .912 SV%). His last start came on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, where he made 23 saves in a winning effort. Against Ottawa, he is 7-5-2 with a 3.02 GAA and .907 SV%, most recently making 28 saves in their meeting in November.
Brock Nelson had two assists in the Islanders' last matchup with Ottawa, continuing a strong stretch of play against the Senators; the forward has nine points in his last seven games against them.
Noah Dobson has a four-game point streak against the Senators entering Saturday's game, totaling two goals and four assists in that span. The defenseman also tallied the game-winning goal in their first matchup in October.
Anders Lee, who lit the lamp in their last game against the Senators, has the most goals among active Islanders against them with 13. Mathew Barzal has 13 assists to lead the team, while Nelson and Kyle Palmieri are tied for the lead in points with 19.
Senators head coach Jacques Martin shared that Joonas Korpisalo will start Saturday afternoon's game, it will be his 38th of the season (14-20-4, 3.32 GAA, .889 SV%). Korpisalo last started on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, making 34 saves in a victory. Against the Islanders, the former Columbus Blue Jacket is 4-5-3 with a 2.70 GAA and .920 SV%, taking the loss in their Oct. 26 matchup with three goals on 38 shots.
Stützle tallied a goal and an assist the last time the Senators faced the Islanders, giving him a three-game point streak against New York with two goals and three assists in that span. Entering Saturday's game, he has a four-game point streak with two goals and two assists.
After a strong game against the Blue Jackets on Thursday, Giroux faces a team he's historically played well against. He leads active Senators in every offensive category, tallying 26 goals and 47 assists, 73 points.
New York Islanders Projected Lines:
Brock Nelson - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri
Pierre Engvall - Casey Cizikas - Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin
Ottawa Senators Projected Lines:
Brady Tkachuk - Shane Pinto - Drake Batherson
Mathieu Joseph - Tim Stutzle - Claude Giroux
Ridly Greig - Zack Ostapchuk - Dominik Kubalik
Boris Katchouk - Mark Kastelic - Parker Kelly
Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub
Jakob Chychrun - Maxence Guenette
Erik Brannstrom - Jacob Bernard-Docker
Joonas Korpisalo
Anton Forsberg
How to Watch:
Saturday's game will air on MSGSN. On the radio, the Islanders and Senators will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio and 1050 AM ESPN.