The New York Islanders will try for 10-straight wins against a tricky Ottawa Senators team coming off a strong showing.
- New York Islanders (10-3-0, 20 points)
- Ottawa Senators (4-8-1, 9 points)
- MSG+, 88.7 FM, 1050 AM
- Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Every single player is up for the challenge.
Some new faces made their way to Monday morning’s practice, including Jordan Eberle, who hasn’t played since the third period of the Isles 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers.
While Eberle made his return, Nick Leddy was absent. Head coach Barry Trotz said he doesn’t expect Leddy to be out long-term, but he also expected him to practice Monday.
Leddy’s absence would draw Noah Dobson into his fifth game of the season. Thus far, Dobson has seen varying action with plenty of time off between games, Trotz’s way of easing a rookie with no AHL experience into the NHL.
Dobson practiced alongside Johnny Boychuk, possibly slotting right into Leddy’s spot for his next game.
As the Islanders prepare to face Ottawa, the Senators will look to keep riding momentum from their big win against the New York Rangers.
The Sens continue to have the Rangers’ number since defeating them in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Islanders will see Craig Anderson in net after Anders Nilsson guided the Sens to a strong 6-2 victory.
Unlike their crosstown rivals, the Islanders can’t afford to take this game lightly. It was just over a week ago that they left Ottawa with a 4-2 victory after the Sens decimated their forward corps.
This is where things can get dicey.
Anders Lee said they're not concerned with how the Senators played them last time out, and they're not bringing any of that into the next meeting.
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) November 4, 2019
Though Anders Lee swears they’ve put that behind them, odds are Ross Johnston will introduce himself to the Sens lineup.
In the event things take a quick turn for the worst, the Islanders have to keep their heads.
Up through now, they’ve done a picture-perfect job of staying resilient, a quality they’ve lacked in regimes past.
Ottawa has proved in their 13-game sample they’re a loose, rebuilding team littered with young talent. First-year head coach D.J. Smith is working to establish the same kind of culture of winning Lou Lamoriello and Trotz worked to impart when they came in.
The key to the game is simple: get off to a quick start in a building that’s becoming more and more foreign to the Islanders and the rest of the league.
Ottawa enters the game as the tired team and a fast burial in the first period will help the Isles take control quickly.
As of now, the only tangible lineup change is Dobson for Leddy which has not even been confirmed. Expect to see the same lineup as in Buffalo.
Puck drop Tuesday night in Brooklyn is slated for 7:10 p.m. ET.
