New York Islanders

Islanders Game 6 Preview vs. Ottawa Senators: Lines, Best Bets, How To Watch

Published

6 months ago

October 26, 2023

Elmont, NY– The New York Islanders welcome the Ottawa Senators to UBS Arena tonight. Here’s what you need to know ahead of time.

Islanders Hoping To Snap Early Skid:

There’s no need to panic quite yet, but if the Islanders don’t find a way to clean up some key issues, their recent losing streak is only going to continue.

Three Issues From The Islanders’ Three-Game Losing Streak

Will The Islanders Ever Figure Out Their Third Line?

In just five games this season, Jean-Gabriel Pageau has played with six different linemates. That’s nothing new for him, but he’s hoping to soon find some consistency like he had when Zach Parise was around.

Islanders’ Line Shuffling Around Pageau Underscores Loss Of Parise

Romanov Misses Morning Skate:

Defenseman Alexander Romanov was not present at morning skate today for maintenance purposes. Islanders head coach Lane Lambert says Romanov is available to play against Ottawa tonight.

Projected Lineup:

Lee-Horvat-Barzal

Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri

Holmstrom-Pageau-Wahsltrom

Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Dobson

Romanov-Pulock

Bolduc-Aho

Sorokin

Varlamov

Last Time Out:

The Islanders dropped their third game in a row on Tuesday, losing to the Colorado Avalanche 7-4.

With under a minute remaining before the second intermission, Bowen Byram and Nathan MacKinnon each scored in the span of 13.2 seconds, taking the lead back for Colorado after the Islanders had fought all period to grab hold of it.

Even when Anders Lee tied the score 4-4 midway through the third, Mikko Rantanen pushed the Avalanche ahead one last time.

Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstrom all scored for the Islanders in the loss. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves on 37 shots against.

The Opponent:

Like the Islanders, the Senators have also stumbled through their recent schedule. However, that’s the least of Ottawa’s concerns at the moment.

Earlier today, the NHL handed down a 41-game suspension to Long Island native Shane Pinto for activities relating to gambling.

A restricted free agent, Pinto hasn’t suited up for Ottawa yet this year. His suspension is retroactive to the first game of the season.

In their last game, the Senators nearly climbed back from a four-goal deficit but fell to the Buffalo Sabres 6-4 at home on Tuesday.

Senators team captain Brady Tkachuk fought Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, bloodying him with a punch to the side of the head.

Tkachuk leads the Senators in goals with four, while Vladimir Tarasenko has assimilated well into his new team, leading Ottawa with eight points thus far.

Ottawa averages 4.17 goals for a game and is currently 12th in the NHL on the power play and 23rd on the penalty kill.

“They’re very similar to what we’ve seen so far this year,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s a talented young team that is high octane of offensively. They transition the puck well and have great speed. They’ve got a power play that, for the last couple of years, has been running pretty well, so it’s a good hockey team.”

Former Islander Travis Hamonic is now a member of the Senators and will play in his 800th career game tonight.

Best Bets:

Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson are both riding multi-game point streaks entering tonight. Bet on either of them to find the stat sheet against Ottawa using odds presented by Draft Kings.

Who To Watch:

The Islanders allowed 15 goals in their last three games, with their defensive structure struggling to find a rhythm. Pay attention to how quickly the Islanders are able to clear the puck tonight and who Lambert roles out to face Ottawa’s dangerous top six.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Islanders and Senators from UBS Arena is scheduled for just past 7:30 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on MSG Network and streamed on MSG+ or ESPN+ for out-of-market viewers. 88.7 FM WRHU will broadcast the radio feed of the game, which can also be heard on 1050 AM ESPN and 103.9 FM WRCN.