The NY Islanders (36-27-15) look to win 6 straight as they take on the Montreal Canadiens (30-36-12) at UBS Arena. Tonight is another must-win game for the Islanders as they sit at third in the Metropolitan Division and have four teams chasing them.
LAST GAME
Last game had the barn rocking, with a 4-2 win over the NY Rangers at UBS. The Islanders absolutely dominated the Rangers during the first period. After a failed Mat Barzal penalty shot against Igor Shesterkin 1:25 into the game, they didn’t take their foot off the gas. Mike Riley scored his 6th goal of the season at 4:12 in the first period. The Islanders scored two more before the end of the first period, Bo Horvat scoring his 33rd of the season, deflecting a slapshot from Noah Dobson past Shesterkin. Kyle Palmieri closed out the first period two minutes later with his 27th of the season and a 3-0 lead for the Islanders. The Islanders outshot the Rangers 16-11 in the first, but were subsequently outshot for the next two periods. The Blue Shirts played a stronger, faster and more physical second and third period than the Islanders seemed ready for. The Rangers have the best power play in the league, and the Isles played smart for the first period, staying out of the box entirely and getting two power plays of their own, but were unable to keep it up for the second period.
- After Riley took an interference penalty, Chris Kreider scored his 39th goal of the season on the power play. the Islanders proceeded to take two more penalties during the second period, but a Dobson delay of game with 3 minutes remaining in the period gave the Rangers the push they needed. This time it was Long Island native Adam Fox bringing the Rangers within one. The Rangers continued to play hard for the third period but Semyon Varlamov stood tall in net for the Islanders and kept the Rangers offense at bay. With less than a minute remaining in the game and some physicality from the Islanders and Rangers, Pierre Engvall scooped up a loose puck and it was sent to a flying Anders Lee who scored his 20th of the season in the empty net
