GAME DAY | Canadiens – Islanders: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

By
Sam Gerber
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Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game: MTL 3  NYI 1   

The Habs were outplayed but took advantage of weak goaltending by Jaroslav Halak scoring three unanswered goals. The Canadiens power-play gave up three short-handed breakaways but Antti Niemi stopped them all.

For a complete recap: Scherbak Shines Again

Players to watch

  • John Tavares
    Tavares will be tough to stop at home as he wants to put an end to the Islanders four game losing streak. 
  • Charlie Lindgren
    Lindgren gets the start after posting a shutout in his last game against the Flyers.
  • Nikita Scherbak
    Scherbak had a strong game on Wednesday against the Isles scoring his second goal of the season. He moves up to the third line tonight.

Keys to Victory

  • Force turnovers
    The Islanders struggle on defense and have had bad goaltending all season. A strong forecheck should create good scoring chances for the Habs.
  • Win the possession game
    The Canadiens need to keep the puck away from the Isles high-powered offense.
  • Slow them down
    Standing the Islanders up in the neutral zone will frustrate the forwards and not allow them to gain speed to enter the Canadiens zone.
Matchup by All Habs staff
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY | March 2, 7:00 PM ET | TV: SN, TSN2, RDS, MSG

2017-18 statistics
ISLANDERS CANADIENS
65 (20th) Points (rank) 58 (26th)
29-28-7 Record 24-29-10
16-11-4 Home/Away 8-19-2
3-6-1 Last 10 2-4-4
3.20 GF/G 2.51
3.53 GA/G 3.02
20.8 PP% 21.2
74.3 PK% 77.3
 47.62  CF%  51.10
eSAT Analytics by Mathieu Chagnon
 
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Lee – Tavares – Fritz
Beauvillier – Barzal – Eberle
Ladd – Nelson – Bailey
Johnston – Wagner – Clutterbuck		 Pacioretty – Danault – Lehkonen
Galchenyuk – Drouin – Gallagher
Byron – De La Rose – Scherbak
A. Shaw – Froese – Carr
Defensemen
Leddy – Boychuk
Pelech – Aho
 Davidson – Pulock		 Mete – Petry
Alzner – Juulsen
Reilly – Schlemko
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Seidenberg, Cizikas, Hickey
Injured: de Haan, Prince, Kulemin, Greiss, Quine, Mayfield
 Scratched: Deslauriers, L. Shaw, Benn
Injured: Weber, Hemsky, Price, Hudon
Goalies
Jaroslav Halak Charlie Lindgren
Record: 18-21-5
GAA: 3.18
Sv%: .911
SO: 1
Alternate: Christopher Gibson		 Record: 3-4-2
GAA: 2.13
Sv%: .933
SO: 2
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect by Sam Gerber
Prediction: Canadiens 3  Islanders 2 

The Islanders should be in an ornery mood knowing that their playoff hopes are slipping away. If the Habs can frustrate the Isles and force them to take penalties, they will have a good chance for another victory.
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