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Since March 2nd, the Habs have been one of the worst teams in the NHL. A record of 1-3-2 and outscored 17-8, the Montreal Canadiens came out of the trade deadline by embracing an identity of a gritty and hard-working team and have since put on some of their worst performances of the year. The time to practice patience, with the arrival of four new lineup players, is running out with only 14 games remaining in the Canadiens' season.
The New York Islanders are one of seven teams competing for top spot in the NHL with the Habs. John Tavares' influence on Islanders' team identity is shown in the form of the Isles having the 5th best CF% in the league, right behind the Tampa Bay Lightning with 53 CF% (while the Habs still sit on the wrong side of CF% in 23rd with 48.6). Tavares is currently 1st in the league in scoring with 72 points, and 4th with 33 goals. The Islanders have scored the 3rd most goals in the league, 213, which is exactly 40 more than the Habs have scored. On the other hand, the Habs have allowed the least amount of goals in the league, 149, which is 44 less than the Islanders have allowed this season, making it clear which player on their roster drives the team identity.
Despite some pretty shoddy play in front of him lately, Carey Price is still hovering around the legendary numbers put up by Dominik Hasek in the 1998-99 when the Dominator stood on his head for a 1.87 GAA and .937 sv% in 64 games. Carey Price has been holding down a 1.93 GAA and .935 sv% and already has 37 wins for his team, and with numbers such as those, it's fair to say he is winning games for his team.
Greg Pateryn is in on the right defensive side, replacing Sergei Gonchar. Other lineup changes will updated if necessary closer to the game.
The puck drops at 7:00PM EST.
In Canada (French): TVA
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | David Desharnais | Brendan Gallagher |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Tomas Plekanec | P.A. Parenteau |
| Lars Eller | Jacob de la Rose | Devante Smith-Pelly |
| Brandon Prust | Torrey Mitchell | Dale Weise |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Tom Gilbert | Jeff Petry |
| Nathan Bealieu | Greg Pateryn |
|
Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Dustin Tokarski |
Scratched: Mike Weaver, Manny Malholtra, Brian Flynn, Sergei Gonchar
Injuries: Alexei Emelin (upper-body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Josh Bailey | John Taveres | Kyle Okposo |
| Anders Lee | Brock Nelson | Tyler Kennedy |
| Michael Grabner | Frans Nielsen | Nikolay Kulemin |
| Matt Martin | Casey Cizikas | Cal Clutterbuck |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Johnny Boychuk | Calvin de Haan |
| Matt Donovan | Thomas Hickey |
| Travis Hamonic | Brian Strait |
|
Goaltenders |
| Michal Neuvirth |
| Jaroslav Halak |
Scratched: Ryan Strome, Lubomir Visnovsky, Eric Boulton, Colin McDonald
Injuries: Nick Leddy (upper body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion)
Check out the enemy over at Lighthouse Hockey.