Islanders at Canadiens
The New York Islanders continue to fall back in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are in the midst of a rugged stretch in which they play only once at home in eight games. The Islanders will look to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in the front end of a home-and-home set.
New York was unable to hold a third-period lead for the second straight game in Saturday's 2-1 loss at New Jersey and sits four points behind eighth-place Columbus. "It's deflating. We had a real opportunity to start moving up," Islanders forward Andrew Ladd said. "You give up a game like that and it knocks you back a little bit. It's frustrating. I don't know any other way to say it. We have to find a way to pick ourselves up and keep going." While Montreal has earned points in four straight games (1-0-3), it also has posted just one victory over the last nine games. The Canadiens are coming off a 1-0 setback in a shootout to Philadelphia on Monday to tie a franchise record with its ninth shutout loss of the season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2, RDS (Montreal), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (29-27-7): Rookie Mathew Barzal collected his 12th assist in the last eight games versus New Jersey and also scored one goal and set up two others in New York's 5-4 overtime win at Montreal on Jan. 15. Defenseman Brandon Davidson, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, makes his Islanders debut against the team that waived him in December. Also set to make his debut for New York is physical forward Chris Wagner, who was picked up from Anaheim on Monday in exchange for Jason Chimera.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (23-29-10): Captain Max Pacioretty was linked to a number of deals but ended up staying put at Monday's trade deadline, a positive sign for an offensive-starved team. “Definitely, there’s a lack of confidence with the season,” coach Claude Julien said. “It’s a difficult season. You see in the practices guys can score. In the games, the guys have chances to score but aren’t capable of finishing." Montreal traded Joe Morrow on Monday and acquired fellow blue-liner Mike Reilly from the Minnesota Wild.
OVERTIME
1. Islanders F Jordan Eberle has scored in four of the last eight games.
2. Canadiens G Antti Niemi takes a 2-1-1 mark and 3.16 goals-against average versus the Islanders into Wednesday's start.
3. New York has killed off all 10 penalties in the last five games.