Game Preview: Islanders at Canadiens

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (14-7-8) AT MONTREAL CANADIENS (12-13-4)

7:30 PM ET | CENTRE BELL

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Fresh off a season-long, six-game homestand, the New York Islanders head out on the road and up north to take on the Montreal Canadiens in the second half of a back-to-back set.

The Islanders fell to the Boston Bruins 5-4 in a shootout on Friday night in an intense, back-and-forth matchup at UBS Arena. Simon Holmstrom, Alexander Romanov, Bo Horvat (1G, 2A) and Brock Nelson (1G, 1A) scored for the Islanders, while Morgan Geekie (1G, 1A), David Pastrnak (1G, 1A), James van Riemsdyk (1G, 1A), and Mason Lohrei found the back of the net for the Bruins in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, the Islanders fell in three rounds with Pastrnak burying the game-deciding goal to take the extra point for the Bruins.

Ilya Sorokin turned aside 30 of 34 shots in the shootout loss, while Linus Ullmark made 33 saves in the win. The Islanders penalty kill went 0-for-3 on the night. 

“For 60 minutes, I thought were the better team,” Bo Horvat said on Friday night. “We played really well tonight, especially five-on-five and it's unfortunate we let them back in it on the penalty kill… that's what ultimately costed us.”

The Canadiens fell 4-3 to the Penguins in a shootout on Wednesday night on home ice. David Savard, Jayden Struble and Sean Monahan scored for Montreal, but Sidney Crosby (2G) and Jake Guentzel scored for Pittsburgh to force overtime. After a scoreless extra frame, the Canadiens were edged by the Penguins in a shootout in 12 rounds. Sam Montembeault made 27 saves in the loss, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 39 saves in the win.

The Islanders went 2-0-1 against the Canadiens last season.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- Friday night’s 5-4 shootout loss snapped their four-game win streak but extended the Islanders’ point streak to eight games (6-0-2). The Islanders concluded their season-long six game homestand, picking up 10 of 12 points.

“If you said [10 of 12 points] before going into it, we’d take that every day,” said Noah Dobson. “It's been a good little stretch here. Now we just have to keep building here and I'm take it on the road.”

- Bo Horvat extended his point streak to a career-best nine games with a goal and two assists on Friday night. Horvat has 15 points (6G, 9A) over that span.

- Brock Nelson scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season on Friday night. The veteran center has five points (2G, 3A) in his last three games.

- Alexander Romanov netted his second goal of the season on Friday night and has six points (2G, 4A) through 29 games this season.

- Simon Holmstrom scored his ninth goal of the year against the Bruins and has 12 points on the season through 28 games.

- The Islanders’ power-play went 2-for-4 on Friday night, improving to 25.6% on the season, good for seventh in the NHL.

- With Sorokin starting on Friday, Semyon Varlamov is the expected starter on Saturday. Varlamov is 6-3-1 this season with a 2.60 GAA, a .921 SV% and two shutouts. Varlamov has wins in his last four games and is 4-0-1 in his last five.

CANADIENS NOTES

- The Canadiens rank seventh in the Atlantic Division with 28 points and a record of 12-13-4. Montreal is on a two-game winless skid (0-1-1) after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Penguins in overtime on Wednesday.

- Sam Montembeault is the expected starting netminder for Montreal. He has a 6-4-2 record this season with a .911 SV% and a 2.78 GAA. 

- Tanner Pearson was placed on IR (upper-body) after the winger left Saturday's game against Buffalo and did not return. Pearson has eight points (4G, 4A) through 27 games this season.

- Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 23 points (8G, 15A) in his fifth season with the team. The 24-year-old forward is riding the third-longest iron man streak among active players in the NHL, playing in all 320 games of his career.

- Jordan Harris has joined the team for practice for the first time on Friday after being sidelined for 11 contests with a lower-body injury. The defenseman had three assists through 16 games prior to the injury.

- Sean Monahan leads Montreal with nine goals in his second season.

- Mike Matheson is tied with Suzuki as the team’s assist leader with 15 on the season. The 29-year-old defenseman is in his second season with the Canadiens.

- Saturday’s contest marks the final home game of the calendar year for the Canadiens. Montreal is 6-9-2 at home and 6-4-2 on the road this season.