Game Day: Islanders vs. Canadiens
Islanders return to UBS Arena for first time since home opener.
After going 1-1-1 in a Central Division road trip, the New York Islanders (1-1-2) play the Montreal Canadiens (2-3-0) in their first home game since their home opener on Oct. 10.
Puck drop is at 7 PM, and the game can be found on MSGSN.
Montreal won the season series against the Islanders last season, going 2-0-1 in those games. The Canadiens took 5-3 and 4-3 decisions at the Bell Centre prior to the All-Star break, but New York won the home matchup 3-2 on a Kyle Palmieri overtime winner.
When the Islanders take the ice, there will be a change to the forward lineup.
Julien Gauthier will make his season debut and take Oliver Wahlstrom’s spot on the fourth line with Kyle MacLean and Casey Cizikas. Head coach Patrick Roy says the move was made to give Gauthier some reps and still thinks highly of Wahlstrom’s play thus far.
“I thought our fourth line played really good hockey for us in Colorado, same thing in Dallas and against the Blues,” Roy said. “No, there's no specific reason. I mean, Wally did a good job, and now it's time for Julien to go in.”
WHERE THEY STAND:
Montreal enters Saturday’s game off two consecutive losses, most recently against the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-1 defeat on Thursday. Justin Barron got the Canadiens off and running in the first, but it was all Kings the rest of the way. Mikey Anderson tied the game late in the opening frame, and Alex Laferriere gave Los Angeles the lead in the second. The Kings kept things simple in the third and kept the Canadiens quiet, resulting in Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe putting the game out of reach.
The Islanders and St. Louis Blues couldn’t find a goal for the duration of regulation on Thursday. Ilya Sorokin and Joel Hofer traded shutouts for 60 minutes, forcing the game to overtime. Two minutes into the extra session, Jake Neighbours chipped a pass from Phillip Broberg past Sorokin to win it for the Blues 1-0; Hofer finished with a 34-save shutout.
OPPONENT LAST GAME: Kings 4, Canadiens 1
ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINES:
Duclair-Horvat-Barzal
Tsyplakov-Nelson-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom
Cizikas-MacLean-Gauthier
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Dobson
Reilly-Mayfield
Varlamov
Sorokin
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Cole Caufield vs. Brock Nelson
Two American goal-scorers are names to watch in Saturday’s matchup. Montreal’s Cole Caufield has goals in three straight games against the Islanders, adding an assist in each of his last two meetings with them. He also leads the team in goals so far this season with four.
For Nelson, he is tied for the Islanders lead in goals with two. He has also been scorching hot against the Canadiens lately, totaling a whopping 12 goals in his last 10 games against them. In that stretch are three multi-goal games, including his third career hat trick on Nov. 4, 2021.
WHO IS HOT:
After his overtime winner in their last meeting, Palmieri has goals in back-to-back games against the Canadiens. He has five goals and five assists for 10 points in his last 10 games against Montreal.
Noah Dobson had a six-game point streak against the Canadiens snapped in their last meeting, where he was a consistent playmaker in those games. He totaled one goal and 11 assists in that span, with five multi-helper games against Montreal.
Nelson’s recent success against the Canadiens has him leading the Islanders in career goals and points against Montreal, boasting 17 and 25, respectively. Palmieri leads active players in assists with 12.
Semyon Varlamov will get the start against the Canadiens after getting the nod for all three matchups against Montreal last season. Lifetime, he is 7-3-2 against them in the regular season with a 2.75 GAA and .910 SV%, most recently getting the win with 12 saves in their last meeting.
OPPONENT NOTES:
Nick Suzuki enters Saturday’s game on a three-game point streak. Montreal’s captain has four assists in that stretch and also has given the Islanders fits as of late. He has a six-game point streak against New York, totaling four goals and four assists in that span.
Josh Anderson leads active Canadiens in goals against the Islanders with nine. Brendan Gallagher leads the team in remaining offensive categories against New York, owning 10 assists and 18 points.
Cayden Primeau will make his second start of the season Saturday and first career start against the Islanders. He allowed six goals on 29 shots in a loss on Oct. 10 against the Boston Bruins last time out.
QUOTABLE:
“When we’re working hard behind the net, and we go low to high, it takes a bit of time to get in front of the net. So, we want our D to look up and see the options. I mean, if there's no one in front of the net, the chance to score from the blue line is very difficult. So, I mean, we want to give our forward a chance to get in front of the net and then be able to screen. That's a nice way to create some good scoring chances.” — Roy on the offense
“I think we played well in Dallas and Colorado. I think we probably could have had a better game in St Louis to finish it off, but I think we're playing decent, and just right now, we got to get the results a little more. It's still early. It's only a couple of games. We still got a point out of it in St Louis there, but I think we're playing well, and we just got to build on the positives.” — Kyle MacLean
“I thought we had quite a few looks. I thought Bo [Horvat] had a couple. I had a couple. Other guys had a few. So we got to stick with it and keep trying to get to the inside. Obviously, it's the high-danger area, and making plays to support one another. Eventually, you're gonna get one to go in, and all of a sudden, you get a couple in a row, and it's different. So we want to come out and get the first one tonight. It's a big part of the game. So offensively, just keep trying to push.” — Brock Nelson
Lines From Last Skate:
NOTES: The Canadiens didn’t hold a morning skate on Saturday. Cayden Prmeau will get the start. Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson who are both dealing with upper-body injuries and will be game-time decisions.
Islanders Community Events & Calendar:
Complimentary Parking!
Once again for the 2024-25 season, those that drive a BMW can receive complimentary single-game parking in the Emerald Parking lot.
Please click the BMW | Islanders image below for parking registration information,
