Trips to Long Island are always fun games. Montreal Canadiens fans pack the arena and it basically turns into a home game. On the other hand however, the Islanders usually play us pretty well, and this is especially the case when former Hab and current New York Islanders captain Mark Streit is in the lineup.
The Habs are on quite the hot streak after taking it to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Over that time Price has put up a .939 save percentage, a stark contrast with his rough start. This is a product of both Carey ironing a few things out, and an extremely inexperienced defensive group becoming comfortable at the NHL level. Budaj gets the start tonight as it’s a back to back against a weaker opponent.
The Islanders however are on the completely opposite track. Dead last in the conference with a 1-6-3 record in the last 10, the Islanders are in an all-to-familiar tailspin. Compounding this problem is the organization’s continued showcasing of Nabokov, who has been outplayed by Montoya. Nabokov starts tonight.
Kyle Okposo, once considered a can’t miss power forward prospect, is a healthy scratch for the second game in a row tonight.
The walking wounded for the Canadiens seem to be unchanged. Andrei Kostitsyn (undisclosed lower body) , Andrei Markov (knee), Ryan White (hernia surgery), Brendan Nash (shoulder surgery) and Chris Campoli (hamstring) all remain on the injured reserve, while Hal Gill (ill), Andreas Engqvist (undisclosed lower body) and Jaroslav Spacek (undisclosed upper body) remain day to day. This means the lineup from last night remains unchanged.
Last season the Habs won the season series 2-1-1, with the final game being an Islanders shootout win. Oddly enough, no Islanders goaltender that the Habs faced is currently with the organization. Dwayne Roloson was traded to Tampa Bay and Mikko Koskinen has gone back to the SM-Liiga.
Last season the Habs won the season series 2-1-1, with the final game being an Islanders shootout win. Oddly enough, no Islanders goaltender that the Habs faced is currently with the organization. Dwayne Roloson was traded to Tampa Bay and Mikko Koskinen has gone back to the SM-Liiga.
Look for a fairly fresh Habs team tonight as Jacques Martin smartly rolled four lines last night, making sure no forward played too often. Subban and Gorges should be in for another heavy night though.
MONTREAL CANADIENS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Mike Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Travis Moen – Lars Eller – Scott Gomez
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Mathieu Darche – Petteri Nokelainen – Aaron Palushaj
Defensemen
Frederic St- Denis – Yannick Weber
Goalies
CAROLINA HURRICANES PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Matt Moulson – John Tavares – Michael Grabner
Brian Rolston – Frans Nielsen – P.A. Parenteau
Blake Comeau – Marty Reasoner – Nino Niederreiter
Matt Martin – Josh Bailey – Jay Pandolfo
Defensemen
Mark Streit – Steve Staios
Andrew MacDonald – Travis Hamonic
Goalies
Canadiens vs Islanders coverage
Islanders perspective over at Lighthouse Hockey
