Islanders Gm 57: Searching For a Win vs. Senators, 1 Game-Time Decision

EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders (27-23-6) have lost their last two games against Canadian opponents and host the Ottawa Senators (25-24-3) Tuesday night in an effort to snap a two-game skid.

Puck drop is slated for 7:30 PM at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins by a point (second wild-card spot, four games in hand) and trailing the Washington Capitals by two points (one game in hand).

Every game is a must-win going forward if the Islanders are going to make the postseason.

“I think right now we view every game as a must-win, so tonight starts tonight, and then it will just continue forward from there and with each and every game,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said.

The Islanders have blown two leads over the last two games and have gone 2-1-1 since returning from the All-Star break. The Senators are 1-1-0 since returning from break.

The Senators are on the second leg of a back-to-back after falling 4-3 in overtime to the Calgary Flames on Monday

With Mads Sogaard starting in goal in the loss and Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg hurt, it looks like Kevin Mandolese will make his NHL debut Tuesday night.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Ilya Sorokin was the first goaltender off the ice as he will make his 41st appearance of the season. He was not sharp in the Islanders 6-5 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

After missing Monday’s practice due to an illness, Casey Cizikas was on the ice and is a game-time decision, per Lane Lambert.

Parker Wotherspoon and Ross Johnston remained on the ice following the skate, as they are two of the three extras Tuesday, with Otto Koivula likely joining them if Cizikas is able to go.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Josh Bailey-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Hudson Fasching

Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov-Scott Mayfield
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

OTTAWA SENATORS LINES (PROJECTED)

Brady Tkachuk-Tim Stutzle-Mathieu Joseph
Alex DeBrincat-Ridly Greig-Claude Giroux
Tyler Motte-Shane Pinto-Drake Batherson
Parker Kelly-Derick Brassard-Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot-Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom-Artem Zub
Nick Holden-Travis Hamonic

Kevin Mandolese
Mads Sogaard

ISLANDERS NOTES

Tonight, the New York Islanders host the Ottawa Senators in the third and final matchup between the two teams this season. These teams last met less than three weeks ago, on January 25 at Canadian Tire Centre.

Tonight’s game is the Senators’ first and only visit to UBS Arena this season. The Islanders won both matchups with Ottawa at UBS Arena in the 2021-22 campaign. The Islanders will look to capture their 17th home-ice victory of the season tonight and improve upon their 3-1-1 record in their last five matchups.

The Islanders also enter tonight’s game with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 matchups against the Senators.

DRAFTKINGS BETTING CORNER

Do you think the New York Islanders will beat the Ottawa Senators? You can get the Islanders at -180 &  +145 on the puck line. The Senators come in at +155 & -170 on the reverse puck line.

The over for the contest is 6 at -115, with the under at -105.

Head over to DraftKings to place your bets now!

HOW TO WATCH

Tuesday’s contest will be available on MSGN. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU, and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.