New York Islanders

Islanders Game 19 Preview at Ottawa Senators: Lines, Best Bets, How To Watch

Published

5 months ago

November 24, 2023

The New York Islanders play the first half of a back-to-back set as they visit the Ottawa Senators tonight at Canadian Tire Centre. Here’s what you need to know ahead of time.

Matt Martin To Miss Third Straight Game; Varlamov Starts:

Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said earlier today that forward Matt Martin did not travel with the team to Ottawa and will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury.

Semyon Varlamov will make his seventh start of the year in goal for the Islanders.

After a pair of back-to-back shutouts earlier in the season, the veteran netminder has let in three or more goals in each of his last three starts. His most recent one came last Thursday in a shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken.

The Power Play’s Unrealized Potential :

The most surprising thing about the Islanders this year is that their power play has gone from being among the worst in the league a year ago to one of the best. Now, think about how good it’d be if the second unit began to produce.

Islanders Hoping There’s More To Come For Second Power Play Unit

Projected Lineup:

Barzal-Horvat-Holmstrom

Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri

Lee-Pageau-Wahlstrom

Fasching-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Dobson

Romanov-Dobson

Aho-Mayfield

Varlamov

Sorokin

Last Time Out:

The Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers on the eve of Thanksgiving at UBS Arena by a final score of 3-2.

Brock Nelson led the way with two goals in the win, while Anders Lee picked up one for himself as well in what was the thousandth game of Cal Clutterbuck’s career.

Islanders Give Fans Reason To Cheer In Win Over Flyers

The Opponent:

The Ottawa Senators enter tonight’s game well-rested, not having played in six days after participating in the NHL’s Global Series in Sweden.

Ottawa is coming off three straight wins, but has endured a rather chaotic season thus far, sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Division at 8-7-0 with 16 points.

A club with an up-and-coming core, the Senators are led by Tim Stützle with 18 points, while Brady Tkachuk has double the amount of goals as the next closest player on the team.

The Senators are slightly below average on both special team units, 17th on the power play and 18th on the penalty kill.

Joonas Korpisalo, Ottawa’s typical starting goalie, is out tonight with an injury, so Anton Forsberg is expected to start versus the Islanders tonight. In six starts this year, Forsberg carries a .860 save percentage and a 3.26 GAA.

The Islanders beat the Senators on Oct. 26, 3-2.

Best Bets:

Brock Nelson and Brady Tkachuk both lead their respective teams with 10 goals this year. You can bet on either of them to open the scoring tonight using odds presented by Draft Kings.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Islanders and Senators from Canadian Tire Centre is scheduled for just past 7:30 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on MSGN2 and streamed on MSG + and ESPN + for out-of-market viewers. 88.7 FM WRHU will produce the radio feed of the game, which can also be heard on 103.9 FM WRCN.