The Montreal Canadiens can’t be intimidated by the power of Nassau
By Omar L
It’s a road game for the Montreal Canadiens as they take on the New York Islanders at their special spot in Nassau Coliseum to extend their playoff hopes.
Last season had a number of storylines come out of the New York Islanders, one of which being their arena situation. Complaints with their playing grounds in Brooklyn (Barclays centre) finally rallied the organization to have a new spot built somewhere else. And to the happiness of Islanders fans, the team set aside 21 games to be played at their historical rink Nassau Coliseum, and one of those games is tonight with the Montreal Canadiens coming to town.
The Islanders have done well bringing the energy to Nassau. They’re 9-5-2 at the Coliseum so far this season breaking down top teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.
Their efforts propelled them to a playoff spot which they’ve managed to keep yet for the majority of the season despite being bumped off from the number one seed in the Metropolitan Division. With the Islanders within two spots of the Washington Capitals for first and Pittsburgh Penguins for third, it’s not much about fighting to stay in the race, but fighting to decide who they face in the first round and where.
It hasn’t been announced whether playoff games will take place at Nassau or not, but if so, the Islanders will be fighting tooth and nail for that opportunity.
The Montreal Canadiens, on the other hand, responded well against the Detroit Red Wings after a shaky ride on the West Coast. Carey Price made 20 saves to earn his 315th career win to become the most winningest goaltender in Habs history while Max Domi had both the game opening and closing goals.
Montreal took the first meeting between the two teams in the shootout bouncing back from a 2-1 deficit in the opening frame. Domi and Noah Juulsen helped to tie things up and force overtime while Joel Armia ended things in the 1v1 skills competition.
The stakes are more dire on the side of the Montreal Canadiens. They need wins and points wherever they can get them, and this Islanders game is another opportunity to do so.
Montreal Canadiens
Forward Lines
Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Paul Byron – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw
Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia
Artturi Lehkonen – Nate Thompson – Jordan Weal
Defence Pairs
Victor Mete – Shea Weber
Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry
Jordie Benn – Christian Folin
Goaltenders
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
New York Islanders
Forward Lines
Anders Lee – Matthew Barzal – Jordan Eberle
Andrew Ladd – Brock Nelson – Anthony Beauvillier
Leo Komarov –Valtteri Filppula – Josh Bailey
Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck
Defence Pairs
Nick Leddy – Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Thomas Hickey – Devon Toews
Goaltenders
A small change for the Islanders could see the return of Robin Lehner to the goal crease. He’s missed some time with injury and looks fired up to come back to play. One thing Lehner has been vocal about is goaltenders being run in. His latest absence was due to a collision with Brady Tkachuk which game him a concussion.
In an interview with the New York Post, Lehner said that he was going to start protecting himself.
"Next time someone comes in, I’ll protect myself and we’ll see if they do it again."
Price has some experience with going down the self-defence route, and it was awesome to see (shoutout to Chris Kreider).
That said, Lehner looks angry which could spark his performance up tonight, and the Montreal Canadiens will need to be relentless to come out of Nassau with two points.
Next. Can Domi Score 30?. dark
What Does the Scoreboard Say?
There’s not much going on as far as the out of town scoreboard goes. However, the Montreal Canadiens can leapfrog Columbus back into a wild-card spot with a win. And consdering the Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes play each other tomorrow, that would be massive in their efforts to play into April.